Freesia, Solomon's seal, Clematis, White dead-nettle,
Warty-cabbage, Dog violet, Water avens, Lilly of the valley.
Warty-cabbage, Dog violet, Water avens, Lilly of the valley.
Working with many different kinds of flowers can be a quite difficult. In the Sogetsu school it is more common to concentrate on two or three materials and let them contrast each other. In summer and autumn arrangements however, you will often find five or more materials arranged in a natural and casual way - as too look like flowers growing in a field or a meadow. This style is called Maze-zashi and is very popular in Japan. In this contemporary Maze-zashi in three glass vases I have combined mostly white and blue colours and added a touch of yellow and pink. The main structure is slanting lines to the left, contrasted with one line going in the opposite direction. These lines are the Freesia and the Solomon's seal.
There is a total of eight different kinds of flowers, which is a bit unusual as one normally avoids equal numbers. The challenge is to keep it balanced and harmonious even when there is a lot going on. Being a summer arrangement, this Maze-zashi is meant to have a cooling and relaxing effect to a warm room. The use of transparent glass vases as well as mirrors helps bringing this effect out.