2021 was a challenging year for all of us. But we have much to be grateful for. David and I have stayed well. David continues to work from home and I am happy to have him close by. Soapy is blessedly still with us but has gone blind in both eyes. He is in good spirits and eats well…especially loves treats of fresh banana slices!
Decorating my home and working in my garden areas gives me a creative and physical outlet that I am so grateful to have. I’ve taken enough pictures throughout this year to put together a year-long gallery of images of both the in- and out-of-doors.
I am also including a few pictures of my Ikebana arrangements when I have used floral materials from my yard. I am studying the Sogetsu School of Ikebana with my teacher Ilse Beunen via Zoom from Belgium…I am in my second year now.
Hope you will enjoy looking back over this year with me…
February 2021 – Valentine tree and decor…I left up the white tree from our 2020 Christmas and re-purposed it for Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s and Easter!February 2021 – More Valentine decor…love filling up the three tiered trayFebruary 2021 – Our Valentine’s dining table set for a special Valentine’s supperFebruary 2021 – A close up of the place setting for our Valentine’s tableMarch 2021 – St. Patrick’s Day tree and decorMarch 2021 – Sweet shamrock themed smalls fill the three tiered trayMarch 2021 – Shamrock themed teapots and spring tulips decorate the dining room tableMarch 2021 – A trio of Dresden porcelain lace shamrock lassies on a pretty elevated trayApril 2021 – The first of the daffodils for the spring seasonApril 2021 – Ikebana moribana (low vase) arrangement using yellow daffodils and forsythia branchesApril 2021 – Easter egg tree and decorApril 2021 – The three tiered tray all decked out for EasterMay 2021 – Both David and I celebrate our birthdays in May…my sister Liz made these delicious Almond Pound Cakes for our celebrationsMay 2021 – Looking out to the back yard – 12 newly planted David Austen Roses in right foregroundMay 2021 – Ikebana moribana (low vase) arrangement using pink Azalea blossoms and Crabapple branch from my gardenJune 2021 – The Siberian Iris showing up beautifully with their purple flowerheadsJune 2021 – Looking at the purple Siberian Iris patch from an opposite viewJune 2021 – Ikebana moribana (low vase) arrangement using Siberian Iris and Hosta leaves from my gardenJune 2021 – Beautiful “Crystal Fountain” clematis growing up the side fence by the back patioJuly 2021 – The front yard with roses, daisies and daylilies bloomingJuly 2021 – Looking into the back yard from the entrance gateJuly 2021 – “Supertunia Bubblegum” Petunia voluminous blooms cascading over the fenceJuly 2021 – Looking out to the back yard from the patio area…the David Austen rose bushes along with pots of flowers filling inJuly 2021 – A close up view of the orange “ditch” lilies – a faithful returning perennialJuly 2021 – Ikebana nageire (tall vase) arrangement using Stella de Oro daylilies and Hosta leaves from my gardenJuly 2021 -” Jackmanii” Clematis reaching up the back fence creating a gorgeous showing of blooms and colorAugust 2021 – I love the transformation of this back yard patio area since taking out the three overgrown cedar trees…pots of elephant ear plants and impatiens peak from behind the peacock chairs August 2021 – Pretty pots of mixed pink impatiens decorate the bright pink tea table setAugust 2021 – The Limelight Hydrangeas tall and magnificent across the back fenceAugust 2021 – The first of my dahlias to bloom…love this one with its rich yellow-orange colorSeptember 2021 – Decorating with a sunflower theme as we transition into autumnSeptember 2021 – Sweet little Soapy enjoying a nap on this sunflower themed pillowSeptember 2021 – The sunflower theme continues onto the front porchSeptember 2021 – Love the buffalo check tablecloth and sunflower table accentsOctober 2021 – Looking out to the back yard…the autumn season is definitely upon usOctober 2021 – Ikebana nageire (tall vase) “horizontal” arrangement using Crabapple branch, Hosta leaves and Limelight Hydrangea blossoms…all from my autumn gardenOctober 2021 – David and I carved pumpkins for Halloween…this is David’s jack-o-lanternOctober 2021 – Getting ready for Halloween nightOctober 2021 – The Halloween lights and decor at nightOctober 2021 – Ikebana nageire (tall vase) Halloween arrangement using oak leaves, old branches, sunflowers and small pumpkinsNovember 2021 – I started decorating for Christmas on November 1November 2021 – This year’s Christmas tree using colored lights and white ornaments. I used my green tree this Christmas…the white one is decorated at the Turner-Dodge House for their “Holiday Open House”December 2021 – The Turner-Dodge House did not have their Annual Festive of Trees this year but instead opted to do a smaller “Holiday Open House. I decorated the Music Room using my white Christmas tree and a peacock theme.December 2021 – The dining room table decorated for Christmas and my Christmas teapots on displayDecember 2021 – The Christmas dining room table illuminated at nightDecember 2021 – The front of the house all festive with the Christmas lights…even a layer of snow!December 2021 – The front porch lit up with its Christmas lightsDecember 2021 – The “Winter Solstice” luminarias…a neighborhood traditionDecember 2021 – My last Ikebana arrangement for 2021…flowers not from my garden…lesson was on creating “curved” lines
Thank You for looking back through 2021 with me to the change of decor and flowers through the seasons! Happy New Year 2022 Wishes!
