>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is brought to you by
Albertsons Companies
with additional support
from the following companies --
CalFlowers, Design Master
Color Tool, Smithers-Oasis,
Sunshine Bouquet.
♪
>> Today on "Life in Bloom,"
we're going to the dogs
and cats and pets in general.
I'll explore pet communication
with my friend, Ms. Margo,
review how pets relieve stress
and can improve overall health
and then create treats for cats
and dogs and their owners too.
♪
♪
I'm J Schwanke.
Welcome to "Life in Bloom."
"Pets are not our whole life,
but they make our lives whole."
♪
Those of us with pets know
that they enrich our lives
every day.
They're as much a part
of our environment
as the flowers that surround us,
a reminder that all living
things are connected.
Today on "Life in Bloom,"
we're going to explore some fun
ways to marry two of
our favorite topics --
pets and flowers.
♪
So today, I brought in one of my
dearest friends, Ms. Margo,
the bone reader,
and we met at a women's expo,
where you were doing
pet communication,
and I was having some trouble
with my dogs and trying
to figure out what they were
thinking and what was going on,
so tell us, what is a bone
reader, and how did you get
started?
>> Well, actually, I'm known
as a seer for my clan.
There's only four of us out of
100 years that is chosen.
I'm with the Saginaw Chippewa
Tribe of Mount Pleasant,
Michigan, so I'm known
as a high priestess or a oracle.
>> I have to admit that the
first time I was a little
skeptical because I always am.
>> Right.
>> But as soon as I met you,
I was -- There was just like
this instant connection, and I
think about what you tell me
because the things you tell me
involve nature
and involve flowers.
It's so comforting
and so peaceful,
and I can be very troubled
about how things are going.
>> Sure.
How's that working for you?
>> It's awesome now because
you calm me down.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah, you know, and that was
one of the things is I think
in these times,
we need something.
And I think flowers do that for
me.
They calm me down.
They heal me. It's true.
And so I think you offer that.
You're part of that puzzle
for me too.
>> Right, right.
>> You've brought
the Native American story,
the Native American heritage
into my life
and made me appreciate it,
and one of the most profound
things you ever said to me --
Outside the back of my house
are trees, and I said,
"I hear the wind and the trees
at night," and you said,
"But do you listen to them?"
And I listen to them now
because you told me to listen
to what they were saying.
>> If we just listen to nature
a little bit more,
we just kind of relax
into our own setting.
We are able to connect
a little bit more with nature
and animals, and then we can
communicate better with people.
>> So, Ms. Margo, this is
Eleanor, and she's 10 years old.
>> Mm-hmm. She's beautiful.
>> I think personally that she's
the smartest dog in the world.
>> Of course,
you're the master of that, huh?
Oh, she thinks so too.
>> Right, right? She does.
It's true.
She's the smartest girl.
>> So you have to pick out
three stones for her,
and then I'll see
>> Okay, so I -- So don't look.
>> Right. I won't look. Okay.
>> No, I mean I don't look.
I don't look, correct? Yeah.
>> You don't look.
And just try to place them
right here in front of you.
Okay?
>> Alright.
>> Okay.
Get your vibe for her.
>> Get my vibe.
>> And listen to her to
see which ones to pick out.
Just tell me when you're done
because I got -- I have my eyes
closed too.
♪
>> This right here.
Okay.
>> Okay.
Well, first of all,
she represents, like, a bobcat,
so she's always on the go, go,
go, and she's ready for
anything, and she likes to take
charge.
She likes to voice her opinion.
You have the bear tooth,
so the bear tooth represents
a good healthy, long lifeline.
It also represents
that she might hibernate.
When it's her down time,
she'll hibernate a little bit
longer to come out and emerge
back up.
The last one is about her
communication.
At times, she might be
confusing, not knowing
what direction to go to,
and that's why she hibernates
a little bit, you know,
and then she does her own thing,
like you said,
that she's the princess.
She's the smart one.
She already knows she was,
and with the bear tooth,
it also represents
that she likes you
to communicate to her more
and more, you know, like,
tell her what you're doing.
If you're changing around
furniture or anything,
she needs to know.
She wants to be up ahead,
ahead of the game.
>> You have told us that, and we
have -- and we always tell her
what we're doing.
>> Good.
>> She knows, and we just talk
to her in our normal voice.
We're just like, "Okay, beds
are going to go here.
We're going to do this.
We're going to do this.
We're going to do this.
We'll be back in approximately
this much time,"
and she's really good with it.
She loves it.
>> Well, she's the lady of the
house.
