♪
>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is brought to you by the
following...
>> That flower feeling.
♪
At home.
♪
At work.
♪
Or anytime.
♪
CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of
"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom,"
where flowers and wellness go
hand in hand.
>> We have fresh in all our
stores, from soups and steaks
and all things flour to all
things flowering.
Custom fresh arrangements
designed by our in-store
florists at
Albertsons Companies.
>> With additional support from
the following...
Dollar Tree.
♪
>> Today's "Life in Bloom"
reminds us that arranging
flowers doesn't need to be
complicated.
We'll review simple ways to
display flowers for a great
pick-me-up.
Show how to chop and drop
to increase creativity,
and flower flavors to simple
syrup, and arrange sunflowers.
♪
♪
I'm J Schwanke.
Welcome to "Life in Bloom."
Many times, a simple approach
is best for enjoying flowers.
We lead busy lives and often
feel we simply don't have time
to do one more thing.
The rewards of a simple bunch
of flowers, however,
are many and varied,
from a mood enhancer
to a memory jogger.
How many times might you view
the same simple bouquet
during a week and feel an
involuntary smile across your
face?
Merely for taking a few moments
and placing blooms in a jar
with water.
♪
I love fragrant flowers,
and I like positioning fragrant
flowers around my house.
I especially like them
at the nightstand,
because I love going to sleep
or waking up smelling flowers.
These are freesia,
one of my favorites.
The yellow color is wonderful,
and the fragrance smells
like Fruit Loops.
It also smells like spring.
When I was a little kid, we grew
freesias in the greenhouse,
and the smell of that reminds me
of walking through the
greenhouse when there was still
snow on the ground outside,
but it was warm inside
the greenhouse,
and the freesias were blooming.
This is a spray rose
called scented air,
and it's super fragrant.
It smells like a rose,
and that might give us memories
of our grandma's rose garden
or smelling roses
when we were children.
Spray roses
are also a great value
because there's several flowers
on one stem.
Lilac is another one that people
love.
This is a pink lilac bush
that I've planted,
and I've babied it along
and moved it a couple of times
to get it to a spot where
it blooms profusely every year.
[ Sniffs ]
It has a wonderful lilac
fragrance,
and I like the pink color.
And one of my all-time favorites
is the gardenia.
I just love a gardenia, and I
love the fragrance that it has.
It's one of my favorites to have
on the nightstand.
There's nothing quite like
waking up or going to sleep
to the smell of gardenias.
So we'll take these and arrange
them into this little crate
vase.
It has four vases in it.
And it's great to stand alone,
or we can take a vase out
and move it to a special room
in the house.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
So, Eddie,
we are in a sunflower field.
>> A sunflower field, J!
I love it.
>> Isn't it fun?
>> You know, my name is
Sunshine -- my nickname is
Sunshine.
I'm bringing the sunshine
to the sunflowers.
>> I love it.
I told you we were going to
arrange flowers, and you were
like, "Well, I don't know how
good I am at..."
>> I am not good at arranging
flowers.
>> But I am gonna make you
good at it.
Okay?
>> Okay. I love that!
>> Because we're gonna do simple
things.
>> Okay.
>> Okay? We have several
different kinds of sunflowers.
This guy is called a
Teddy Bear sunflower because he
looks -- look at how he kind of
looks like a teddy bear.
Right? Okay.
Then, of course, obviously, the
sunflowers we have over here
have a black center.
This one has a yellow center.
>> Oh, my. Okay.
>> Okay?
>> You're educating -- he's
educating me already.
>> Okay. So, this one
is a painted sunflower
because the blooms, the petals,
look as if they've been painted.
Right?
So, this is one that's super
popular now.
Everybody's crazy about these
chocolate-brown ones...
>> That's beautiful.
>> ...which, you know, are just
absolutely beautiful, too.
We also have some
black-eyed Susans.
>> Ah, yes.
>> Not really sunflowers,
but they look like it.
Okay. So look at that --
single stem, right?
It's an arrangement all itself.
>> Okay.
>> Okay. So if we want to do
a simple flower arrangement...
>> Wow. There it is.
>> Right?
>> Okay.
All right. Big sunflower.
Right?
And so I always want to take off
leaves that are gonna fall below
the waterline.
So what I'm gonna do is, I'm
gonna give him a just a little
bit shorter cut, one more leaf,
and then he can just sit in
this.
And I like it when he just
kicks off to the side like that.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> So now this -- I cut this off
in my yard this morning.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> But it's viburnum.
>> Viburnum.
