Alchemy

Tutorials

15 November 2017

Kenzan leaf rack

Line and position pretty autumn leaves.

7 January 2015

Securing a kenzan

Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.

2 January 2011

Lilies

How to keep Lilies in bud for longer. Removing the pollen. Stringing a Lily Garland.

8 October 2014

Replacing water in a shallow container design without disturbing the design elements

Our goal as designers is to create the best environment for our flowers to stay as beautiful and fresh for as long as possible. When we condition flowers we always remove any leaves that will fall below the waterline of the design to prevent the leaves from deteriorating and rotting. Decaying leaves encourages bacterial growth which plugs the vascular system of the flower stems preventing water uptake.

7 January 2015

So many ways to use a Kenzan to hold floral materials

How to place various sizes of plant material in a Kenzan

1 April 2015

Keeping pollen tidy

Most of the time I would gently tug the pollen covered stamens away the moment it becomes yellow and messy. But the Gloriosa looks rather pretty with the stamens on, so I fix it in place

30 March 2012

Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer

Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design

2 August 2017

Two vase, two level Phormium snippets

Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.

31 July 2024

A cluster bunch of just enough floral ingredients to spike into a Kenzan for a larger display

A larger summer display in a Kenzan

19 June 2024

Stand bark on pointe to display the sweetest sweet peas

Create a natural armature for a summer display

6 September 2023

Peg Sunflowers and Quaking Grass in a Kenzan

An old trick... but still a great one to support thin stems in the needles of a Kenzan.

30 August 2023

Radiating bunny tails

Spear bunny tail grasses into a Kenzan to create a cozy space to display apricot lemonade cosmos flowers.

10 May 2023

Craft a padded wooden Dowel to position a leaf cone into the sharp teeth of a Kenzan

Prevent a leaf from ripping or bruising when positioning it in your design.

20 July 2022

Breezy lily grass ripple

A radiating design that has the freedom of movement to add a bit of a cooling effect on the warmer days of summer.

8 June 2022

Eucalyptus leaf and twig blossoms in a radiating puddle of stems

Just look at that puddle! This design is all about the fresh eucalyptus... but in a cooling down for summer kind of way.

25 May 2022

Give a single upright bleeding heart flower a view through a leafy hole

Flair open a leathery leaf to craft a frame a single bleeding heart flower on its long stem.

14 April 2021

Fuzzy Willow Caterpillar in a buttercup and jasmine vine swirl

As in… Pussy willow catkins caterpillar… that is super fuzzy.

7 August 2019

Where to cut Gladiolus spikes shorter

Gladiolus stems can be cut into sections so that it appears natural and well groomed.

7 August 2019

Use a drinking straw to push foliage horizontally deep into a Kenzan to leave space for stems to rest on top of them

The teeth of a Kenzan (or pin cushion) is rather sharp. Here is a pain free way of pushing down the plant material into the teeth to keep it securely in place.

7 August 2019

A Three level Kenzan skewer stack to Radiate Gladiolus spikes flat in a shallow container

Build up a design in a shallow container by stacking it by threading the plant material into the teeth of a pin cushion in three levels.

12 June 2019

Loop-over grass veil for a cool summer design

A cool and minimal floral design for summer.

17 April 2019

Cross cut Spring Twig Armature

Give a sturdy twig a cut to stay put in your Spring design.

Related Designs

7 January 2015

Any Which Way

Using a traditional Ikabana Kenzan to place flowers in a shallow container

21 June 2017

Playing Favourites

A quick and easy Kenzan design

1 June 2016

The ties that Bind

Bind a lily to create a trumpet shape as it opens

13 March 2013

Than you have to

Weave blades of grass to create a cover for a glass vase

16 April 2014

Never saw such a lovely day...

Weave a palm thorn garland to decorate for Easter

10 June 2015

Gotcha!

Hana Kubari lily stems

17 September 2014

Still

My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine

18 February 2015

Snail Away

Spiral roll a snail to add to this sunny design

2 August 2017

Grace

Use snips and snippets and leftovers to create a design of it's own

3 April 2011

One Singular Sensation

Three Lilies plaited to create a sensational, singular flower "growing" out of a Equisetum dome filled with Rainbow Oasis pebbles.

25 February 2011

A Rock by any other Name...

It's not really what we call things that matter but what they are made of- in this design, it's made of all three types of Oasis and wool.

31 July 2024

Have a floral adventure, really

Creating a larger sustainable floral design by clustering the floral details into bunches.

19 June 2024

Do you know what the point is?

A bark armature standing on pointe for some gorgeous blue King Tut sweet peas

6 September 2023

Mother Nature’s little magic to let us know Autumn is near

It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!