Designing Ikebana Floral Arrangements

The term Ikebana refers to Japanese flower arranging. It literally means "living flowers." It is the art of arranging flowers in a very simplistic, but highly disciplined manner. Ikebana uses flowers sparingly and is highly formalized. Ikebana is one of the best examples of the importance of and emphasis on symbolism, both in Japanese culture and Japanese gardening.

The placement and spatial relationship between elements of the Ikebana floral design play an important role in the arrangement. The relationships between the elements are meant to reflect the order of nature and the relative positions of earth, man and heaven in the scheme of things. To effectively express the symbolism, the use of flowers, foliage, branches, and mosses are rigidly assigned.