s arrangement are spare and strive for a natural look. The winter arrangement in the image gallery is nageire.
The kensan sika style was developed in the fifteenth century from the rigid, formal rikka arrangements. The kensan is centered in a bowl, and the plant material rises from it out of the water as though from a single stem. The stem clears the rim of the bowl by several inches before branching outward. This style shows off the lush summer herbs in the image gallery to good effect.
Chabana (“tea flowers”) arrangements enhance the formal, ritualized Japanese tea ceremony. Although this style has few rules, the arrangement must be austere and simple, and bending or cutting the material is considered improper. Because tall containers are used, it is considered an offshoot of the nageire style. A spring chabana arrangement is shown at the top of this article.
Sheron Buchele has been growing herbs for more than thirty years and has created more than ninety herb-based products for Fox Ryde Gardens. She and her partner, Curtis Rowland, sell their wares at farmers’ markets and craft fairs in Northern Colorado, and online at www.foxryde.com
Ikebana International Headquarters
CPO Box 1262
Tokyo, 100-91 Japan
San Francisco Bay Chapter
of Ikebana International
Hall of Flowers Golden Gate Park
9th Ave. and Lincoln Way
San Francisco, CA 91422
580 N. 6th St.
San Jose, CA 95112