I am studying Sogetsu Ikebana with Ilse Beunen (Belgium) via Zoom. Besides the formal study lessons, Ilse offers “workshops” with a particular theme also via Zoom to participants from all around the world. I have joined several of these workshops even though I am still very much a “novice” Ikebana student. The skill and creativity of most of the workshop participants is amazing and I love seeing their work.
Here are my arrangements for Ilse’s Spring and Summer workshops that I was a part of.
“Inspired by Easter” – a workshop incorporating egg(s) as a part of our design
For my design I chose to use an ostrich egg as my vase which I purchased through a vendor on Amazon, the blue pottery stand I found at EtsyTo hold water I needed to seal the ostrich egg with a sealant spray since it was porous, the blue hydrangea blossoms were cut from an Easter hydrangea plant, then I added curly willow for interest and height
“Inspired by Nature” – a workshop incorporating nature in some way in our design
I created my own nature-themed vase using Campbell’s soup cans and bark piecesMy floral materials consisted of crabapple branches and grape hyacinth blossoms from my yardI cut openings into two soup cans, glued them together to create the “vase”I covered and glued the cans with pieces of barkI used a kenzan inside the bark covered soup cans to hold the fresh materials. The “vase” was not as watertight as I hoped but it worked well enough.
“Inspired by a Bird’s Nest” – a workshop creating a feeling of a bird’s nest but not simulating one exactly in our arrangement
Hosta leaves created my “bird’s nest”, the Siberian Iris represented baby birds flying from the nestMy Siberian Iris patch showing up this past Spring in all its glory along with the many Hosta plants
“Inspired by Abstract Art” – a workshop reflecting a vision of abstract art in our design
After looking at images of abstract art on the Internet, I was inspired by a “black and white” theme and the geometric shape of circlesWhite hydrangea blossoms with deep red roses are held in place with a kenzan. Black and white painted embroidery hoops are glued together to create their interlacing shape. A curly willow stick is painted to compliment the overall color scheme and bring height interest to the design.
“Inspired by the Color Green” – a workshop using only fresh green materials in our design
I used several types of ornamental grasses growing in my garden this summer to create this green-only Moribana upright design with kenzan Zebra Grass, Prince Tut plumes, Hakonechloa Macra and one more grass than I have forgotten its name
“Inspired by Weeds” – a workshop incorporating weeds in the design
I needed to use “weeds” somehow in my arrangement. The best I found were spent flower stalks of “ditch” lilies that I have in my garden. I used the flower stalks to create structure and a framework for the gorgeous yellow-orange dahlia blossoms that are starting to bloom in my garden.This is a side view to see the tall bud stem in the back. In Ikebana this is called the “depth” branch”. It is meant to take the eye to back of the arrangement. I used my shallow black vase with a black kenzan for this Moribana arrangement.
This wraps up the workshop offerings for Spring and Summer. In September Ilse will offer a new selection for Fall and Winter. Looking forward to joining in!
Over the years I have had one particular clematis in my back yard garden area – “Jackmanii” Clematis. It is a purple flowering vine that has faithfully shown up each year. I have several of these climbing my fence at different spots…some in shade and some in sun…all producing their beautiful blooms late June into July.
