Mary Averill

“ Leaves growing in the shade gain luster, while the sunny side becomes lusterless; then the side of the leaf in the shade with luster is in and the duller side yo. Flowers shaded by another flower or leaf are also in. This may seem merely a poetic fancy, but much common-sense is back of these apparently whimsical ideas, and one finds that the turning of the leaves to different sides gives as much freshness and variety as turning the flowers in different directions. Applying such distinctions gives expression and feeling and helps in producing the effect of a growing plant. ”

“ The bamboo, in its simplicity of line and neutral color, makes a vase always charming but, alas! not practical in this country, where our steam heat at once causes it to split. But while vases made from solid pieces of bamboo cannot be used in this country, the beautiful baskets made in such variety of shape from bamboo reeds, with their color assuming the soft brown shades of mother earth, so perfect an offset for all the varied tints of the flowers, are entirely practical in any climate. ”

“ The colors of some flowers are considered unlucky. Red flowers, which are used at funerals, are undesirable not only for that reason, but also because red is supposed to suggest the red flames of a fire. An odd number of flowers is lucky, while even numbers are unlucky and therefore undesirable, and never used in flower arrangements. With the odd numbers one avoids symmetry and equal balance, which are actually seldom found in nature, and which from the Japanese standpoint are never attractive in art of any description. ”

“ The most popular schools of today, Ike-nobu, Enshiu-Ryu, Misho-Ryu, etc., adhere to these principles, but there still exist in Tokyo and Kyoto many masters of Ike-bana who teach the simpler forms of Ko-Ryu, and Ko Shin-Ryu of the Genroku and Tenmei ages. They feel that the rule of Heaven, Earth, and Man, too obstinately adhered to, gives constraint and spoils naturalness of arrangement. ”

“ Use perhaps nine grasses for your Heaven, seven for Man, and five or three for Earth. If you are unable to get any sedge or reeds, which would naturally grow at the water's edge, use the foliage of daffodils or narcissi, and you will find the result as pleasing as if you had used flowers. ”

“ There at the temple you arrange your flowers under the guidance of other priests, but when the compositions of the class are nearing completion, Ikenobu himself appears, to give the final verdict on every arrangement. After much bowing and drawing in of the breath, the entire class follows him about, stopping with him before each arrangement, in order to profit by the criticisms on the work of every pupil in the class. If you prefer, an instructor will be sent from the temple to your own residence, but he, of course, will be an understudy and no one so important as Ikenobu himself. ”

“ So many Japanese poets have sung of the willow, comparing its very long branches with long life, happy married life, etc., that it is frequently used for many celebrations and is a great favorite for an arrangement made at parting, the length of branch insuring a safe return from the longest journey, especially if one branch is made to form a complete circle.
For a house-warming white flowers are used, as they suggest water to quench a fire; fire being their constant dread, as in the construction of many houses everything but the roof is inflammable. ”

“ We, not so much from ignorance as lack of thought and time, take branches from trees where they have been growing in a horizontal position and place them in a vase in a perpendicular one, with the leaves standing up and facing to the front instead of flat and spreading as they grew. The Japanese have, of necessity, to let the main stick stand upright. In this position it forms the trunk of the tree, and the smaller twigs are twisted into the form of its branches, thus making a small branch of the tree appear as a whole diminutive tree. ”

“ Outside of Japan, where many meanings and symbolisms are attached to the sex of the style, it will not matter which arrangement you make, except for consideration of the space your flowers are to be placed in. When they are not to be placed in the center of a mantel-shelf or table but at one side, Earth should project towards the widest space, not towards the end. ”

“ The style of Nageire, after a long, hard struggle for existence as a dependent of Rikkwa, branched off, became independent and very popular. It was welcomed by the people of the sixteenth century for its freedom of line and natural beauty. So that while these two branches both started in the Higashiyama Age, Rikkwa better represents the taste of that time, while Nageire gives us a truer idea of the taste of the Momoyama Age. ”

“ Nageire or Ike-bana advanced rapidly in favor and developed great beauty of line. At this date the exponents of the art not only studied nature freely, but combined this knowledge with that of Rikkwa, the result bringing Ike-bana to a very perfect state of development. After Tenmei the purest and best taste in Ike-bana began to diminish and a formal and artificial form of arrangement came into existence. ”

“ A bit of moss on the tops of these stones, or a tiny bit of cedar or hemlock trimmed into a tree shape and put at the side of the tallest or Heaven rock, makes a charming arrangement when no flowers are to be had. ”

“ Heaven and Man will be made of the seasonable flowers, and only Earth may be of those blooming out of their time.
Flowers blooming out of season would never be chosen for a present by a Japanese nor used as decorations for an entertainment. In fact a Japanese never attaches any value to flowers or fruit forced out of their proper season; strawberries in January have no charms for him. In presenting flowers to a friend they always send them in buds, so that the friend may experience the pleasure of seeing the flowers open in his own home ”

“ The low, flat vases, more used in summer than winter, not only give variety in the form of receptacles, but, as with vines and hanging vases, make it possible to arrange plants of bulbous and water growth in natural positions. The standard vases are the most common, for in them all arrangements of flowers, except aquatics and creepers, are placed. They alone outnumber in beauty and variety all forms of our flower vases combined. ”

“ You could not better succeed in pleasing the Japanese than by happening on some form of holder never used by them. Before you commence remember that you are not merely trying to arrange a group of flowers suitable to the low vase, and which will appear well in it, but that you are endeavoring to represent the conditions in which the plant grew. Should the plant have been growing in or near the water in its natural habitat, make the flowers and leaves occupy the smaller part of the vase at side or corner and the water predominate. ”

