FORSYTHIA, FLOWERING CURRANT, BLACK IRIS
Feels like spring is finally on the way! This week in the studio - waves of bright yellow Forsythia, scented Ribes and velvety widow iris…
MARCH
INGREDIENTS
Forsythia (golden bells)
Ribes sanguineum 'White Icicle' (flowering currant)
Helleborus orientalis 'Iced Lime' (lenten rose)
Narcissus 'Mount Hood' (large cupped daffodil)
Hermodactylus tuberosus (widow iris)
Hypnum cupressiforme (moss)
VESSEL
Low ceramic dish in a speckled grey glaze
Triangular kenzan (pinholder)
NOTES
To honour the sculptural forms of the spring branches and iris I choose a triangular kenzan that is fixed to one side of the shallow dish. Th materials are grouped by variety - the forsythia in a vibrant wave cascades outwards to one side, the flowering currant opposite. I cut these shorter to allow a view of the dish and the surface of the water below. My trusty ‘backwards S’ Deutzia (salvaged from last week’s arrangement) leads the eye up and away in a meandering journey and the hellebores and iris are staggered in a stepping stone formation through the middle front to back. Pinches of moss are used around the stems where they affix to the kenzan to soften the base.