Continuing with my transition to fall decor and focusing on a sunflower theme…the front porch got a make-over too. Hopefully the heat and mosquitoes will simmer down so I can sit outside and enjoy this lovely space…something I haven’t been able to do all summer! The black buffalo check is something new for me to use…I like it…and it will be good through Halloween. I put together the front door autumn leaf wreath…love the soft fall color palette!

At the end of this post I include a couple pictures from Monday’s Ikebana zoom class. This arrangement represents “Sogetsu Variation #6 – Horizontal Style – Nageire (tall vase)”. This lesson involved learning the hidden mechanics to allow the branches and flowers to spread horizontally from a tall vase. This design is meant to be seen equally from all sides making it suitable for a table arrangement. I originally made my design in a shorter tall vase but my teacher, Ilse Beunen, recommended a higher vase because of the draping nature of the tropical pink Mandevilla vine flowers…so I remade it using my tallest vase. Ilse said my design needed a higher vase so the flowers could be viewed better from underneath when sitting at a table. Both the pink Mandevilla vine flowers and the pink Hydrangea blossoms are from my back yard garden.