(mellow piano music)
- [Narrator] J Schwanke's Life
in Bloom
is brought to you by,
Albertson's Companies.
With additional support from
the following companies,
the Ball horticultural company,
Cal Flowers,
Design Master color tool,
Golden Flowers,
Sunshine Bouquet,
and theribbonroll.com.
(mellow guitar music)
Today on Life in Bloom,
you'll get a small taste of
what life in bloom looks like.
We hope you'll agree that
adding flowers in your life
can be an easy, rewarding,
and life enhancing endeavor.
(mellow guitar music)
I'm J Schwake.
Welcome to Life in Bloom.
When you take a flower in your
hand and really look at it,
it's your world for the moment.
I want to give that world to
someone else.
What is a life in bloom?
It's a life that celebrates and
embraces
the joy that flowers can
bring into your life.
(mellow guitar music)
Flowers for every room in the
house?
Many of you will need no
convincing
of why this would be
beneficial to your life.
You already love flowers.
For those who may be doubtful,
there are many scientifically
documented reasons
why accruing flowers is
beneficial
for your overall wellbeing.
Studies have shown when
there a flowers in the home,
there is less arguing, less
depression,
that people enlarge
their circles of friends,
and that seniors retain
more cognitive memory.
Beyond that, what happens when
someone
gives you a bouquet of flowers?
What's your physical response?
You smile, you feel happy, it's
intrinsic.
It's part of what flowers
bring to our lives.
Flowers make us feel happy,
whether we're receiving them,
or especially when we're giving
them.
The act of arranging flowers
is actually soothing in itself.
Then, we double that effect when
we
give those flowers to someone
else.
Life in Bloom will show you easy
ways
to incorporate flowers
into your life every day.
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You don't need a lot of flowers
to have flowers around the
house.
The reality of having
single flower arrangements
is actually quite exciting.
It's a great opportunity for us
to get a flower out of the
garden
or pick up one or two
flowers from a flower seller.
We can also use different
vessels
and arrange them all around the
house.
Let's take a look at a
few unexpected things
we can use to hold a single
flower.
How 'bout an ashtray?
I collect mid-century objects.
This ashtray is a great
vessel for a single flower.
What we'll do is we'll add some
water.
We can place two sticks.
Then we'll use a gerbera daisy.
The thing about gerbera daisies
is they don't like to float.
We'll cut the stem and
then we'll suspend it
in between those two pieces so
it
holds it up above the water,
but the stem is down into the
water.
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We know about bubble bowls.
We got roses or a sunflower in
these,
or even this covered dish.
We have our gerbera daisy down
inside.
With the close covering,
it's gonna allow the
flower to last longer.
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How 'bout some shot glasses?
We've all got a few shot
glasses around the house.
We can simply take tulips
and drop our tulips right
into those shot glasses.
It's a fun way for us to arrange
them
and have one at each place
setting.
Plus, the tulips will open
up and they'll look great.
(mellow guitar music)
A single flower like a red
carnation
is a great combination to the
lemon ball I grew in my yard.
I found this little rock
and it has three holes in it.
I can fill those little holes
with water
and place my flowers down
inside.
Even a single flower like
a bertaia looks great.
This is a banksia, and
I've placed a few rocks
down inside the bowl and
then filled it up with water.
The rocks help support the
flower
and it's interesting scalloped
foliage
is a great accent too.
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Single flowers are a great way
for us to spread these around
the house.
We can put one on the
nightstand,
we could have one out on the
patio,
putting one next to the sink,
all sorts of different places
that we see all the time
can be filled with a
single flower blossom.
That's Life in Bloom.
(mellow guitar music)
Sometimes people feel uneasy,
maybe even intimidated when
it comes to arranging flowers,
but I'm here to share with you
three tools you need that will
make
flower arranging happier
and easier for you.
Our first ingredient is water.
All flowers need water.
If we add flower food to
that water, it's even better.
I always suggest using cold
water.
It helps us reduce the bacteria
levels.
Cold water is always best.
Then, we add our flower food.
This one is for a quart of
water.
We've measured our water
accurately.
Two quarts of water, two
packets,
following the manufacturer's
directions on the back.
We simply take these and
add them to our water.
Two quarts, two packets.
Powered flower food dissolves in
water.
It's always good to mix it up.
Now, we have properly prepared
water.
(mellow guitar music)
Our next step is the tools.
I prefer to use a knife,
but many people like
to use a bypass cutter.
A bypass cutter is a cutter
where
the blade actually
bypasses the other side.
It's also known as a pruners,
and it's ideal for cutting
flowers.
When we cut our flowers,
we want to cut them at an angle
so we expose more surface area
so that
the water can go directly up the
stem.
I can also do that angle with a
knife.
Never use a scissors because a
scissors
binds the stems and actually
crushes
the vascular system of the
flower,
precluding it from
taking water up the stem.
