Using a single flower for this one is important. It is all about the simplicity. We have used irises but small miniature narcissi will do. The purpose is to create an illusion of a small pond. This design will also be lovely with branches of blossom.

Equipment: a low bowl , pin holders (I used 3)

Flowers and Foliage: 5 x iris, large leaves - I used variegated fatsia leaves from the London garden.

Step 1: place the pin holders in position in your bowl. Placement is important - each stem and leaf should have its own space.

Step 2: Thread the iris stems onto the pin holder, 1 or 2 for each one. Again, each flower should have its own space so differ the heights and direction.

Step 3: Add the fatsia leaves to each pin holder. The objective is to place the leaves in their own space, rather than to hide the pin cushion. You can thread the leaf stems verticallly or horizontally onto the pin.

Step 4: Add pebbles / stones / water to the bowl and keep it topped up.

This is really simple, but to look good you need to leave enough space to allow each plant to breathe. In Ikebana it doesn’t matter if the workings (in this case pin cushions) are on show.

It is the first time I have used pin holders, and have 3 types of them.

• The clear plastic one with suction grips at the bottom worked well for a fellow student, but not for me. They need to be used on a very flat surface (mine wasn’t) and kept peeling away.

• The metal pins with a heavy metal base are smaller, but are very stable indeed.

• The heavy glass one with holes was not used for this arrangement. I will trial it with branches of blossom later in spring.

There were 3 pin holders used in this large bowl. I subsequently swapped the arrangement into two smaller bowls which helped solve the flat surface and more secure suction problem.