20/09/2026
Periodically, it’s good to go back to first principles and today, in the workshop our technical class was all about the importance of space in design and how to use it in order to allow each ingredient to stand out and it’s individual beauty to be seen. We discussed space within an arrangement, positive space, negative space, connecting space and the relevance of where to place an arrangement. We looked briefly at the art of placing stems in Ikebana, their angles and meaning, the philosophy and mindfulness. Our guests made a small Ikebana design in Chinese rice bowls to clear their thoughts and calm their mind before embarking on a larger design.
After they had left, I photographed my own bowl, which began as my Ikebana demonstration with the green raspberry leaf representing heaven, humanity and earth before I tuned it into something else with the addition of cotinus, dahlias and daucus and just as I was locking up the changing leaves on the candensis in the garden caught my eye as they inadvertently emulated the colour palette which I’d chosen for my bowl.
Although I continue to make bowls of flowers to practice and play, they rarely make it onto these squares these days as little images such as these don’t seem to have the impact that they once did. Mountains of flowers in opulent settings are the only things which illicit a like. AI content, even more so.
After 11 years this very month of designing with flowers the impact of a few carefully chosen stems, arranged artfully still makes my heart skip a beat and is more impactful on my senses than mounds of domed flowers without room to breathe.
Floral workshop ayrshire florist dahlia season
