After giving a tour at the Los Angeles Flower District to some of my very enthusiastic flower workshop students two Saturdays ago, I went to see this wonderful exhibit of live flower art. Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art is now showing at the Japanese American National Museum in Downtown Los Angeles. The exhibit features a number of Ikebana arrangements by local floral artists and designers alongside art inspired by flowers including modern photographs by one my favorite photographers - Robert Mapplethorpe. The Living Flowers exhibit is on two floors - so be sure you explore the whole museum.Also - don't miss having afternoon tea or a delicious lunch at Chado Tea Room which is connected to the museum. I ordered two scones to go with wonderful clotted cream and jam. Yummy! I also purchased three kinds of loose tea after sampling the wonderful iced Ginger Apricot blend they had brewed that day as a free sample. The tea list is 40 pages long - plenty of teas to choose from for all people's tastes. All in all - a wonderful morning and afternoon. The exhibit runs through September 7th.