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Store window displays are designed to catch the eye of passersby and draw them in. Seen in a couple of recent displays are tall, clear, cylindrical vases with long lucky bamboo stalks, as though the water that feeds them were spiked with steroids. The look has impact and is minimalist, decorative and celebratory all at once. Long-lasting,
lucky arrangementBy Ruby Mata-Viti
rmata-viti@starbulletin.comWhether retailers are using it to create appropriate ambience for the Chinese New Year or just presenting a striking display, it's an idea one can transfer to the home.
Think of it as an attractive, long-lasting arrangement in place of flowers or a house plant. Those with no green thumb will appreciate that the lucky bamboo, formally known as Dracaena sanderana, requires little maintenance, only a change of water every so often.
Now you know what to do with that overgrown lucky bamboo plant you got last Chinese New Year. This is what Lan Chung, manager of agnés b., did with the store's lucky bamboo.
"Each agnés b. store nationwide was given a small lucky bamboo plant last Chinese New Year. When ours (at Ala Moana Center) got bigger, we just cut the stalks and put them in a vase," she said. "We trim the roots every once in a while."
What's also great, said Chung, is that the plant thrives even under low light.
Chung used eight stalks because eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture, but all it takes is about three to five stalks of bamboo, 3 to 4 feet high (available in Chinatown), and any vase, although a cylindrical glass vase would show off the delicate roots, giving the arrangement another textural element. River rocks or clear florist's marbles could also be poured into the vase for texture.
If the diameter of the glass vase is wide enough, homeowners have also added a betta, or fighting fish, to the arrangement. The fish would feed off the roots and add subtle color and motion to the display.
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