You can't leave just a written
note.
She says she can't read
that, so...
[ Laughter ]
Well, hi, baby.
How are you doing?
>> So Ladybird's about five, and
she was a rescue, so we've --
>> She has an old soul.
She has a very old soul
that she's very graceful.
She, you know, and that
she's lived a few lifetimes,
and that's what it shows me,
that she doesn't mind
being dainty,
but she has an old soul.
Yes. I know.
I'm telling him all about you.
Want me to tell him some more?
>> Should we find out some more?
>> That was the sign.
>> Okay.
>> Okay.
So just pick out any three and
just tell me when you're done.
>> I know. Oh, okay. That one?
Alright.
You tell me when.
Tell me when.
That...Okay. I got it.
Alright. Thank you.
>> Okay.
Well, she has a secret medicine
bag, and we thank you for that.
That means a lot of prayers,
that she just doesn't
pray for herself.
She prays for others,
whoever she crosses paths with,
and this is actually the stone
that she had picked that
you actually
take the back of the skin
when you're scaling
and defurring it or, you know,
when you're cleaning it
up and stuff, the rawhide.
So this means she likes ancient,
old things.
She comes as a deer, so she
likes to eat healthy and good.
Deers do have a good,
healthy, long lifeline.
She'll stare you down when she
wants to, you know, get her way.
She'll, you know,
give you those puppy eyes
or whatever she needs,
but she does it in a classy way.
With also the medicine pouch,
this means
that she puts a lot of thought
and her energy into things.
She'll mull it over.
She doesn't want to just dive
into something new.
She's a classy lady.
>> You are a classy lady.
>> Yeah, a classy lady.
You like that.
>> So, Ms. Margo,
we have a tradition here
at "Life in Bloom" that I make
flower crowns for our guests.
>> Ooh, wow. What a great honor.
>> So this is for you.
Let's see how we did.
>> It's perfect.
>> Does it fit?
>> Okay, hold on.
>> Okay.
>> I have a tiny head.
>> Do I need to tighten it up?
Are you good?
>> We'll tighten it up.
>> Okay.
>> But I have a tiny head,
so I had to go like this now.
>> Oh, okay.
>> It's okay. It's all good.
>> You are such a special
friend.
You have helped me in so
many ways.
The heart that you have
for everything that you do
is so wonderful,
and I wanted to show that
with our people...
>> Aw.
>> ...and let them know
Ms. Margo is a wonderful flower
in my garden, so I appreciate
that.
>> Oh, thank you.
♪
>> When I was a little kid,
probably the first arrangement
I remembered is a poodle mum
because they would make them
in the store,
and as a kid, you know, you're
fascinated by the fact that it's
a flower arrangement that
wasn't a flower arrangement.
It was a flower arrangement
that looked like a dog.
When it got to be really popular
in, like, the '60s, there were
other kits you could buy, and
you could make, like, a giraffe,
and you could make a turkey,
and you could make an elephant
and a Santa Claus
and a scarecrow,
so it really kind of took off
and was the beginning of what
we know as novelty arrangements.
♪
I've taken a third a block
of flower foam,
and I've soaked it in water with
flower nutrient and stood it
on end in the basket,
but we need to carve down
the edges because it'll actually
take the place of part
of the body of the puppy.
My basket has a liner,
so I can add water to this,
and it'll last a long time.
♪
I've taken a little bit of fresh
moss and surrounded the foam.
Then we'll start with the face
of our puppy.
The first carnation forms
the nose.
The next two form
where the eyes go.
♪
♪
Then we'll use two for each
leg -- two in the front
and two in the back.
We originally used
chrysanthemums,
and I think because
they're so big and white,
you know, and that looked good
for a poodle mum.
With the avenue of carnations
being more durable,
it takes more flowers to do it,
but the carnations
are a little more durable,
a little more long-lasting.
Chrysanthemums are still
long-lasting too though.
I love both of them.
They're both, what I would
consider, classic flowers.
We'll fill in the body,
and we'll also use a standard
carnation for the tail.
I like working with the standard
carnation and many carnations.
That way, if I need to fill
in a smaller space, I can use
the smaller-sized flower.
I'm using another type
of carnation,
the Green Trick carnation,
to fill in between the legs.
I like this because it gives
good definition,
and this is actually a dianthus
or carnation too.
It looks like fresh moss.
♪
♪
Eye and nose placement
is super important.
That's how you give
your puppy personality.
I've created the eyes
and the nose
out of a pipe cleaner.
I've just used a black pipe
cleaner and tightened it
into a nice little circle.
