FLOWERING CURRANT, BLACK IRIS
MARCH
Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum 'White Icicle')
Golden bells (Forsythia)
Large cupped daffodil (Narcissus 'Mount Hood')
Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis 'Iced Lime')
Moss (Hypnum cupressiforme)
Widow iris (Hermodactylus tuberosus)
Low ceramic dish in a speckled grey glaze
Triangular kenzan (pinholder)
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. The 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.
