Riparium Ikebana

[hydrophyte]

Riparium Ikebana

I have been working on the idea of incorporating aspects of ikebana, the Japanese art of (refined) floral arrangement, into planted riparium aquascapes.

Ikebana uses more theory than regular decorative flower arranging and emphasizes minimalism, negative space, balance, movement and the incorporation other plant parts, such as stems and leaves...

Google: Ikebana

An ikebana-inspired riparium planting could look very good. Here are some of the elements that I propose using in such a planted layout...

• shallow and broad rimless aquarium enclosure
• the best hardscape and gravel materials
• graceful, slender and vertical driftwood branches
• nano fish
• erect riparium stem or grassy plant with open foliage and graceful form
• shorter midground foliage providing depth and contrast

I have one specific tank setup in mind already and I hope to post some pictures soon.

[Acro]

Please do post some pictures! Nice Idea!

[hydrophyte]

I'll try to get some pictures on the way.

[amygirl11]

Looking forward to it.

[AirstoND]

Here are some from a show I went to few years back, if anyone knows the flower names, please ID.

I see lavender & dieffenbachia somewhere, other than that Im clueless

[AirstoND]

I don't know why they're sideways either

[scotty b]

looking foreword to it , have you tryed a Wabi Kusa type of set up at all ?

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by AirstoND

Here are some from a show I went to few years back, if anyone knows the flower names, please ID.

I see lavender & dieffenbachia somewhere, other than that Im clueless

Wow thanks so much for posting those. That looks like a Protea (an interesting plant) flower in the first picture with the palm fronds. The yellow blooms in the last photo might be witch hazel.

[hydrophyte]

Here is one plant that I think might work well with this idea, cat palm (Chamaedorea catractarum). To develop an ikebana layout with it I would use just one cat palm plant, and then arrange shorter riparium foliage down around the base.

Cat palm is a true marginal aquatic palm--it grows along the edges of rainforest streams in Southern Mexico--and does really well in the riparium planters.

[hydrophyte]

I should get a new plant that I ordered special for this today with the mail...

[hydrophyte]

I'm building a tank for this. Here are the dimensions that I have in mind...

• 22" width
• 15" depth
• 6" height

Accounting for 1/4" glass thickness, a tank this size will hold about 1.793 cubic inches, or 7.75 gallons. I'm going to build mock-up with cardboard to see how the proportions look.

[hydrophyte]

Here's another candidate for growing like this, Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum). These are tiny little seedlings just beginning to sprout....



If this plant grows in the riparium planters--I'm just starting to test it out--It should be possible to keep it small and shape bonsai-style.

[hydrophyte]

Here's another new plant that I got--it came with the mail last night!--that might work for this idea. Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is swamp shrub that occurs in the Eastern US & Canada into Northern Mexico. Most temperate-zone trees and shrubs really need to be grown outside, but I found a few references to growing this plant as indoor bonsai, so it might be OK. I will find out.



Buttonbush is in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) and has attractive and fragrant white snowball flowers. I have seen wild plants in Wisconsin in backwaters along the Mississippi River and in Florida in hardwood hammock swamps.


(Wikimedia Commons image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ce...cidentalis.jpg)

[hydrophyte]

I made a quick cardboard mock up to have an idea of proportions. The 22" X 15" footprint looked too big, so I cut it down to 20" X 14" to get this shape...



Accounting for .25" glass, this will have a total volume of about 6.5 gallons.

I hope to get the glass soon. I need to work on a stand as well. The whole thing will most likely end up on a bench in the basement while I put it all together.

[mosspearl]

Can't wait to see how this turns out.