Flowers for the everyday warlord

There's an abundance of flowers around us in Melbourne. So there’s every excuse to start making flowers part of your everyday life.

The samurai did, and they were tough katana-wielding warlords living every second with the fear of death. So there's nothing saying laptop-wielding business men facing business meetings are too macho for flowers.

Arranging flowers in the tea ceremony or 'cha-bana' （茶花）does not require extensiv

e, sophisticated knowledge. Follow the five points and advice taken from the book ‘Hibi goyudan naki you’ (日々ごゆだんなきよう) written by Ueda Sokei, the 16th Grandmaster of the Ueda Soko Tradition of Japanese Tea Ceremony, and bring the vitality of flowers into your home and office:

Appreciate the vitality of flowers

- You can appreciate the life force of things through a single flower -

Take a flower, and display it on the alcove. If you house doesn't have an alcove, select a significant spot in which to place flowers. You'll find that just by displaying flowers, the atmosphere of the room changes dramatically. As natural light filters inside and caresses the flowers, the flowers emanate the vibrancy of life itself. And with this life-force present, the room steeps in vibrant energy.
When arranging flowers, you don't need to get stuck in form and convention. All you need do is arrange one or two types of flowers according to your taste.
By following these basic points you’ll create beautiful arrangements:

• Bunch the stems together, and place flowers in a vase as they would appear in nature
• Lean the flowers to the front of the vase
• Use a vase that is around the same height as the flowers
• Flowers emanate vivacity if they have droplets of water on them as if morning dew (Do this by shaking a tea whisk dipped in water towards the flowers, or a pastry brush etc. will work, too)
• Use good scissors that will make a clean cut when taking a flower. Also, endeavor to gather flowers in the mornings and place them in water straight away. If flowers can uptake water well, they will last in a fresh, vibrant state for longer. "

Just to prove this formula works, take a look at the few quick arrangements from the weekend included in this post.

花の命を味わいましょう

効能　一輪の花で命のエネルギーを味わう

花をいけて、床の間に飾ります。床の間がない家では，自分で大切と思える場所を含めて決めて飾りましょう。それだけで、部屋の気配ががらっと変わります。自然に差し込む光に照らされて、花は生

命そのものの気を発します。ひとつの命がそこに置かれることによって、部屋全体が生き生きとしてくるのです。

花をいけるときには、型や約束事を意識する必要はありません。一種類は二種類の花を、自分がいけたいようにいけましょう。
以下のポイントを踏まえると、きれいにいけられます。

• 根本をひとつにまとめ、自然に入れる。
• 少し前方に傾ける
• 花の高さの目安は、高くても花入れと同寸くらいにする
• 朝露を含んだように、葉っぱや花が水にぬれていると清々しい
• 花を切るときは、切れ味のよいハサミを使い、出来るだけ朝早く取り、水揚げをする。

水をよく吸い上げると、花のみずみずしさが長持ちです。

日々ごゆだんなきよう