This is my oldest clematis in the backyard garden…Jackmanii Clematis…it grows along the back fence in the shade. I cut it back each spring and it rebounds beautifully. I love how this Jackmanii Clematis is vining its way through my hanging light fixture!Another Jackmanii Clematis vining up along a different section of the fence in between bushes of LimelightHydrangeasActually there are two Jackmanii Clematis vining together behind the Limelight Hydrangeas
In the last few years I have added other types of clematis to add some vertical interest and color around the garden areas. Some are blooming well and others will take a few years to mature. Here are the ones that showed up well this summer…
A small in statue but bold in color Solidarnosc Clematis growing up a small obelisk trellis in a potThe large deep red-purple blooms are so vividThe Solidarnosc Clematis with more open bloomsThis Crystal Fountain Clematis‘ smaller vining nature fits well on this section of the backyard fenceThe Crystal Fountain Clematis is an early bloomer…the first clematis to show up in early summerThe Crystal Fountain Clematis is a beauty with its frilly blooms of iridescent lavenderThe unusual bell shape of the Roguchi Clematis is an eye catcherEach year this Roguchi Clematis is more and more prolific in its size and bloomsThis year I added this extra tall trellis to the front porch for this clematis beauty… unfortunately I do not know it nameThis clematis grows straight up the trellis about 7-feet tall Its lovely soft purple flowers create quite a show at the top of its vines
Next year there will be more clematis to show…blue CopernicusClematis, white HenryiClematis, pink Duchess of AlbanyClematis and deep red-pink Sunset Clematis. I have them planted but they are just too young for this year’s blooming.
At the start of this year I became a faithful follower of “Garden Answer”…a YouTube video blog hosted by Laura and her husband Aaron from Ontario, Oregon. David and I actually visited this part of Oregon a few years ago when we were there for a family wedding. Watching Laura’s videos invigorated my enthusiasm this year to try some new things in my garden.
I thought all petunias were pretty much the same but watching Garden Answer I learned there are quite a few varieties. Proven Winners has a variety called “Bubblegum Supertunia Vista” which grows like no other petunia! Early in the Spring I was at Walmart just after they received a shipment of these petunias. In my enthusiasm I bought way more plants than I needed…but gratefully I managed to find a place for all of them around my back yard.
Along my gated side of my back yard fence I planted these petunias in baskets secured to the top of the fence. They get a good amount of sun throughout the day and I have managed to keep them watered fairly regularly. I have not been able to give them a regular dose of liquid fertilizer as recommended due to the heat and mosquitoes but they seem to be doing just fine. I did plant them in fresh soil with some slow release fertilizer in the beginning so that seems sufficient so far.
So come join me as we walk around the back yard to see these blooming beauties…
We start our tour at the backyard gate with a basket of Bubblegum Supertunia Vista outside the fenceOnce inside the back yard three larger baskets of Bubblegum Supertunia Vista line the side fenceI love how these petunias cascade over their baskets and the fenceIn the foreground are pots of dahlias getting ready to show their bloomsDahlia pots filled with “Lovie Dovie” petunias, another Proven Winner varietyLooking into the rest of the back yard garden areasPots of Bubblegum Supertunias with “Singing the Blues” Salvia in the corner of this island garden areaDaylilies and coneflowers fill in the spaces around the pots of Bubblegum Supertunia Vista and SalviaThree pots filled in together to create one continuous displayA large pot of Bubblegum Supertunia Vista filled in nicely within the orange lily gardenA view of the tea garden and gazebo with Limelight Hydrangeas coming into bloomThe gazebo with pots of Bubblegum Supertunia Vista and Prince Tut Grass plumesA peek of the basket petunias over the back side of the fence as we conclude our tour
One of the things I enjoy most is working in my back yard garden. I have many dependable perennials that I look forward to each year. Yet I look for change…to add something new.
Last fall I ordered 12 David Austen English Roses in varying shades of pink to be shipped in 2021. This May they arrived all packed together in a box…bare-rooted. Instructions said to soak the rose roots in water for a few hours to re-hydrate them before planting.
I ordered three different shades of pink for my new rose garden…three “Munstead Wood” (deep crimson), three “Princess Anne” (rich pink), and six “Gertrude Jekyll” (bright pink).
Once planted it took awhile for the roses to get growing but I happy to report they are all growing and starting to show some beautiful blooms. It will take a few years for them to grow to their mature sizes and fill their space. In the meantime I added a few pots of annuals to the new rose garden area to add some color and height for this year.