>> And these are gonna turn blue
in the fall.
Not right now, but in the fall.
Okay?
Okay. So, this is an ashtray.
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> It looks antique.
>> Haeger pottery, right?
Made in the -- Made in the '50s.
And it -- And so I figured
this is gonna be your --
this is gonna be your first
experiment.
>> Okay.
>> Okay?
>> Question about these over
there real quick.
>> Uh-huh. Yes, ma'am.
>> Both of those.
Do you change the water
every day for fresh flowers?
Should you?
>> That's a great question.
I don't, because
I use flower food.
>> Mm.
>> So when I use flower food,
there's so many things in there.
One of those is an antibacterial
agent that helps
keep the bacteria level low.
So you're going to notice
that my water doesn't discolor.
Now, if you don't use flower
food and your water discolors
and it gets cloudy
or it may even get smelly,
you should change it.
>> Okay.
>> Let's use your Teddy Bear.
Let's use the Teddy.
>> The Teddy Bear.
>> You're gonna use the
snippers.
You're gonna go to the back of
that flower, and you're gonna
cut it off as close as you
can.
>> Here?
>> Right there.
>> Okay.
>> There you go.
And you're gonna set it in
there.
>> Oh, my goodness.
So simple. I like simple.
>> You've got a couple of those
little guys?
>> Yes.
>> Take off one of those little
guys.
And take it off -- give it a
little stem.
>> Give it a little stem like
this.
>> Uh-huh.
There you go.
>> And here I go. Just one?
>> Do both, yeah.
See, look, you're just gonna
jump in and do both.
>> [ Laughs ]
>> Okay. So what you're gonna
do, you're gonna get him into
that water.
So you're gonna maybe use that
little cigarette holder.
>> Okay.
>> Look at that.
And those two guys hold that
in there.
Eddie, you are a magician.
Aren't you?
>> I'm a flower arranger.
>> I know!
I told you, right?
Right? It's exactly right.
And, now, do you feel
accomplished?
>> I feel accomplished, I do.
>> A sunflower sometimes
will start to lose these little
petals.
And as it gets older, that's
okay, because that's still kind
of pretty.
Look, it looks kind of like
two eyes and one's winking.
You know, one's winking at you,
right?
>> You are so creative with
these flowers.
Who would've thought?
>> It's pretty. Okay.
So I'm gonna -- We're gonna take
this guy...
>> Yes.
>> And the thing about a
sunflower is that a sunflower
instantaneously makes
a topiary, right?
>> Okay, yes.
>> Okay. So I got some more
of my viburnum.
And we're just gonna take
some pieces of these.
Oh, I'm just gonna take them
all. There we go.
Take it all. Okay.
So now I'm gonna stick
these guys in here low.
>> Okay.
Can I help?
>> You can. You can.
We want little pieces like this.
And I have our flower foam down
inside here.
So I've soaked my flower foam
in flower wa-- in flower food
water.
>> Sharp.
That is sharp, J.
>> And then, we're gonna use our
little blinking one.
>> Our little winky.
>> Our little winky.
I love it.
I love the little winky one.
The winky one.
>> The one that's winking at us.
>> At the bottom, just like
that.
>> Oh, my gosh.
>> Isn't it cute?
>> That is beautiful.
Oh, my goodness.
And I love how you do the high
low.
You know, some high, some low.
>> Okay. So now we have
two left.
We've got this guy and this guy.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Let's put those --
And we're just gonna -- we're
gonna float them in there.
>> Okay. So then I cut this
back up?
>> Uh-huh, uh-huh.
>> Do I leave any leaves?
No?
>> No.
>> Oh, look at that.
That's beautiful!
>> I know. Now think about this.
This could be a centerpiece that
you could make in five
minutes...
>> Yes.
>> ...when somebody's gonna pop
over for a little drink or
something.
Look at that.
>> That is beautiful!
And so simple.
>> Eddie, I am so glad
that you came with me today
and that we were able
to see the sunflower fields
and that we were able
to make simple arrangements.
But I also have
a tradition at "Life in Bloom."
>> Yes.
>> And we have taken some
sunflowers, and we have created
a flower crown for you.
>> Oh, my goodness.
>> I know. You look awesome!
[ Laughs ]
>> You know how you wave, and...
Hello!
>> It looks beautiful!
You look beautiful!
>> Do I?
>> I think that's the best
flower crown yet.
Well, thank you so much.
I really, truly appreciate it,
and I'm so glad you could join
us today.
>> This was so much fun.
♪
>> I've taken a whole bunch
of reclaimed vases.
