IKEBANA DREAMING

I live in Bend, Oregon, perhaps one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It sits at the base of towering Mt. Bachelor and the Thre...

Alstroemeria is that humble bloom that can save the day in ikebana. It’s so easy, you feel like a pro, so abundant and affordable, it’s a...

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. -- Shunryu Suzuki I was a little awestruck w...

I’m a swimmer and a fan of the writer Bonnie Tsui. She loves swimming and writes about it often and eloquently. In a recent article, she ...

Perhaps the tulip is the only earthly bloom that boasts a Golden Age. Yes, Tulipmania was really a thing. There was a time in the 17th ce...

The poet must not avert his eyes. - Werner Herzog In an ikebana class, we students were once asked to pick an emotion -- anger, sadness,...

Say what? Following is a simple translation: KARUKAYA – a reed (Themeda triandra var. japonica, a variety of kangaroo grass) HASHIRAKAKE ...

Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry. -- William Butler Yeats And so it begi...

You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils.... Alain de Botton It's that time. Can we all agree?...

Let's continue the deconstruction of an arrangement from an earlier post that illustrates nageire, a style of arrangement featuring a tal...

Forsythia is uniquely suited to ikebana. Its long, meandering branches create an elegant line for shin or soe (main stems). The blazing ...

I've been away awhile, and by that I mean from ikebana. It's been winter and in Central Oregon the flowers and flora burrow deep and slum...

Sogetsu Portland hosted The Radiance of Autumn, an ikebana exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden on October 26-27. The show was a micro...

Did you know you can purchase ikebana vases and accessories here at Ikebana Dreaming? Just click on the SHOP link above to find a great s...

I've organized an Ikebana Meetup here in Bend, OR. If you live nearby, please join us! We gather once a month. Most members have had litt...

Ready for freestyle? You've finally figured out the difference between Soe and Shin. You've honed your mathematical skills, angling stems...

Perhaps you think Ikebana is only for the demur, gentle, artistic soul. Perhaps you picture a beautiful, young woman with long fingers, a...

Consider the Fortnight Lily, whose long, languid, Ikebana-friendly stems and leaves are shown in the horizontal arrangement below. Also ...

The kenzan, which literally means sword mountain, is one of the first tools you'll learn to use in Ikebana. It's typically introduced in ...

Someone should write an ode to the Lisianthus. Sometimes called Eustoma or just Lizzy, it boasts an abundance of desirable qualities. Its...