The box containing my order of 12 David Austen roses arriving in mid-MayAll 12 roses packed tight within the box, each with their own identifying tagThe bare rooted roses in pans of water to re-hydrate before plantingI dug holes in advance of the arrival of the roses in the area designated for the new rose gardenA view of the new rose garden just off of my back door patio area along the fenceRoses planted and area mulched…each rose now showing some green leavesAs the summer progressed each rose plant put on more growthA picture of the first bloom on one of the rose plants…“Munstead Wood”Success…green leaves and blooming roses!A more recent view of the rose garden…next year I hope the roses will fill in more
I keep white lights going in my backyard at night all year long. For the holiday season I added colored lights to make it more festive. Here are some daytime and evening pictures of my decorated backyard for Christmas 2020…starting with my fairy garden where I added hot pink bottlebrush trees.
The fairy garden at night!
Patio table white tree decorated with aqua blue snowflakes, icicles, feathered birds, white ball ornaments, and clear acrylic snowflakes.
The table top white tree at night with its white lights.
Looking out into the back yard…colored lights on the Crabapple Tree.
A beautiful display of colored lights forming a Christmas tree from the side of the Oak Tree.
Happy New Year Wishes! I took the month of December off from my blog. We had a lovely Christmas season…I decorated inside and out so to be surrounded by the beauty of Christmas. I will post some pictures of that as we move through January. For now just a few pics of our New Year snowfall…which started out as freezing rain then turned into the white stuff. There was no wind to shake off the snow from the trees so everything became a magical winter wonderland. Here is what it looked like in my back yard…
Looking out to the back yard…everything covered in a thick blanket of snow!
My vintage plate garden art with an additional element of snow art!
The table top Christmas tree laden with snow!
My lady garden statue is wearing her new winter snow hat and scarf!
The Japanese Maple Tree
The Crab Apple Tree
The crap apple tree looks like a frosted cupcake with the colored lights shining through the snow!
My Ikebana journey actually started in early February of this year (2020) when I traveled to Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids MI for a morning introductory class on Ikebana. After the class I asked the instructor for more information about continuing to learn Ikebana. She emailed me contact info for the Lansing Ikebana Chapter #134 (Michigan), and to an international Ikebana teacher and artist, Ilse Beunen, who lives and teaches in Belgium.
I contacted the Lansing Ikebana Chapter and was invited to attend their winter meeting later in February. I attended that meeting and joined the Chapter as well.
I contacted Ilse Beunen and found she has a regular e-newsletter which I signed up to receive.
Then COVID hit us all in mid-March…no more in-person Lansing Ikebana Chapter meetings and Ilse Beunen couldn’t teach in-person in her Belgium studio anymore. As a result ZOOM was added to our vocabulary and lives. My Chapter meetings through next year are Ikebana videos from the International Office and seen by the members in the comfort of our own homes. Ilse has learned to use Zoom to reach out to the world to teach Ikebana.
Through Ilse’s e-newsletter I learned she was offering a four-week session this past summer via Zoom on learning different Ikebana techniques and it would only be open to six participants. I signed up and got in! After the four weeks, the six participants were eager to continue so Ilse organized a 10-week Beginner’s Course of Sogetsu Ikebana for us…via Zoom…which began in late August. Sogetsu Ikebana is one of the four main Japanese Schools of Ikebana and there are a total of 110 lessons to complete the full course of study.
We have just completed our first 10-week course of lessons and we each have received our Certificate of Completion for Part One from Ilse! We all will admit, including Ilse, it has been both an interesting and challenging journey. Without Zoom none of us would be having this incredible opportunity to learn Ikebana from a renown and respected teacher such as Ilse. Yet learning to work with and communicate through the technology, in addition to learning the skills needed to do Ikebana correctly, has had its ups and downs. But we have made it through this first set of 10 lessons and are looking forward to starting up again in January for our next 10 lessons.
Here are pictures of my designs from the past couple months representing different basic techniques that all students of Sogetsu Ikebana must master. When I could I used floral materials from my own garden and I am including pictures of that as well.
