He is so adorable

What does the Ikebana have to do with this cute little boy. Are they related?
Oh, yes! These Ikebana materials were collected from his home during my stay in my daughter's house taking care of him for a week, while his parents and sister (3 years old) went to Disney World for a meeting and vacation. So we, the grandparents and grandson, had so much fun and quality time together. He is such a cute one year old boy. I am posting this picture proudly to share with you.

A piece of wood panel, front and back. (9"5x13"5 )
Hurricane Irene damaged a big hollow tree on my daughter's neighbor's front yard. I asked the worker who was cutting the tree for this interesting piece of wood, thinking that I can use it for Ikebana. Below is my arrangement. The beautiful Azalea branches were from my daughter's garden. You can turn the lazy Susan base to view it all around.

Orchids in October

Miltassia" Spider orchid" name unknown. Vigorous and easy to flower. (9 flowers in total)

It's mid October now, and the weather is getting colder. It's time to bring all my "vacation site" orchids back into the house. Before I do, I have to check and clean each one of them. I was surprised to find that many orchids have been in spike or in sheath already.

Onc. papilio Mendenhall " Hildos"
I posted this orchid in August. After I enjoyed its beauty for about a month, it faded and fell off, but another bud started to form, and it's in full bloom now. I wonder how many flowers will bloom in this stem?

Four Different Styles of Arrangement

We didn't have any class all of September. It happened that I had these beautiful flowers, so I felt the urge to do some arrangements using them. Here are the four different styles.

Naked weeping pine branches (I stripped all the pine needles), St. John's-wort and roses.

Trimmed azalea branch and sunflowers

Willow, pine, and chrysanthemums

Abstract design- rose( in tube) and broken leave

"Summer Laborers" Abstract Design incorporating garden tools

This is our MWGC member Jeremy's design which I liked the most. The meeting was held 9/28/2011. I didn't like my arrangement so I redesigned it at home (below). I don't know if it's abstract or not?