“Look deep into nature and…understand everything better.” ~Albert Einstein
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, thoughts of flowers are certainly in the air. Yet, the most beautiful flower arrangements need not arrive in a Murano glass vase or tied with exorbiant amounts of satin ribbon and cellophane. Instead, some of the best vessels for holding flowers are those found in nature.
While climbing down the cliffs to the beach by our home, my husband and I found this intriguing rock, carved by decades of rainwater dripping over the cliff. In our home, it now serves as the perfect repurposed vessel for Ikebana (a Japanese floral artistry that melds together nature and humanity to create arrangements that represent heaven, earth, and people). Each hole holds the perfect amount of water, and it is a lovely, Wabi Sabi way to show off the natural, simple beauty of Maidenhair fern cuttings and a Cymbidium orchid bloom.
A miniature blooming bulb fills my home with a heavenly scent, while it seems quite at home amongst sprigs of Maidenhair fern tucked into a bowl carved out of a fallen mango tree.
Floating flowers are a classic romantic image, but they don’t always have to float in glass bowls. Inspired by Hawaii, where I met my husband, I will be filling shells with water and floating candles to place around our home on Valentine’s.
As you may recall from a former repurposing planter post, shells make the perfect vessel for holding more than just flowers!
This beautiful and quintessential Ikebana arrangement is housed in a perfect nature vessel: a repurposed bamboo cutting, as captured by tomooka.
Who says we even need a vessel to enjoy flowers indoors? This breathtaking Ikebana arrangement captures the unruly temperament of nature, untouched by mankind.
What inspires your floral arrangements? Have you arranged flowers or plants in natural, repurposed vessels?
16 responses so far ↓
1 Cherry@NewburghRestoration // Feb 2, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Very nice repurposed vessels…although I can’t think of any new ones right now :-/
2 Krissy // Feb 2, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I have a feeling I’m going to be thinking about this all day!
3 Rachel // Feb 2, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I love how you used that sea rock! It’s so clever. The only repurposing I do for vases is using old jelly jars. Not exactly natural, though.
4 cindy k // Feb 2, 2009 at 9:54 pm
i really love these arrangements, especially the fern & moss.
5 jessica@thehomebound // Feb 2, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Love all this! Hawaii, huh? That sounds like a good story to me. Certainly digging the floating flower in the seashell.
6 Anne @ The City Sage // Feb 3, 2009 at 12:09 am
What a wonderful collection of arrangements! I’m especially a fan of the one in the wooden bowl–the moss covered rocks remind me of the verdant forests of my childhood spent in georgia. just stunning!
7 mayaluna // Feb 3, 2009 at 2:18 am
This was a breathtaking and thought provoking post. I will be thinking on new ways to grow bulbs until the spring blooms arrive, and then I will have to think about new vessels for the forsythia and daffodils (some of the first flowers of the year). Loveliness… I never leave your site/home without inspiration and new perspectives. I’m so happy to “know” you!
8 Margie Oomen // Feb 3, 2009 at 2:53 am
Beautiful post filled with beautiful living and preserved natural things. I love to use natural vessels for growing things and displaying blossoms picked from the garden. One of my favorites last year were the birch bark vessels .
http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2008/07/making-birch-ba.html
9 duc // Feb 6, 2009 at 6:40 pm
You bring a new idea to flower arrangement.
10 Stacy // Feb 7, 2009 at 9:05 am
The shell and the rock…terrific ideas for natural floral vessels! Lovely photos. Thanks for sharing. I LOVE flowers. I told my Jimmy to not spend astronomical amounts on flowers this Valentine’s but I think I’ll have him take a look at this post for alternative creative ideas.
11 Interior Design // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:27 am
Yes those floral arragements are very cool – especially I love that intriguing rock.
Thanks for posting,
Paula
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