What is Ikebana? The Japanese Art of Flower Arrangement

What is Ikebana? The Japanese Art of Flower Arrangement Originating from Japan, Ikebana is an ancient art style dedicated to achieving balance and harmony in flower arrangements. At its core, Ikebana focuses not only on the flowers of a plant, but the balance between the stems, branches and shape of plant material to compliment any floral additions. Placement / Arranging Placement is the essential component in the...

Ikebana: Simple Guidelines for Creating your Own Arrangement.

Ikebana: Simple Guidelines for Creating your Own Arrangement. General Principles Subject The first stem you add to the arrangement is typically the subject, and the one in which the other pieces will use as the anchor for the arrangement. Most often, this piece will also be the longest in the arrangement. Object The object is the piece that draws your eye immediately. Viewers of your arrangement will notice this...

Branch Arrangement: 2 Tips on Pushing back growth

Making your bonsai tree look full can be difficult sometimes when it seems like you do not have enough foliage to work with. Below are two tips that may help you next time your looking to push back growth toward the trunk. 1. Wire a branch or trunk with the appropriate size wire. Bend or curl the branches back towards the trunk and use the outside foliage as inner branches. By doing this, you can create some unique...

Bonsai Wire: Copper Wire vs. Aluminum Wire

When choosing which wire to use for wiring your bonsai tree, the decision to choose between copper or aluminum usually arises. We’ve outlined some of the basic pros and cons of each below. Hopefully it will give you some guidance in choosing which type of bonsai wire to use on your tree. Copper wire is typically stronger than aluminum, meaning you will be able to hold a thicker branch with a smaller diameter...

Creating a Bonsai Tree from Scratch

Creating a bonsai tree is something everybody can do.  However, it requires  a good understanding of a few techniques and fundamentals before you can start designing your own.  Below are some quick tips for helping you along the way. We’ll post more detailed articles on each technique as well over time. Wiring is probably the most important technique that you will need to learn before you start designing...