I glue them on with a low-temp
glue gun.
You could also use rubber cement
or a glue tab.
♪
♪
I also made three little bows.
We use two on each ear
and one on the tail.
We'll glue those into place too
using the low-temp glue gun.
When I was a little kid, it was
kind of the thing you got taught
first because you could do that.
You could glue
the chenille eyes on them,
and we even used googly eyes
at one point in time,
so you could glue those pieces
on, and it was something
that I could do as a kid.
I started helping in the flower
shop when I was probably 4 or 5.
Absolutely, it's a project
for kids because they
get excited about it,
and I think it's interesting
because everybody does.
It brings back the kid
in everybody.
Everybody is like, "Oh, look it.
It's a little puppy
made of flowers,"
and I think that
that's an important part
about it for people
is it's a little magical,
and it's a little bit memorable,
and it reminds us of being
a kid again, so I think
it's a fun way for kids
to get their hands on flowers.
Carnations are very forgiving,
and they would love
to be played with by kids.
♪
♪
Making healthy treats
for your four-legged friends
is easy, and you probably have
all of the ingredients
right in your pantry.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Today, "Flower Cocktail Hour"
is going to the dogs.
We're making a traditional
greyhound cocktail
but not in a martini glass.
We're going to make it in a mug,
and we're going to change it up
a little bit.
We'll call it Yappy Hour.
We've got a special vodka
for today too.
It's a vodka that has rose
and grapefruit infusions,
so we'll add that first,
and then we'll add
our fresh grapefruit juice.
I love squeezing the fresh
grapefruit juice
and adding a beautiful
grapefruit as our garnish.
I love our arrangement too
because we have rose lilies and
roses fresh out of the garden.
Time for a Yappy Hour.
♪
♪
So I didn't want to do a show
about pets and not address cats.
I don't have a cat, but my
niece, Grace, does have a cat.
>> Yes, I do.
>> Flossy.
>> Yes.
>> Who we love, right?
>> She's so sweet.
>> We want to talk a little bit
about catnip because catnip
isn't just for cats too,
which is kind of interesting.
>> And I just kind of learned
that recently.
>> This is Flossy's.
>> Yes.
What I do is I just take off
a little piece,
and I break it up like this
and just give it to her.
And what she'll do is she'll rub
it over her head and then eat it
when she's done with that.
Flossy will sometimes, like,
get really, really energetic
after she takes it,
and then she just lays out
for a while after that,
so I think that change
in energy level,
really, I can see it
when she takes that catnip.
>> People can use it also
for training, right?
>> Yes.
Yeah, so what we have is
some catnip spray in a bottle,
and when we were training her
to where she could scratch,
what was an okay place
and not an okay place,
we should just spray
the scratching post,
and she'd go right over
and start going for it,
so now she knows she can
scratch there and not the couch,
and we don't have any issues
with that whatsoever.
>> They claim that for humans,
that you can also make
a tea out of it.
The interesting thing
is it will induce sweating,
so that it's good for fevers.
>> Okay.
>> So you could reduce your
fever by taking some catnip too.
>> Well, and I love hot tea,
so that would be really
interesting to try out.
>> Wheatgrass too is, like,
another thing that people can do
with their cats too.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> So does she like the
wheatgrass?
>> Yes, so what we do is
we sprout some seeds
every once and a while.
They grow up, and then we put it
right by the window
so that she can look outside
while she's eating the grass,
and she just goes up whenever
she's a little bit hungry,
has a little bit, and then
when she's full, she leaves.
She's done with it, so...
>> And do you leave the grass
in the house the whole time?
>> Yep, correct.
>> So that...
So she has access to it.
>> Yes, she has the kitty grass
all the time, every day, all
day.
>> I love these.
These are square
ceramic containers.
They don't have room
for drainage, but I put
rocks down in the bottom,
so then this will just
drop down inside there,
and then you've got
a decorative pot for it.
And I think you've noticed at my
house, we just always have this
because I think it's pretty.
We don't have a cat,
but I just think that it's
pretty to have in the house.
So we have a flower crown
for you.
>> Oh, my goodness.
>> And so what I did is I made
it with herbs because catnip
is an herb, right?
>> Yeah.
>> So let's see.
It has an artichoke too,
which is...It's kind of heavy.
It looks good though, right?
>> Thank you.
>> That's good.
You're very welcome.
>> This is so nice.
Thank you.
♪
>> Pets have crept their way
into every corner of our lives,
including weddings.
Here's a simple way to create
a garland of flowers
so your pet can celebrate
with you in festive style.
