The Beauty of Ikebana

By Barbara Geehan
Contributing Writer

You will never look at your yard the same way again. And it is because you can make those broken branches and weedy leaves stunningly beautiful through Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement.

Now, I have to confess that even though I love flowers and attempt to grow a cutting garden every year, I am pretty sure I do not have a very green thumb. But my favorite exhibit at the annual St. Mary’s County Fair is the Flower Building; and with the fair coming up Sept. 20-23, I wanted to learn more about flower arranging and, in particular, Ikebana.

The art began hundreds of years ago when offerings were placed in Buddhist temples. Ikebana has rules (which must be strictly followed) that set the measure of the length of each stem. It also emphasizes other parts of the flower than just the bloom itself, such as leaves and dried stems. You also must take into account depth, structure, shadows and lines.

My Ikebana teacher was Judy Roa. I spent a marvelous morning recently at her home in Hollywood. Mrs. Roa has been perfecting her knowledge of Ikebana for over 40 years, and runs an Ikebana school here. She has been a member of the St. Mary’s County Garden Club since the 1960s.

“It is a passion of mine,” she admits, as she describes trips around the world, including one to Japan to visit her headmaster. “Gardening is the best therapy in the world, and Ikebana is the best therapist in the world. It relieves all your stress.”

She follows Ichiyo, a modern school of Ikebana, where there is a lot of free style. But you must learn the basics first.

On this day, she had buckets of flowers, piles of branches, and a collection of leaves, all mostly harvested from her yard. Her first example used thin dried branches in a vase that created a fanciful fence. She then trimmed lilies under water, a tip for all of us. Always, she says, cut the stems under water. The water was actually a hydrating solution to get rid of bacteria and a nutrient solution to feed the bloom. The lilies were carefully positioned through the branches.

“I can concentrate on this and forget about other cares,” she tells me. “There is so much satisfaction.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sidh2iWf92w]

My favorite arrangement was inspired by the “I Love Lucy” television show, one of the categories at the upcoming fair’s flower show. She pushed yucca stems onto a kenzan, a small metal container with metal pins. She then blew softly into deep red roses to open the petals and then pushed the blooms onto the kenzan.

I watched from the back as she explained technique, how one must keep an eye on depth, shadow, lengths and a goal of minimalism. Just a few pieces make an eye-popping arrangement.

I am not convinced I would feel as stress-free as she appears if I were wrangling tough branches and fragile blooms into place to make lovely art. But I am interested in pursuing some classes at her school, the Ichiyo School of Ikebana. Two of her students have received their primary certificates from the Ichiyo School of Ikebana. To contact her, write to [email protected], or call 301-373-5356. She likes group lessons because, she says, we all learn from each other.

The county fair is put on annually by volunteers. Exhibit buildings open at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, right after judging, and Mrs. Roa tells us that that is the best time to see the flower show. This year, the St. Mary’s Garden Club has chosen “Prime Time, A Floral Romp through TV Land” as the theme of the show. Go to www.smcfair.somd.com for more details.