In my Minna no Nihongo book (Chapter 12), it says that `生け花をします` means to
practice flower arrangement. If that is so, they how do you expressing,
"flower arranging or arranging the flowers or doing flower arrangements"? An
example sentence.

  * X: What are you doing right now?
  * Y: I'm doing flower arrangements for tonight.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-20T18:49:31.993
8177
2012-10-22T02:00:23.310
769
question
word-choice
生け花をします does it mean to practice flower arranging?
Here is my guess, but please forgive me if it contains mistakes:

> X: What are you doing right now?
>
> Y: I'm doing the flower arrangements for tonight.
>
> X: 今、何してんの？
>
> Y: 今晩のため、生け花をしています。

But if you are interested in a more ambiguous meaning:

> Y: I'm doing flower arrangements for tonight.
>
> (could mean practicing them for later tonight or actually doing them for
> tonight)
>
> Y: 今晩の生け花をしています。

Edit: I had suggested 今晩の生け花をしておきます as a possible translation, but upon
hearing other opinions, I think this would mean "I will do the Ikebana
arrangement for tonight." For further examples of ~ておきます see:
<http://j-learning.com/diapo//L30diapo.pdf>

In your quoted example, します can mean "practice," but does not explicitly mean
this. 生け花をします can also mean "to do Ikebana flower arranging." For a more
explicit expression of practice, one can use 練習.

As per Taro Sato's example:

> 今夜の生け花の練習をしています。
>
> I am practicing Ikebana for tonight.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-20T19:48:00.600
8178
2012-10-20T22:36:38.003
2012-10-20T22:36:38.003
706
706
8177
answer
There is a difference between doing the flower arrangements for an event and
practising the art of 生け花 which is also known as 華道. Based on the the
wikipedia definition (below) I suspect that referring to making the flower
arrangements for a concert/event/room/church (or even the Chelsea flower show)
as 生け花 is akin to describing a visit to Buckingham Palace for tea with the
Queen as 茶道 (the tea ceremony).

When arranging flowers as a decoration but not practicing 生け花 the more correct
expression is probably:

> テーブルに花を飾る , To adorn/decorate a table with flowers

When referring to the flower arrangements in say a church or a room the
correct expression for the flower arrangements is 花の装飾

Based on the the following sentences in Space ALC:

> しかし、花を飾るのはすべて独学です。
>
> However, his flower arranging was completely self-taught.
>
> 私はもっとクリエイティブな花の装飾をやりたかったんです。
>
> I wanted to do more flower arranging that required more creativity.

There are a number of ways of saying "I am now doing the flower arrangemnents
for tonight." depending on the context and scale of the operation but if this
is a small event (say a table at a party) then the following would suffice:

> 今、今夜の花の装飾をしています。 "I am now doing the flower arrangemnents for tonight."

If you are practicing Ikebana for some event (possibly a demonstration) then
the following would be appropriate:

> 今夜の生け花の練習をしています。 I am practicing Ikebana for tonight.

**Definition in wikipedia:**

> More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined
> art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the
> idea of floral arrangement as a collection of particolored or multicolored
> arrangement of blooms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant,
> such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form.
> Though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its
> form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a
> piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually
> implied meaning of the arrangement.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-22T02:00:23.310
8184
2012-10-22T02:00:23.310
1556
8177
answer