“ In the case of the trees and shrubs which come into blossom before they leaf, as our cherry, the prominent parts of the arrangement, Heaven and Man, should be blossoms, and the leaves put in only for Earth. If it is an arrangement where attributes are used, make them of the leaves and have the three main principles of Heaven, Man, and Earth of the blossoms. ”

“ If the flowers have been given you and you are ignorant of their natural tendency, bear in mind that variety is one of your chief aims. If you have only three flowers, do not put the bud at the top, the half-open one for Man, and the full-blown for Earth; but if you start with a bud, mix up the flower forms in some way. ”

“ Not only in the grace and beauty of the lines achieved and in the strengthening of sense of proportion, but also in the quickening of observation of the natural growth of all plants and trees, and in the simplifying and improving of taste in all directions, I have gained so much that it makes me long to pass on to others what I have found so helpful. ”

“ When a flower by its form, or a leaf by the side presented, represents the masculine, it can be put in a more conspicuous place than a flower or leaf which is feminine—with the exception of buds, which, though feminine, must in most cases be placed in the top of the arrangement, as that is the natural way the plant grows. ”

“ THE Japanese are fond of applying a distinction of sex to inanimate things. They distinguish between male and female rocks and stones, male and female waterfalls, etc., and this same distinction is carried out in flower arrangement. All flowers and grasses in general belong to the in—female sex—while the trees belong to the yo or male. ”

“ Follow the nature of your flower's growth, and if it buds at the top have a half-open flower for Heaven, with a tiny bud above it. This bud should be free from leaves, as a bud or flower behind a leaf is always in.
The Man branch should almost always be made of the full-blown flower, unless the flowers are very large. In such cases, as the peony, always put the fullest blown flower in the lowest or Earth position. The peony is so heavy that a long stem would droop into bad shape with a fully opened flower, whereas the short stem of Earth will hold it in position. ”

“ A flower must always have a leaf near it. This is not only to enhance the beauty of the flower, but the leaf acts as a watersucker. Without the aid of a leaf a flower is incapable of getting enough water for its needs and soon withers. ”

“ In ancient times the rules for preserving flowers were completely withheld from the pupils. A master would sometimes reveal one rule or secret at a time to an advanced pupil, but it was impossible for any student to find out all the rules, unless in the case of the master's death, when to a favorite pupil would fall the honor of inheriting his name, his pupils, and his knowledge. ”

“ Quaint and mythical as these ideas appear, to them the beauty of line is due, and we cannot but doubt if the same results could ever have been achieved by commonplace thoughts.
The idea of good and evil fortune governs both selection of material and form of arrangement. ”

“ The Buddhist desire to preserve life lies at the root of the whole subject and has created most of the rules of flower arrangement, controlling also the shapes of the flower vases, which are so formed as to help to prolong the life of the flowers. ”

“ TREES are all yo, or masculine, so when they are arranged with anything else they must be above, while grasses and flowers, being feminine, can be put down in the lower parts of the arrangement. But when your vase is a hanging one, a many-sectioned vase or a double bucket, you may arrange grasses high and trees low. ”

“ The rest of us only show the tops of plants or just the flower itself in arranging flowers, while the Japanese show the whole growth from where the plant leaves the ground up to its tip. To determine the proper distance for which the branches should be kept together to form the parent stalk, until the eye has become trained in recognizing it, hold your hand about the stems as shown in the cut. ”

“ The Japanese have found that having the opening completely filled by the stems makes the water become foul and also allows no oxygen to enter the stems at their ends. The placing of the flowers one by one through the support, keeping the ends of the stems always an inch or two above the bottom of the vase, allows the flowers to suck up freely all the water they require, while the ends of our flowers are usually sealed by forcing the stems tightly against the bottom of the vase. ”

“ When the weather is exceptionally hot, this is the best way for preserving flowers, but when the weather is normal at this season, just to boil the ends of the stems until white, and then plunge them in very cold water, will have the same effect. Drugs are required only in extreme heat. Flowers and foliage must always be carefully protected from the steam while being boiled, then the cold water into which they are then put should be in a deep receptacle. ”

“ If the vase is square, hexagonal, or octagonal, place one of the angles in front and draw out the branches from the sides, not from the angles. But if the vase is a low square or parallelogram, one of the sides comes to the front and the branches are drawn from the angles.
Proportion of the Height of Flowers to
the Vase
If the vase is a foot high, the flower in it should be a foot and a half high, or once and a half the height of the vase. The height of a flower is measured from the top of Heaven to the water. ”

“ Last of all you bend the Earth branch, which like Man takes the lines of Heaven at the base for four inches. Hold Earth in your hand with the other two branches in order to get the base lines exactly right. The Japanese always first compose an arrangement in their hands before placing it in the vase. ”

“ But in these flat vases it is better to make a separation in the groups. Put your Heaven and Man in one opening of the holder, placing Man in front of Heaven, and Earth in an opening by itself, with at least one opening intervening between it and the Heaven group. This better represents the growth
of water plants in clumps or clusters. These lead rings were devised with the idea of leaving openings between the groups of flowers so that the gold fish, so frequently used with the water arrangements, could swim in and out beneath the cool shade of the leaves. ”

“ By natural outcome from the Buddhist desire to preserve animal life came the desire to preserve plant life. It thus came to be one of the occupations of the priests to arrange and care for those plants and flowers which were the most popular of all offerings to the gods. ”

“ When flowers blooming in season are arranged with flowers which have been forced into bloom in advance of or kept after their usual time of blossom, the seasonable flowers will always take the highest positions. ”

“ When you have finished placing the flowers in the vase, sit at a distance and carefully look your arrangement over. First observe the balance of the lines. The top of Heaven must be directly over its base and Earth must balance Man, though not on the same level. ”