Easter Ikebana

Easter. I have such fond memories of the day from when I was a child. Having Easter egg hunts in the yard, falling down the little hill beside the house and all of my goodies falling out of my basket and other kids rushing to take them, picnics at the lake, the joy of finding the eggs with a quarter in it, dying eggs with my mom, going to church, grandma's Easter bunny cake with coconut and jellybeans, and of course, all of the chocolate to be had! It was always a fun day filled with family that I looked to every year.

Here in Japan, Easter is just another day. The country is not a Christian country, so no one really knows about the day. But I think if the Japanese knew how "cute" a holiday it can be -- bunnies, baby chicks, flowers, eggs, chocolate -- they would be celebrating it every year. Lot's of holidays from other countries are observed here, like Halloween and Christmas. Of course, with Christmas, it is just about the decorations and presents for children, but I think Easter would be a big hit here, too. The Japanese love any kind of "cute" they can get their hands on! Anyway . . .

Here's an arrangement I did that would be perfect for Easter. I used bright yellow and pink flowers with a base of green to unify the arrangement. It is in the Circular Form, so it can be viewed from any side, even from the top. A circular form arrangement is a recent form, recent being in the last 20 years, and it is perfect for a western-style home, because it can be placed on a table and enjoyed by everyone sitting around the table.

Circular form viewed from the front. I used five stems of Gerbera Daisy, three stems of pink Sweet Pea, three stems of Solidaster, and three small fronds of Leatherleaf fern.

View from above. Can you see the circular motion of the flowers. The gerbera daisy are the main flowers of the arrangement which set the circular motion in action. The green leatherleaf fern is the base of the arrangement. The leatherleaf fern is also placed in a spinning motion to help with the circular form. I cut the three stems of sweet pea and placed them throughout the arrangement for color and texture.

The view from the right. The white of the container can feel very heavy, so the green of the leaves are placed over the edge to help cover up some of the white.

The back side of the arrangement. Being the back, it's not the nicest looking, but is still pleasing to the eye. The gerbera daisy in the front of the picture is actually the main flower of the arrangement, so it is also the longest stem in the arrangement.

The left side of the arrangement. Green is also placed over the edge to help weaken the strength of the container.

You can also see different heights in the arrangement. This gives the arrangement some added depth and makes it more interesting. You can also see the different heights of the gerbera daisy. The gerbera in the forefront is the shortest, with the length of the stems getting longer as they spin in the arrangement. This is the Spiral Circular Form, a slight variation of the Circular Form. 

View from the front, slightly from above. Here you can also see how the main gerbera daisies gradually extend up into the air and how the length of the gerbera daisies gets longer as the daisies spin up into the air.

If I had some Easter eggs, I would have hidden some amongst the flowers and greenery. I think the bright colors go well with Easter, and the arrangement also works for a western-style home. East meets west in a pleasing form and brings some happiness wherever the arrangement is placed.

Feel free to leave any comments or Easter memories in the comment section.

Happy Easter!