A lovely brick wall at the end of my garden has become a stage for other plants’ shadows
I
n the Japanese floristry practice of ikebana, the concept of ma is crucial. The term refers to negative space – in this case, what is left between the stems, leaves and flowers in an arrangement. It’s considered a pause or a breath; a moment to stop and let the eye rest. A break to enable even greater appreciation of the other parts of the arrangement.
An ideal ikebana arrangement will have a perfect balance between negative space and the stems being arranged.
I’m no ikebana master, but most of us can work out when too much cheap floristry filler has been poked into a petrol station bunch. The same applies in gardens. It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately, even as spring gets going and the tulips herald the beginning of another season.
