As the Sogetsu School’s motto says, ikebana is for anytime, anywhere and by anyone. You don’t need a special alcove to display ikebana arrangement. Rather, you would like to enjoy beautiful arrangements near you in your daily life.
How much time do you spend sitting at the dining table? I guess, not only when you have meals, but maybe when you read newspapers, or you even work there. Why not accompany with you a little piece of beautiful flowers on the table?
Here are a couple of things you might want to keep in mind when you arrange flowers as a table centerpiece.
Height:
Assuming that several people will be sitting at the table and carrying conversation during the meal, you don’t want your centerpiece to be a distracting factor for your conversation. Make it short enough so that it doesn’t hide the face of the person sitting across the table. For that purpose, you might want to choose a flat container.
Direction:
If you are placing the piece against the wall, nobody will be poking the arrangement from the back, so you don’t have to worry about how it looks from the back. Not the case of a centerpiece. People will be looking at the piece from all different directions. You want to make sure that the piece looks nice from 360 degrees. When you arrange flowers, rotate the container occasionally and see if you have covered all the directions.
Scent:
You might be tempted to use that gorgeous lily you have just picked up from your garden, but wait! Its fragrance is so strong that it might clash or spoil your dinner you serve. For a table centerpiece, it is safe to avoid flowers with too strong fragrance.
With these three things in mind, let’s spruce up your dining table with flowers. Enjoy!