I just look for a shape
that I like.
This is a honey jar that I had
or a tonic bottle.
Different types of things
that are great shapes.
I painted the outside
of the glass.
So what we're going to do today
is we're gonna work with the
cool colors.
So we'll pull out
the warm colors.
And isn't that fun?
Look at how that changes
it up almost immediately
to have those.
And if I pull the green out,
it becomes really calm.
If I add that green back in,
it starts to activate
those other colors
and they look brighter.
I think that's an interesting
thing.
So you can use green with a cool
color palette or you can use it
with the warm color palette.
We'll use these today.
♪
We're using a bouquet from the
grocery store and some flowers
out of the garden.
We use different types
of flowers in each vase.
I'm starting with some of
the blue African basil.
I'll use that in my tall,
purple vase.
We're also going to use our
Trachelium.
Those are big-headed flowers.
So, I could put all three
together, but I think it's
interesting to put two in one
vase and one in another.
♪
In another container,
we'll put our Agapanthus.
I love how the electric blue
of this container
picks up the electric blue
in those Agapanthus blossoms.
♪
We'll create a bouquet of just
greenery using pittosporum
in the blue vase.
♪
♪
I can accent the Trachelium
with a blue African basil
and also with the pittosporum.
♪
Then, we use our statice,
and we'll add our lisianthus.
♪
Arranging flowers is so much
fun, so I want you to enjoy
the process.
A project like this with several
different vases is really fun
because you can mix and match
your flower content together.
♪
Notice that I'm using some of
the flowers in the different
containers.
That way, it makes the entire
arrangement cohesive,
or they can break out into
different places in the house.
It's a colorful way to repurpose
our jars and make fun
flower arrangements.
♪
Daffodils are also known
as Narcissus and Jonquil
and is a genus of predominantly
spring-flowering
perennial plants
of the amaryllis family.
The plant is associated
with a number of themes
in different cultures,
ranging from death
to good fortune.
The daffodil bulb lies dormant
after the leaves and flower
stem die back
and has contractile roots
that pull it down further
into the soil.
The flower stem and leaves form
in the bulb, to emerge
the following season.
The flower's often viewed
as a symbol of spring, due to
its blooming early in the
season.
Most species are dormant
from summer to late winter,
though a few species
are autumn-flowering.
Daffodil are popular as cut
flowers and as ornamental plants
in private and public gardens.
♪
I found this vintage daffodil
vase at a local antique fair.
It's perfect for fresh-cut
daffodils.
Mix flower food into your
ice-cold water.
Use four bunches of daffodils,
about 40 stems.
♪
Gather all the stems in your
hand, lining up the flower
heads.
♪
Bind the stems gently with
craft-covered wire.
♪
♪
Fill the daffodil vase with
prepared flower-food water.
♪
Cut the stems below the binding
and drop into the vase.
♪
Enjoy.
♪
♪
Here's a great way to dress up
your dinner party with flower
cocktails.
Using traditional barware,
we can create arrangements
using shot glasses
or a stemless wine glass
or even a martini glass.
It's easy with a few flowers.
The shot glasses are great
little vessels for holding
just a couple flowers.
Here we're using tulips.
We'll cut the tulip blossoms
short.
Place them right into
the shot glass.
♪
We can also add a dendrobium
orchid blossom next to those.
♪
♪
Each one of these could be
at a place setting,
or you could use them
in a pattern
down the center of the table.
Our stemless wine glass
is perfect for floating
a single rose blossom.
We'll cut the stem short
and tuck the rose inside
the wine glass.
Setting those at each place
setting is a great way to create
a romantic dinner party.
Or how about the popular
martini glass?
It's perfect for floating
a gerbera daisy and accenting it
with a different type of flower.
This is bouvardia,
and it looks great
right next to it.
This is a terrific way to toast
in your next dinner party
using the fun of flowers.
♪
Simple syrup is basically sugar
and water.
It's combined
to sweeten alcoholic beverages,
or it can be used with soda
water and make flavored
beverages.
Today, we're making a mocktail
with soda water
and a simple syrup that we're
creating with lavender
and blueberries.
We'll start by adding
a cup of water,
then we'll add a cup of sugar.
Then 2 tablespoons of culinary
lavender.
And then, roughly a cup
of fresh blueberries.
♪
We'll put all the ingredients
over medium-high heat
until the blueberries start to
burst and the mixture thickens.
This will make about 11 ounces
of simple syrup.
♪
So now our mixture's ready.
And we'll cool this and then
strain it into a decanter.