Think about what happens
when you cut a straw.
It squishes it closed.
If we cut it with a knife or
we cut it with a bypass cutter,
we get a great clean cut that
allows
plenty of water to go up the
stem.
(mellow guitar music)
A vase is our final step and
there's
smart vases and there's vases
that
aren't as easy to arranging.
A vase that has a narrower
neck, for example this one,
where they hold the flowers
together,
that's easier to design
in than one like this
that makes it splay out.
This cube has a slightly
narrower neck
and that makes it easier
to arrange flowers.
As we drop our flowers down into
it,
our stems criss-cross and it
allows
our flower heads to be
held together closer.
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It's also important to remember
that
no leaves fall below the water
line.
Leaves under the water
can cause bacteria quickly
so keeping our water as
clean and fresh as possible
will ensure our flowers last
as long as they possibly can.
(mellow piano music)
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The great thing about gerberas
is that
they're so many different
varieties,
not just color, but
styles and shapes as well.
Here you'll see a normal gerbera
daisy,
but they can be large with
a double center like this,
or the gerbmini.
Simply a miniature size
of a regular gerbera.
The gerando has a rounded shape
so that the blossom itself
almost looks like a sphere.
Then there's the gerspider with
a
shaggy-like appearance with its
petals.
The other interesting thing
is the center of the gerbera.
Many gerbera varieties have a
black center
while others have a light
center.
Here we have two white,
showing the differences between
the center of the gerbera.
(mellow guitar music)
Gerberas do not benefit from
flower food.
The fuzzy stem is made of softer
tissue
and degenerates faster.
Gerberas benefit from very clean
water.
Gerbera daisy colors
have various meanings,
much the way roses do.
Orange is the sunshine of life,
red for unconscious love
or fully emersed in love,
pink for admiration,
adoration, or high esteem,
yellow, cheerfulness.
That's the great thing about
gerberas,
they're so many to choose from.
(mellow guitar music)
One of my favorite
things is a flower crown.
That's a crown of flowers that
you can wear on your head.
You've seen them in pictures
where brides
wear them with big open roses
like this
and hydrangeas and beautiful
grasses,
or we've seen then with
little flower girls.
Maybe wear their berries or
beautiful stock blossoms.
If you think back to the '70s,
we did flower crowns with
daisies on them.
It's a fun way for us to wear
flowers
and make us feel good at the
same time.
We can even make one out of all
foliage.
You can't help but smile and be
happy
when you have flowers on your
head.
Let me show you how easy it
is to make a flower crown.
We use aluminum craft wire,
a flexible metallic wire.
Create a loop at one end.
We wanna make sure that it goes
all the way around our head.
We'll be creating this
using a craft covered wire.
This craft covered wire
comes on a big spool
so we have plenty to work with.
(mellow guitar music)
For this project,
we'll use some short pieces of
foliage
and any type of flower that
you'd like.
Today, we're using gerbera
daisies.
We use the bind wire to affix
the foliage
to our metallic wire.
We'll start with an aspidistra
leaf
and we'll start at the
end that has a loop on it.
We're wrapping around in
one continuous motion,
adding gerbera daisies and
foliage.
As we add a piece of foliage
and add our gerbera daisy,
we want to make sure
that our wire stays tight
and we continue to move in
the same direction every time.
(mellow guitar music)
Once we get to the other end,
we'll bind all of our ends
together,
cut off any excess stems,
and then take our small end
and go back to the beginning
and find our loop and go
through that loop with that end.
That completes our circle.
(mellow guitar music)
Wrap the end with any excess
bind wire.
I always like to use an
anti-transpirant when I'm
finished.
This is a product that
helps seal in the moisture
and it will make our flowers
last as long as possible.
I'd advise putting this in a
refrigerator
until it's time to wear it.
(mellow guitar music)
Today, my flower friend
Kim Carson is stopping by.
We met through our love of
flowers
and I've given her arranging
tips.
Kim is sharing a recipe with us.
Kim, I am amazed because I've
known you
for a long period of time.
- That's right.
- [J] You are different now.
(woman laughs)
(host laughs)
- I look different on the
outside
and I'm pretty much
the same on the inside.
- You are completely the same
and
that's what I love about you.
I thought it would be great for
you
to make a recipe for us.
- I can't wait.
Once I lost 115 pounds,
I had to start eating
differently.
This is a really nice summer
salad.
I like making this salad because
it's fast, it's easy, it's
quick,
it's nutritious, it's tasty.
I'm gonna start with a vidalia
onion.
I just diced it as you could
see.
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We're gonna put this in here.
We're gonna get ready to mix
them.
I'm gonna go ahead and take this
mango.
A lot of people, they're
afraid of mangoes.
They don't know what to do with
mangoes.
- I always heard you were
supposed to eat mangoes naked.
(woman laughs)
- I haven't tried that yet,
(man laughs)
but it might be worth trying.
