Blooming Mondays: Valentines

I was so excited for the warm weekend weather in Kyushu. It felt like spring! Then Monday rolled around and the weather dropped – typical. I hope everyone had a good Valentines Day/Singles Awareness Day. Here is my “after” valentines arrangement that reminds me of the coming spring.

Flowers

So this week I used: pink cherry blossom (sakura) branches, blue iris, hypericum perforatum (i.e. St. John’s Wort), pine, and a branch of yellow-orange berries.

First Attempt

This was the first time using large sakura branches. The teacher came around and showed me how cut the first branches and where I might put them. She showed me how to make sharp angular cuts to groups of long leaves (featured on the right side of the arrangement). I still have trouble making those types of cuts.

My biggest trouble was balancing the back of the front of the arrangement. I wasn’t sure get more weight to the back. I ended up placing another sakura branch on the side, but gave up on filling the back.

I did get some praise from the teacher before she made her changes. 1. I had the right idea for the arrangement but it stood up too straight. 2. I placed the pine well along the bottom to block the view of the kenzan. 3. Though odd it was okay for my to place the irises closer together as it gave the sense of one big iris. 4. I made a decent cut on the leaning sakura branch.

I should have followed me gut and place the last sakura branch in the back of the arrangement.