Tag: peony

Peony Ikebana feat. Forest Decor

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When Forest Decor reached out to me about a collaboration, I admit I was a bit stumped (pun absolutely intended). Their products are lovely, but not exactly in my realm of expertise. I was about to thank them politely for the offer but refuse when I saw this raw edge three-candle holder and my brain reimagined it as a vessel for ikebana with the help of this set of three tiny kenzan!

My original intention was doing a much more structured arrangement with one flower in each hole, in an ascending diagonal, but then I found these gorgeous, blousy, riotous peonies and knew that order and rigidity were not the way to go. In the end the uneven natural chaos of the flowers is much more complimentary to the raw edge of the olive-wood used for the holder, and I’m very happy I “listened” to the flowers instead of fighting nature and forcing the whole ikebana into something it didn’t want to be.

The only issue (such as it is) with using this gorgeous piece as a vessel is that the holes are very tiny and don’t hold much water, so it’s a very ephemeral arrangement. But peonies are very ephemeral blooms, so it all worked out in the end.

 I received this item from the retailer or manufacturer for honest review purposes.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me. 

Silk Peony Ikebana

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Last year, I made an origami ikebana arrangement as a gift for a friend. This year, I wanted to make something for my aunt that would coordinate with her decor and last a long time.

Everything here came from Michaels. I started with the gorgeous, bold red peony that I knew would be the focal point of the whole arrangement. Typically I’m not a huge fan of faux greenery, but these monstera leaves had way more substance and punch than most fake foliage, and since real monstera leaves are quite shiny and waxy anyway, these look much more realistic than most. All I needed after that was a something with height and airiness to balance the earthy, heavy quality of the flower and leaves. My father actually found these very thin branches with pretty silver beads on them that work as the perfect finishing touch.

Of course, I needed some sort of vessel, and I spent a fair bit of time rummaging around in a few different aisles until I found this one and fell in love with it. It’s an almost-perfect match for my aunt’s wall colours so I knew it would coordinate well and while it’s simple enough not to compete with the flower, the bit of texture makes it very earthy and interesting.

Typically, ikebana needs to be done with live, fresh, seasonal flowers. However, there are always acceptable reasons to deviate from the norm. Overall, I think for a silk flower arrangement this was very successful. And my aunt seemed to like it, which is the important part!

Lush Peony Ikebana

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It’s been incredibly hot and muggy and rainy out here lately. While it’s not particularly fun for me it’s been fantastic for the garden! I managed to catch this vivid pink peony at the ideal time; it’s blousy and open without a hint of decay on it yet. I knew I wanted to balance it out with some foliage, and decided to keep it all to things I could get from the garden. The hosta leaves provide a sense of grounding, and the little white flowers feel sweet and fresh. I will be honest, I don’t know what they are. The vessel is one I found at a thrift shop a few weeks back, and felt cool and refreshing, perfect for a heady, humid arrangement.

Royal blue tsukesage/houmongi with kiku and botan

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I found this beauty on eBay, and was initially drawn to it because of its length – a whopping 69 inches or 175 centimetres. At my height, finding long kimono is always exciting. The thumbnail makes it look quite odd – almost unfinished, like there are just big white blobs on a blue surface, and I think this worked in my favour, because nobody else bid on it.

Up close, however, the white “blobs” are incredibly soft, delicate botan with gentle pearly grey shading and gold centres, and then these interesting solid white kiku. They are definitely hand-painted with white and grey dye, not unfinished. The contrast, though, gives the kimono a very bold, modern look while still being soft and girly.

I absolutely can’t wait to wear this, I am thinking of pairing it up with the gold and white obi from this bundle. It will be nice to have both a kimono and an obi that fit me very well and don’t require fussing and fidgeting all evening 😉

Blue with White Floral