Japanese flower arrangement/Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FLOWERS IN HANGING RECEPTACLES
VINES of all varieties should be placed in hanging vases, as the nature of their growth can be shown to better advantage in this way. A vine in an upright position is very unnatural, but in a hanging vase it can fall over the edge as though it were creeping over a rock or clinging to the side of a hill. Only the short and unimportant ends are allowed to go upright.
Arrangements are made in hanging vases according to the same principles of Heaven, Man, and Earth. Heaven is still the longest branch or spray, only in these receptacles it hangs down instead of standing upright. This is because the character of vines is to droop, and Heaven, the most important element of the group in flower arrangements, must always indicate in its lines the natural growth of the plant.
Flowers in Hanging Receptacles
Arrangement of Morning Glories in Hanging Vase
This shows a Hanging Arrangement in which the Heaven
is Upright, an exception to the general rule, owing to
the natural growth of plant
Hooked Vase
Out-going Boat
Standard Arrangement
Incoming or Boat of Good Fortune
Sitting Boat going
Hanging Bloom
Morning Glories in Hanging Boat
Sitting Boat at Anchor
Boat Bow on with Iris
One of the most popular and beautiful of the hanging arrangements is that done in a crescent-shaped vase so as to show the date of the month. The first day of the month starts with a long streamer hanging out in front on the left-hand side, as shown in the illustration. This streamer is shortened each day until the tenth of the month, when a new long streamer is put in at the back and there shortened each day until the twentieth, when the streamer again comes to the front; but for the last ten days it is at the right-hand side.
The boat in its various forms has been so perfectly described by Mr. Conder that only a few examples of it are given here.
Tree branches are also used in hanging vases. Trees being of higher growth than flowers and shrubs, it is proper that they should be placed high.
When on the vase itself there are decorations of flowers or a poem, the sprays arranged in it should be so placed as to hide none of the decorations. The nail on which the hanging vase is hung must be halfway between the ceiling and floor. The longest streamer must stop within three inches of the floor.
