The Art of Flower Arranging

The art of flower arranging dates back to sixth-century Japan. There, the art Ikebana developed as a way to visually express faith and celebrate the natural beauty of flowers themselves. Today, Ikebana is still widely practiced as one of Japan's traditional arts, and while Ikebana masters have years of training, with a few helpful hints, you can bring the art of flower arranging into your own home, no matter where in the world it is.

Basic arrangements

Upright style: In this arrangement, flowers are placed in either a basin-shaped dish or a tall vase, and flowers are generally placed upright. Perhaps the simplest type of arrangement, the upright style applies even to a single flower in a vase.

Slanting style: In this arrangement, flowers are placed in either a basin-shaped dish or tall vase, but floral heads are placed to one side, while longer "slanted" branches or leafy stalks arc in the opposite direction.

Cascading style: In this arrangement, flowers are placed in a tall vase, and long, leafy stalks hang lower than the mouth of the vase.

Western interpretations

Of course, Ikebana is not the sole type of flower arranging; Western culture has developed an art of its own, arguably derived from Japanese concepts. While Ikebana focuses on arranging flowers asymmetrically to enhance empty space, many other arrangements are based on symmetrical shapes - oval-shaped arrangements, for example, are quite common. With any horizontal, vertical, triangular, oval, crescent, or freestanding arrangement, the tallest flowers are placed first to define the arrangement's shape. Smaller flowers are then filled in to complete the look.