Lesson #1 – Basic Upright Moribana (shallow vase) with left side orientation – Apple tree branches and store-bought roses
Lesson #2 – Basic Upright Moribana (shallow vase) with right-side orientation – Limelight Hydrangea and Rudbeckia from my late summer garden
Limelight Hydrangeas turning to a rosy pink as summer turns to fall
Rudbeckia growing tall along the side fence in the back yard
Lesson #3 – Basic Upright Nagerie (tall vase) with right-side orientation – Japanese Maple and Pink Mandevilla
Japanese Maple Tree highlighted by the setting autumn sun
Pink Mandevilla and Hibiscus growing in pots along the front porch
Lesson #4 – Basic Upright Nagerie (tall vase) Free-Style with left-side orientation – Limelight Hydrangeas and large Hosta leaves
Limelight Hydrangeas growing along the back fence in the back yard – large leaf Hostas growing behind and under the Limelight Hydrangeas
Ornamental Pumpkin Totem – used bottom ornamental pumpkin for my Fall Free-Style Nagerie
Lesson #5 – Fall Free-Style Upright Nagerie (tall vase incorporated in a large ornamental pumpkin) – Crab apple branches, brown chrysanthemums, ornamental grass tassels, and mini-pumpkins with vines – all from my garden
Fall Free-Style Nagerie adjusted after teacher’s comments to create a stronger “line” closer to the ornamental pumpkin vase
Four baby Boo Pumpkins plants planted next to the compost pile in a structure of tomato cages
Boo Pumpkin plants getting some growth on them
Four Boo Pumpkin vines now growing over my compost pile – I started these plants from seed in early Spring
Lesson #8 – Basic Slanted Nagerie (tall vase) with left-side orientation – Zebra Ornamental Grass and Knock-Out Roses from the garden
Knock-Out Roses still blooming in mid-November along the side of the house
Final Assignment… Thanksgiving tablescape with assignment to make a paper vase for flowers and use water tubes to hold seasonal flowers
12″ x12″ gold glittered ribbed cardstock folded in half and tied with cranberry satin ribbon bows – two water tubes inside the fold hold autumn-colored store-bought chrysanthemums
Since my post on Wednesday, September 30 about our decorated fall front porch, I have added a few new autumn touches.
After a trip to Van Atta’s Garden Center on Thursday, I brought home more ornamental pumpkins to create more decorative pumpkin totems. Also I purchased a mixed floral bunch during a grocery store visit and put them in the copper-colored container on the porch table. I added Limelight Hydrangea, Rudbeckia, a large orange Dahlia, and ornamental grass tassels from the back yard to fill in the arrangement.
When we visited the pumpkin roadside stand last Friday, I picked out five ornamental pumpkins. I stacked three of them to make a pumpkin totem for our back yard patio area. I also gathered flowers still in bloom in the back yard and filled an old galvanized watering can with these flowers to create a little autumn vignette with the three-pumpkin totem. The warted orange pumpkin is something David wanted…not quite my taste! The “warts” are a natural feature. They have become popular enough to be bred commercially for the purpose of making scary Jack-O-Lanterns.
I want to say something about the first three pictures below. Notice the light on the pumpkins and the floral arrangement. The sun was setting when I was taking these pictures and the sunlight was filtering through the back yard trees, casting a soft glow on the pumpkins and flowers. I must have taken a couple dozen pictures during a 10 minute time frame because the light was constantly changing as the sun was setting. After viewing all the pictures I decided the first ones I took were the best because the sunlight hit that yellow dahlia just right to make it pop. I found it to be a very interesting lesson on playing with light in photography!
The front porch has been in autumn mode for at least a couple weeks even though the warm summer weather has extended late into September. I am ready for the seasonal change! The latest autumn addition to the front porch are two gray-green ornamental pumpkins to compliment the green porch furniture and front door.
Three ornamental pumpkins stacked to create a totem in back patio area
Pumpkin totem paired with an arrangement of late summer blooms from the back yard
Setting sun adds its own magical light to this colorful arrangement…notice the grass plumes I placed in the watering can spout on the left to look like “water” streaming out
Front door scarecrow with vintage quilt hat
Table, chairs and wicker bench all decorated for fall
Gray-green ornamental pumpkins from our pumpkin roadside stand visit
Battery pillar outdoor candles with timer come on at night in the lanterns
Vintage linen table cloth with autumn colored cross-stitch design and maple leaf placemats
Cozy quilts and flannel in place for some cool night relaxing
