Dried Materials in Ikebana

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Ikebana with wily cattail and sunflower.

I strained my back applying a bucket of liquid fertilizer to my rhododendron, so all physical activity is on hold for the week. The hazards of gardening while aging! On the bright side, I now have some time to compose a few posts for my blogs. (You can visit my other site at Bendglutenfree).

Today, a topic close to my heart: dying -- plants that is. I love this time of the year, because it's all about foraging for plump seed pods, gnarled leaves, exfoliated bark, pine cones and shamelessly naked branches.

Everywhere you look, there's so much that can be incorporated into ikebana arrangements to surprising effect. So, please, before you head willy-nilly into fall, tidying your garden for winter, trimming every bit of fading plant life and chucking it into the compose bin, STOP and look.

A shock of black-eyed Susan seed pods with allium and carnation. (Vase available at Ikebana Dreaming on Etsy.)

Despite our chilly winters here in Central Oregon, many ikebana friendly native plants dot wild landscapes and home gardens. It's easy to find blue flax, black-eyed Susan, yarrow, wild sunflower and cattail to name a few.

Ikebana with dried yarrow, pine and hyacinth.

Just take care the cattail doesn't surprise you as it did me one day. I had stored a load of them in my garage only to be greeted one morning to a storm of feathery white seeds ankle deep and blanketing my car like snow.

They had done what comes naturally -- burst open to scatter the next generation. I didn't regret the view one bit! (A tip for avoiding similar chaos: coat with hairspray or acrylic sealant while they are still intact.)

An unusual take on prayer plant and nandina.

Other choices that also fade gracefully include hydrangea, allium and sedum, and don't forget house plants. For example, leaves that you might trim and toss from a Monstera or prayer plant can, instead, add interest to an ikebana arrangement even after they have wizened and curled.

My favorite find this year is blue flax as it goes to seed. Because mine had doubled in volume from the year before, I couldn't really miss it, delicate stalks of dancing baubles, perfect for adding whimsy to an arrangement.

Blue flax in summer.

To me, discovery is what ikebana is all about. Looking around and seeing the constants, the permutations, the extraordinary. Every day I see possibility in that which I hadn't even noticed the day, the season, the year before.

Dried agave with sedum and a cluster of buoyant blue flax seed pods.