Lan Su Chinese Garden to Host Floral Design Showcase

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

GoLocalPDX Lifestyle Team

Louisa Lam; courtesy Lan Su Chinese Garden

If you’re interested in seeing the best flowers and floral arrangements the Pacific Northwest has to offer, check out the Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase at the L an Su Chinese Garden this weekend.

25 of the most accomplished floral designers in the Pacific Northwest, including designers from Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and British Columbia will face off head-to-head (or floral-arrangement-to-floral-arrangement) at the second annual Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase, held this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The competition will test the creative imaginations of these artists as they create unique and impressive displays, all featuring the chrysanthemum, one of the most significant flowers in Chinese culture.

The showcase will also include series of floral art demonstrations by Louisa Lam, a Vancouver, Canada-based designer and floral educator.

There will also be an Preview Party on November 6, the event’s opening night. Visitors will have the chance to meet the designers and enjoy a beautiful evening in the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Featured designer Louisa Lam will create a display live before guests’ eyes and live music tasty desserts will be on hand.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets for the event or the opening night festivities, visit the Lan Su Garden website.

Related Slideshow: Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arranging In 10 Steps

Ikebana, the ancient art of Japanese flower arranging, is all about less. Less is more. Here are 10 steps to help you create the perfect arrangement.

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1.

The process is just as important as the end product. Put on some relaxing music, breathe deeply and spend time with the intricacy of each branch and leaf in your arrangement.

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2.

Arrangements should use three stems, all of differing sizes.

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3.

When designing your arrangement, look to your organic material for inspiration but dig into your depths to find a beautiful memory or passion within. Ikebana is about capturing a specific landscape or a single moment in nature, just like a haiku.

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4.

The tallest should stand upright and represent the heavens (shin). The medium length represents man (soe). The shortest represents the earth (hikae). One should also consider what altitude each plant specimen comes from. A flower that grows in the mountains should be placed above a branch that grows in a lowland prairie.

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5.

You are free to incorporate any leaves or flowers that complement the shin, soe and hikae, but only in odd numbers. This is called the jushi.

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6.

A kenzan, or floral frog, is used to support the stems upright or attractive angles. It has a weighted base and spikes to spear the stems onto. This frog is placed in a shallow water dish.

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7.

No putty, floral tape or glue allowed.

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8.

Working slowly, place each stem into the frog. When ready to place on the frog, trim the ends 1.5” from the bottom for maximum water intake.

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To create a truly stunning living sculpture, hide your frog and water container by tucking leaves or moss around the base of your arrangement. Sometimes flowers are placed in a wide shallow dish with river rocks placed around the frogs to look like a tiny placid pond.