I've already prepared
some right here.
And so now we can
make our mocktail.
♪
We've got our mixture down
inside there.
We'll add some ice
and some soda water.
♪
We can even garnish it
with a few fresh blueberries.
♪
Oh, that's so refreshing.
The wonderful lavender flavor
and blueberry
mix together so well.
It's a wonderful mocktail
for flower cocktail hour.
♪
So, here's a simple way
to take the beautiful flowers
that you buy and bring home
and put them in a vase.
I know that we all kind of
maybe get a little intimidated
when we pick out that
beautiful bouquet of flowers,
and we want to put it in a vase
at home, and we want it to look
just as good.
One of the simple things
I learned early on
was chop and drop, okay?
And so we use that term
that you chop them
and drop them into a vase.
That works really well
when we have functional vases.
So, when you look at vases,
you might be familiar
with something like this
that has a little bit of a taper
and then a more bulbous shape
at the bottom
so that we've got plenty
of water inside there
or one like this that has plenty
of water at the bottom
and then angles up
towards the top.
Because when you have a bouquet,
you're gonna notice it has
a grab point right here
where it was created.
And so when that sits inside
this area right here,
the stems at the bottom
can go out,
and the stems at the top
can open up.
And so that makes it really,
really easy for us
to chop and drop.
Now also remember
to use cold water,
and there's a packet of food
that comes with these that I've
already mixed into these vases.
So, again,
I've chosen a smart vase.
I took off my wrapper,
I took off my rubber bands.
I'm going to take off
this binder, too.
And trim that away.
I want to make sure that I pull
any leaves that might be down
here lower on these off.
And you're noticing,
I'm just keeping it in my hand.
I'm just holding onto it
right here.
And then,
I'm going to cut these stems.
I like a bypass cutter like this
because it cuts
all the stems easily.
♪
Chop...
and drop.
Now look at how beautiful
that is, right?
Super simple.
And my bouquet's all ready
to go.
Now, sometimes we might have a
vase that's a little bit
shorter.
And I don't want you
to get scared about that,
either, because we can still
chop and drop that, as well.
But the thing is, that bouquet
in here, like this, isn't
gonna look very pretty.
We want to make sure that that
bouquet sits in there like that.
So see that amount of stems that
need to come off the bottom?
And what I might do, because
this is a little bit
shorter of a vase,
I'm going to go ahead and leave
that binding on there.
I'm going to get my
bypass cutter.
♪
And then, I'm going to drop
that down inside there.
Now you know what?
I can already tell I didn't cut
it short enough.
So I'm gonna cut it just a
little bit shorter.
Gonna take off another inch.
♪
♪
And then, I'm gonna drop it
in there.
So, shortening the bouquet
is a wonderful shortcut
to having your flowers
fit beautifully in the vase.
It's a great opportunity when
we can chop and drop our flowers
and simply put them in a vase.
A couple of simple strategies
for flower arranging,
and you're always ready to enjoy
flowers from anywhere,
be it your own garden
or a bouquet that you just
picked up on a whim.
This way, you can enjoy the
flowers and the benefits they
provide as much as possible.
For "Life in Bloom,"
I'm J Schwanke.
>> Do you change the water
every day for fresh --
fresh flowers?
Should you?
>> That's a great question.
I don't, because I use flower
food.
So when I use flower food,
there's so many things in there.
One of those is an antibacterial
agent that helps keep
the bacteria level low.
So you're going to notice
that my water doesn't discolor.
Now, if you don't use flower
food and your water discolors
and it gets cloudy
or it may even get smelly,
you should change it.
>> Okay.
>> But if you use flower food,
you generally don't have to
worry about that.
>> Okay. All right.
So you look for flower food
with certain additives in it.
>> All flower foods have it.
>> Okay.
>> So as long as you grab
flower food, you're good.
>> All right.
♪
>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is filmed in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
>> Visit J's website,
ubloom.com, for flower projects
and crafts, complete recipes,
behind-the-scenes videos,
J's blog, flower cocktails,
and more.
♪
"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"
is brought to you by the
following...
>> That flower feeling.
♪
At home.
♪
At work.
♪
Or anytime.
♪
CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of
"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom,"
where flowers and wellness go
hand in hand.
>> We have fresh in all our
stores, from soups and steaks
and all things flour to all
things flowering.
Custom fresh arrangements
designed by our in-store
florists at
Albertsons Companies.
>> With additional support from
the following...
Dollar Tree.
♪
Closed-caption funding provided
by Holland America Flowers.
♪
♪