Showing posts with label Bignonia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bignonia. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The magnificent Bignonia

Arrangement # 103
Today I am enchanted by the popular climber,  bignonia ( Bignonia magnifica).
I have it grown over my aviary and is sure a vigorous climber.  When flowering and this happens very regularly, it produces big bell-shaped mauve-pink flowers.
Bignonia need to be planted in full sun and the sight of their flowers against the blue sky is indeed a joy to behold as often I sit by my verandah in the afternoon sipping my cup of  tea to the thought of its magnificence.
For all its splendour and rich colour i.e. both its flowers and its dark green leaves, I call this composition...
A Popular Splendour

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Bamboo Culm Compositions - 1

Early this morning I came across this beautiful yellow bambo clump. The golden yellow colour of the stem strikes me as something unique and of good presentational value.
Having cut one long stem from the clump, I then cut it into shorter lengths for use as a display container like below.
Arrangement # 80
I am pretty impressed by the gorgeous golden yellow colours of the bamboo culm and thought it needed some strong colours to match. The ones closest to where I was working were the bright red foliage of the Coryline terminalis or popularly known as 'Red Ti' in Hawaii, and some light purple blooms of bignonia.
The colours being strong and vibrant had much tension in them as they are placed together.
The upright character of the Red Ti seems to accentuate the dynamic tension between it and the drooping bignonia flowers. This calls for an immediate resolution.
I found the soft and mild green leaves of a fern nearby to be the saviour of theday.
Feeling resolved, I would like to call this composition....Dynamic Resolve.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Bowl of Creepers

Sunday morning ( 6 June) is normally a day of rest for me. But somehow this morning I feel energetic and would not waste the cool and cloudy early morning hours whiling away my time. I therefore decided to clear some woody climbers around the chalet that have become unruly and out of control. Two climbers became my target. First, the Bignonia ( Bignonia magnifica) which has mauve- pink flowers that are bell - shape. I had them planted over the bird's aviary which is located by the southern side of my chalet. It is a vigorous climber. The flowers are large and showy, but wilt immediately if plucked. This remains my morning challenge. How to keep them good all day?.

Next, the Maiden's Jealousy ( Tristellateia australasiae) which has just started to establish itself on a wooden pole nest to the huge yellow bamboo clump. The Maiden's Jealousy is a slender climber and thus very suitable for chain link fence, pergolas or trellis. Its small yellow flowers are arranged in pyramidal sprays. I love them because they are free flowering and regularly producing big yellow masses of colour

The mauve-pink colours of the Bignona are very compelling to me and always seems to catch my attention. I was thinking, how do you put interest into them ? First mauve- pink is close to purple in colour and the next thing I think of purple is ' purple heart'. Then , again yellow as in the 'Maiden's Jealousy' invoke the very strong emotions of jealousy. What if you combine the two emotions? How could they become interesting? Water always add interest, I thought. Why not mix them in water?. Without much ado, I immediately set my foot indoors to look for a bowl that could sufficiently accommodate a few petals of Bignonia and Maiden's Jealousy and Jasmine . Below is how it turned out to be. This view taken from top, shows a frangipani flower added for that special interest and symmetry and also to magnify the small white flowers of the Jasmine. Thirdly, the frangipani provides a lively contrast to the whole composition and a lot more fragrant.
Arangement#26

Below is the bowl in its first stage with the Bignonia flowers floating in it. This alone is already a finished piece,I thought. However on second thought, it may appear too plain. Therefore I decided to add other flowers at make a contrast of colours interesting.

Bignonias are believed to be originated from Colombia, but grows very well here too because we enjoy the same tropical climate and lots of sunny days. ..I name the completed piece... Bowl of Creepers.