(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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.