Page:Japanese flower arrangement.djvu/64

 practise will give more satisfactory results than if fuller sprays are attempted.

Work slowly to begin with; but in the end you will find that flowers take no longer to arrange in Japanese style than in any less satisfactory way.

When arranging white and colored flowers together, put white or lightest shade at the top, unless the dark flowers are the longest; then you are obliged to use them as Heaven. But the best form is to have white or delicate shades at the top.

First pick out your Heaven which must always be the longest one and take the central position in the group. Its length should be one and a half times the height of the vase. Man comes second, next in length. It should be half the length of Heaven.

Earth is third and shortest. It should be half the length of Man.

The lengths should be determined before the sprays are bent.

Before these branches can be placed in the receptacle they must all be bent into [58]