Bonsai & Ikebana

Bonsai

• Take a young tree. The species doesn't matter. Plum, cherry and cedar all work well. Meticulously prune it so that it never grows to its full height. By keeping the tree in a state of perpetual infancy, you've created a bonsai. In the process of pruning it for size, bonsai gardeners also have the opportunity to influence its flow and appearance. They can create shapes with the tree that it would never form in nature.

Ikebana

• According to the United States National Arboretum, Japanese Buddhist monks have been arranging flowers since the sixth century. As this art developed, it splintered into dozens of schools of thought. Some sought perfect symmetry in their arrangements. Others mimicked the harmonies found in nature, such as the way reeds bend in the wind. Collectively, these schools are ikebana. Modern schools incorporate non-flower elements, such as sticks, rocks and even man-made objects such as dolls and boxes. Some schools freely teach their aesthetic principles, while other reward favored students with the secrets of their art.

Similarities

• Both bonsai and ikebana share a core philosophy. Their adherents leave nothing to nature or chance. They carefully manipulate their trees and flowers, creating something entirely artificial that nevertheless imitates nature. A bonsai plum might be only eight inches tall, but its branches are trimmed to mimic the arrangement of its full grown cousins. Similarly, an ikebana arrangement might look wind-swept or like a cascade of leaves. This is no accident. The artist conscientiously chose every element and its placement.

Differences

• Bonsai is the cultivation of living trees while ikebana is the arrangement of dead flowers and sticks. Although both arts use plants, the actual practice of nurturing and pruning a tree requires a different set of skills than arranging flowers. Ikebana also has a temporal aspect. An arrangement soon wilts and loses its beauty. In contrast, bonsai can live for hundreds of years, passed from one gardener to another.