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 Branches are much used by the Japanese, for, unlike us, they consider them as flowers and use them for their most important arrangements.

To Put a Large Branch into a Vase without a Support

Take any well-shaped branch either from fruit trees, maples, or evergreens and you will find you can make an attractive arrangement by placing one such large branch in a vase without any trimming or support, provided that you bring the branch into perfect balance. By this we mean that the extreme summit of the branch must be directly over its base. Often, however, when the branch is merely thrust into the vase, it will fall over to one side, thus—forming no attractive lines and usually tipping over the vase as it falls out of balance. If this occurs, split the end for three or four inches at the base, bend one split to the right and the other to the left until these cut ends press tightly on opposite sides of the vase, and so [114]