Floral Fixation: The Sweat and Tears Behind the Bouquet

I always thought of flower arranging as picking a bunch of different types of flowers at random, tossing them into a vase, then fiddling around with them until they look nice. Of course there had to be skill behind the process, but I never imagined it could be so intricate. For some, flower arranging is an art, for others a meditative hobby – but for most, I’d argue, it’s a big old waste of time.

Perhaps I just lack the patience. The class I attended specializes in ikenobo, an age-old Japanese flower arranging technique. I peered into the bucket our teacher had prepped for us and saw a pile of wooden branches with small furry buds. This wasn’t at all what I’d had in mind.

When she began lecturing about how I must point certain flowers in the direction of the sun, moon and earth, I couldn’t help but feel very lost. My anxiety only intensified once I took a glance around the room. Everyone else seemed to be a regular! My classmates all appeared focused and relaxed, solemnly moving about as if they were embarking on some kind of spiritual journey.

I started with one of the most basic arrangements, using four wooden branches, three sets of roses and a couple leafy twigs. At the bottom of the flower pot there was a block of green floral foam to hold the flowers in place.

I felt my confusion mounting. Where was the big vase to plop everything into? With just a handful of flowers to work with, you’d think it would be so simple to group everything together. But I had to press hard to make sure each stem was securely fastened – more onerous than it sounds. My strength wasn’t sufficient to keep the flowers in place. My sticks refused to curve in the way they were supposed to. Or to face the sun.

When my teacher came by, she clicked her tongue in disapproval and, in a matter of minutes, redid the entire thing and made it look presentable. I left feeling just as lost as when I’d first arrived, only more disheartened. The good news is, if you can’t perfect your practice, you can just buy a pre-arranged bouquet at a store nearby. For now, I’m still trying to work out how such an arduous activity is supposed to keep you feeling so zen.

Sign up for an ikenobo class at 186 1138 3656 or ikenobo-beijing@ hotmail.com.

Click here to see the March issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Judy Zhou