You know, I was amazed when I
started thinking about clematis
because I see it outside
in the yard so much,
and I didn't realize it was
so durable and so easy
to use for flower arrangements,
so we're going to select
a few of each color.
I know how big my dogs are,
so I know how much I'm going
to need, but in some cases,
you might not be sure exactly
how big that dog is going to be,
so leaving yourself extra ribbon
gives you a little bit more
to play with,
and because we'll be weaving
the clematis around the ribbon,
I want to make sure that I have
plenty.
So, then we'll just line up
our blossoms,
and I'll alternate back and
forth with the different colors,
so we'll start with three,
and I'm actually just going to
act like I'm braiding them,
and at the same time,
I'm going to braid the ribbon
into it as well.
Up here, we'll weave it through
these as well, just so everybody
is good and attached.
♪
♪
So I also weaved
another piece of ribbon
through there to give it
a little bit more texture.
I cut that first, and then
I take both ends of the wire
on one end of the ribbon
and pull those out,
so then taking both ends
and scooting enough wire out
that we can tie together,
so we'll tie them
together at one end,
and then that also gives me
a little bit of wire that can be
attached to the clematis stems.
I'll go back to the other end
and expose that wire again,
and then I can
gather the ribbon,
and it's actually going to make
a perfect little ruffle.
Now, we don't pull hard on this
because, again,
it's not a very strong wire.
It's just enough to give
the ribbon shape.
At one end, we'll cinch it up
nice and tight and then wrap
the wire around the end of it.
So now I have a piece like that
that I wove between everything,
and then I was also able
to use the wire
to connect things together.
You'll notice that I didn't use
any pins or anything on this
because I want it to be safe
for the dog,
and since pets are such
an important part of our family,
it's great for them to be
included in special events
and have their own flowers too.
♪
Pussy willows is the name
associated to many small trees
in the Salix genus.
Salix means willows and sallows.
The furry part of the
pussy willow is called a catkin.
The name pussy willow is derived
in part from the catkins,
which are covered in fine,
grayish fur leading to a fancied
likeness to tiny kittens.
The catkins appear long before
the leaves and are one
of the earliest signs of spring.
Pussy willows are native
to the wetlands of the Southern
US, Europe, Asia and Canada.
The pussy willow has deep,
far-reaching roots.
This makes them a perfect choice
for erosion control
and to hold soil on a hill.
Pussy willows symbolize good
will and motherhood.
Pussy willows are given
as a gift to new homeowners.
The flower is thought
to protect the home.
♪
You may not have thought
to include your pets
in your flower crafts,
but today, we'll show you how
your pet can make an impression
in your artwork.
You can use your pet's paw
prints as flowers in artwork
for your wall.
You can use a canvas
or a piece of paper.
Today, we'll be using these wood
panels,
and I've tinted the wood panel
using a translucent paint,
so we have a blue background,
but you could also do it
in a natural craft as well.
Then we're going to use
nontoxic paint,
and we'll put it out
into a tray like this.
Choosing the colors --
and these are going to be
the centers of our flowers,
so I'm going to bring Ladybird.
We'll dip her paw in there
and make paw prints as the basis
for our flower artwork.
It's a simple, fun project
that you can do with your pets.
♪
♪
So now we'll come back in
and put detail
on the paw prints, turning them
into the centers of flowers.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
We hope you'll agree that life
is better with pets
and, of course, flowers.
For "Life in Bloom,"
I'm J Schwanke.
See you next time.
[ Laughter ]
But I just think that it's
pretty to have in the house.
>> Yeah, and it's really fun too
to, like, use scissors
to cut a little design in it,
so it's, like,
kind of like a hairstyle,
and then it can grow out,
and you can do it again.
>> Stop.
So, like, we could do a Mohawk?
>> Yeah.
I don't know if Flossy ever
really recognizes
what we're doing for her,
but we absolutely love her
and want to give her all the art
in the world.
>> Oh, that's very...I like it.
So now we have a little Mohawk.
That's fun.
>> Yeah.
>> Grace, I love it. See?
>> Yeah.
>> That's the best part.
♪
So you obviously would not
give her this.
This could go into a shake
for us, right, wheatgrass shake.
"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is filmed in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is brought to by
Albertsons Companies
with additional support
from the following companies --
CalFlowers, Design Master
Color Tool, Smithers-Oasis,
Sunshine Bouquet.
♪
Closed caption funding provided
by Ocean View Flowers.
♪
For everything flowers, recipes,
projects and more information,
visit ubloom.com.
♪