Arcadia
•JUNES
In June a group of ladies from
Miyazaki, which is located on the
Southern coast of Japan, were invited
to visit our area and demonstrate their
traditional art form of flower arranging
called Ikebana, Sogetau. There are
many different styles of Ikebana;
Sogetau is the most contemporary. The
demonstration was held in the Cannon
Beach Chamber of Commerce building
and sponsored by Seaside's So'Wester
Garden Club. Beverly Terry from
Cannon Beach, a member of the club,
planned the program with her son,
Michial Indigo, and his partner Vance
Harper; both Americans living in
Miyazaki. There they have a travel
business that plans tours based on
special interests. Harper traveled with
the Japanese to act as their guide and
interpreter. Some of the women could
understand English but could not speak
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The members of the So'Wester
Garden Club, invited guests, and the
Cannon Beach Garden Club were
introduced to Mrs. Yokoyama and told
that she is considered a master of all
forms of Ikebana and creates flower
arrangements for hotels and other
businesses in Miyazaki and neighboring
tow ns.
After Mrs. Yokoyama demonstrated
the steps to follow in creating a Sogetau
flower arrangement, everyone was
invited to try their hands, working side
by side with the guidance of the ten
Japanese teachers.
The So'Wester Garden Club members
had supplied the material for the
demonstration. Gathered from their
gardens, roadsides and beaches were a
variety of flowers. To name a few —
poppies, iris, columbine, azaleas, foliage
of different shrubs and plants,
interesting branches of greyed
driftwood, kelp that had formed circles
when dried, moss from the forest, cat
tail leaves from the swamps and a
variety of containers such as tall vases
to flat dishes. It was explained that
Sogetau is a composition that also can
even be a collage with no plants.
The large chamber room was soon
filled with activity and even though
there was a language barrier, gestures
and busy hands together successfully
created a room full of floral
compositions from all the material
gathered. With nods of approval from
the Japanese teachers and a branch or
flower added or subtracted, at least
twenty or more finished Sogetau
arrangements were displayed. The
common denominator was the
appreciation of nature's gifts and the
enthusiasm of learning a new floral art
form which bonded the two cultures
together.
Later in the day Harper and the
Japanese women visited my garden.
Miyazaki's climate is sub-tropical but
we were amazed at the number of
plants growing in my garden which
also grow in their area. They were
familiar with Oriental poppies, Cosmos,
Azaleas, Lanaria, mint and fennel.--
In Japan Lanaria (common name
Money Plant) is grown as a symbol of
wished wealth. The round disks of the
dried flower are similar to one of their
coins. Since it reseeds so freely in my
yard and if this were so, I said, "I
should be a millionaire."
Harper explained my comment and
they replied that in Japan the land
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used for private homes and gardens is
very expensive and gardens such as
mine would probably be used for
growing vegetables. My whole garden
is only about one third of a 50' by 100'
lot but they made me appreciate the
area I have for a flower garden.
I was left with the desire to study
more about the styles of Ikebana and
other crafts the Japanese so artfully
create.
They had brought gifts they had
made. One consisted of 12 inch squares
of cotton that had been finely stitched
to form patterns of flowers, birds,
snowflake designs and fans. They dip
these designs in colored dye and when
the stitches are released the design
appears white against the color. Each
of the 50 or more they had made were
different. I showed them a few
American quilts I have collected and
made, we all wished we had more time
to share even more. They did have a
chance to tour art galleries and a few
more shops, and their day ended with a
very American dessert of strawberry
shortcake at Beverly Terry's home.
Their next stop was Portland's Rose
Parade; I'd like to have heard their
comments on it. They were so friendly
and polite and it was great fun to share
our different cultures.
OVER OTHER BACKYARD FENCES
South of Arcadia Beach is a lovely
garden built on a bank and designed to
use different plants that bloom in
shades of pink. Textures, height, and
continuous color throughout the
seasons were also planned. When I
was there a dense mat of pink flowered
Diascia cascaded down the bank
making quite a statement of color with
Claridge Druce cranesbill that was also
in bloom. At the top of the bank wild
Foxglove and Rosa Ragosa were planted
to bloom in June. Following these are
Daylilies. Their flowers are burgundy
edged in golds and bright yellows. The
pink-red Autumn Joy Sedium starts
showing its color in July and continues
to be brighter into fall before it
eventually turns a deep brown. Tall
grass of Penmustetum alopecuroides
and short grass Caudatum both bloom
pinkish-purple bottle brush-like
flowers in late summer into tall.
Earlier in the spring Helleborus fettesus
(Lenten Rose) blooms are pale green
edged in rose color. Along the north
side of the bank the designed
landscape melts into the forest with
drifts of native ferns and Alder trees.
The whole bank is a contrast of texture
and shades of pinks and greens so
thoughtfully planned. I hope to go
back in the fall to see the grasses
bloom.
Over at Dan Elek's house, he and his
family built a small garden for their
son's Box Turtles' daytime supervised
recreation. The garden is bordered by
large rocks to encompass a boggy area.
All the plants are native ferns, moss,
marsh grass and Skunk cabbage.
Watching the turtles investigate their
garden one wonders if they feel a sense
of freedom as they slowly weave
through the swamp grass and other
vegetation and find their way to the
watery area where they slide into
shallow water to settle down for the
day.
Advice from my mistakes: I was
faced with having to prune back a
leggy Rhododendron that I had let
grow to about 8' high. Rhododendrons
should be pruned just after flowering.
For best results one should only prune
1/3 of its branches a year. "To prune
Rhododendrons you cut back to a side
branch, leaf whorl, or ring of dormant
leaf buds (marked by tiny nubbins on
the bark where leaves once grew).
Dormant buds grow within a month on
smaller limbs, or within 10 weeks on
tall main trunks. Then give the
Rhododendron an application of
fertilizer containing only nitrogen and
phosphorus (such as 16-20-0) at the
time of pruning. This stimulates new
growth." -- Sunset Gardener's Answer
Book.
It is best to prune Rhododendrons
before July 10th, to give the plant a
chance to grow new leaves before fall.
Please send your gardening
experiences, comments or questions
about coastal gardening to:
June's Garden
PO Box 74
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
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