♪

>> "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

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.

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

florists at

Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from

the following...

Dollar Tree.

♪

Closed-caption funding provided

by Holland America Flowers.

♪