YIN AND YANG IN FLOWERS & CONTAINERS

After a lengthy hiatus, I got back to Ikebana class this week. I was delighted to be in that setting again with the expectation only that I should create something beautiful. The selection of flowers was splendid.

Without haste, I acquainted myself with the plant materials. There were old favorites along with some new ones. I knew I would choose the unknown. The other choices weren’t so easy or so obvious.

Finally, bowing to the power of pink, I chose peonies and rhododendron for mass and color, and Iberia, commonly called candytuft, for line and more color. I used the spidery-like stems with tiny white seed pods to provide volume and create depth. These hints of lines in the air also provided contrast with the more substantial lines of the candytuft and peony. The yin and yang of it appealed to me.

In class, I chose a container of white and green with a hint of pink. The effect was soft and gentle, a harmoniously integrated whole.

At home, in a black container, the color contrast of the flowers was more apparent, the impact more dramatic. The yin and yang of this, too, appealed to me.