(woman laughs)
(mellow guitar music)
You know what I like to do is I
kind of like to see if there's
any
juice I can get out of this.
- [J] Got it.
- Just a little bit.
I kind of squeeze it a little
bit, make it all smushy.
Then I'll go with the tomato.
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This is an avocado.
People don't know how to choose
avocados.
They choose them too hard and
then they
say they don't like avocados.
You don't wanna get it
too soft where it's mushy
and you just want a
little bit where it gives.
Then I take a lemon and
I don't really measure.
Try to get out as many seeds as
you can.
If you go in there,
it's not gonna hurt you.
I probably won't squeeze the
whole half the lemon in there.
Just about that much.
Just enough to get it a little
lemony.
You know what I like doing?
I love getting my own cumin
seeds.
- I saw this.
- They're so aromatic.
You get a lot of cumin seeds and
you can get it way cheaper
and I grind them myself
because the smell is so much
more pungent.
I like a lot of cumin so I
probably
would put on more than
that if I were at home.
This is some chili powder.
Little bit of chili powder.
This is some garlic.
- [J] You said you can use
fresh garlic as well, right?
- Fresh garlic as well.
What I'm gonna do is I'm going
to
kind of just toss this together.
This is it.
This is a nice little summer
salad.
I like putting it in my
little antique bowl here.
- [J] I like your little flower
bowl.
- This may be my summer dish.
If I wanna eat something in the
summer,
that's what it's gonna be right
there.
It's a mango, avocado, tomato,
onion, cumin, chili pepper,
lemon salad.
Little bit of garlic powder.
- [J] Let me taste.
- [Kim] Taste.
- Taste.
Kim, that is so fun.
(woman giggles)
It's summery, right?
This is a Kim Carson delightful.
- Original.
You get the sweetness from the
mango.
The mango and the spices that
you add
as well as the tomatoes and the
avocado,
there's different textures,
there's different flavors,
there's just different
explosions in your mouth
going off all at the same time.
- I love it.
We can garnish it.
- Yes!
Let's do it!
- With a few little nasturtiums.
- I picked these.
- I love that.
- [J] I didn't grow them
organically.
- You could put these in a clear
bowl
and then put these flowers on
top.
Oh my gosh.
- These are peppery.
- [Kim] These are good.
- [J] I love a nasturtium.
- Almost like horseradish.
- A little bit, yeah.
We have a tradition here at Life
in Bloom.
- I love it.
- It's a flower crown.
- Because I love to wear a
flower crown,
I love to put flowers on my
head.
- I'm trying to think of
which one I wanna put forward.
(mellow piano music)
(mellow guitar music)
- One of the great things
about a life in bloom
is having and garden, and we've
planted a new garden here,
but I have a certain
way that I go about it.
You're familiar with the term
arrangement,
which is when we take flowers
and
create an arrangement with
those flowers and foliage's.
I've coined a new term.
It's called arrange-plant,
which means that when I go into
the garden
and I decide what plant
I'm going to put there,
I'm making a conscious decision
that it's
something that I can cut for
arranging.
Flowers that go into the garden
or flowers that can be cut and
are stable for me to
have in an arrangement.
The other thing though is
it's not just about flowers,
it's also about foliage.
The different trees,
bushes, shrubs, even hastas.
Those types of things
I've consciously planted
so that I'm gonna be able to cut
at them.
(mellow guitar music)
As the seasons change, spring,
I have tulips and bulbs that
come up,
summer, I've got beautiful
annuals that are out here
and perennials, and fall,
that's when the color
comes out, and even winter,
I can come out and grab
fur trees or conifers.
There's always something in the
garden
that I can go out and grab and
bring in the house and arrange
quickly.
(mellow guitar music)
If I wanna take some flowers to
someone,
I can pop out into the garden
and
clip a few things and create
something
to take over to them.
That's the great part about
arrange-plant
and part of Life in Bloom.
(mellow guitar music)
As you can see,
a life in bloom isn't just for
florists
or those with a green thumb.
We hope you've been inspired by
some of the simple ways you can
bring
flower joy into your life.
For Life in Bloom, I'm J
Schwanke.
See you next time.
Alstra Perrius said you
remembered
as I'll still marry you.
I'll still marry you.
Exactly.
(women laughing)
I got a little lei for you
honey.
There you go.
And you get flowers too.
You need to show up more often.
(women clapping)
- [J] J Schwanke's Life in Bloom
is filmed in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
- [Narrator] J Schwanke's Life
in Bloom
is brought to you by,
Albertson's Companies.
With additional support from
the following companies,
the Ball horticultural company,
Cal Flowers,
Design Master color tool,
Golden Flowers,
Sunshine Bouquet,
and theribbonroll.com.
(mellow guitar music)
Closed caption funding
provided by Chrysal.
For everything flowers, recipes,
projects,
and more information, visit
ubloom.com.