It's spring in Sydney and time to try my hand at Ikebana using the beautiful vase I was given last year.
In my garden I have inherited a lopsided white rose in a pot, a stand of parsley plants, furiously flowering, an African daisy that brings me out in a rash, a kind of tiger lily, an unknown blossoming shrub, a curious spreading succulent, an aloe plant, masses of clivia and an impressive array of amaryllis (or hippeastra), which looked exceedingly phallic until recently when they began to flower. Courtesy of the neighbours I enjoy an old frangipani tree, an umbrella tree, and a climber with a yellow flower, possibly carolina jessamine.
To suit my own tastes I've installed two lavender bushes (one front and one back), some lamb's ear or stacchys (so gorgeous to touch!) and a NSW native flannel flower. And I've added a climber of my own on a bare bit of fence: a potato vine.