>> "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 on "Life in Bloom,"
my affinity for Cocker Spaniels
is in the spotlight.
We'll review collectibles,
including vases and containers,
arrange flowers in them, and
create a collar of flowers,
cast a pawprint stepping stone
for the garden, and make a minty
frozen treat.
♪
♪
I'm J Schwanke.
Welcome to "Life in Bloom."
Today, we are again going to the
dogs -- specifically, these
dogs, Cocker Spaniels.
Yeah, I know.
I have been fortunate enough to
have four Cocker Spaniels that
have graced my life,
currently, with these two,
Eleanor and Ladybird.
Many feel that once you've
discovered a favorite breed of
dog, you stick with them.
Whether you prefer Labradors or
Great Danes, Chihuahuas, or
these, known as patron saints of
merriment.
Most will agree that dogs add
immeasurably to our lives,
including my life, lived among
flowers.
♪
You've seen our Cocker Spaniels
Eleanor and Ladybird on the show
several times.
And Cocker Spaniels are
collectible for me.
The Cocker Spaniel was the
number-one breed of dog for over
25 years, starting in 1936.
According to the
American Kennel Club, a black
Cocker named Brucie helped
popularize the breed by twice
winning Westminster's
Best in Show, in 1940 and 1941.
Here's an example of an ad that
features Brucie, the one that
won the American Kennel Awards.
Ads like this are available, and
you can frame them and hang them
as art in your home.
But the Cocker Spaniel heyday
came in the 1950s.
The Cocker was the AKC's most
popular breed of the decade.
American pottery figurines of
several breeds by several
different makers enjoyed a
golden era from the 1940s
through the 1960s.
Here's an example of the
Shawnee Pottery.
These Cocker Spaniels come in
several different colors.
And they're a planter, so you
can plant them or make
arrangements.
I love paint-by-number
collectibles, and I found this
one of a black Cocker Spaniel.
It looks just like our first
Cocker Spaniel we had, called
Lucy.
Daniel the Cocker Spaniel was
the subject of a children's book
in 1955.
We've got an actual copy of
"Daniel the Cocker Spaniel."
It's wonderful Golden Book, and
you could frame it or pass it
along to your children as a
keepsake.
This is a fun gift from a
friend.
It says, "San Spaniel de Cocker,
the Patron Saint of Merriment."
And whenever I think about a
Cocker Spaniel, especially
Ladybird, I know her tail's
always wagging.
She certainly is a patron saint
of merriment.
So, let's take one of these
vintage Cocker Spaniel planters
and create a flower arrangement
in it today.
♪
We're creating an arrangement in
a Cocker Spaniel planter.
It's one of my favorite
collectibles.
This is a Shawnee Mission
Pottery one, and it's on its
little haunches, kind of the
downward-facing dog.
It's a great container, and I
love the yellow coloration.
Obviously, we've got more than
enough flowers, so we're gonna
use a few stems of flowers and
create our bouquet, and then
we'll have other stems that we
can put into a vase or use for
other projects.
But it's a fun way for you to
use something like this.
This is a planter, and
typically, they would plant it
with plants.
But I've taken a piece of foam,
soaked it in my flower food
water, I've cut it for shape,
and stuck it down in there.
I'm also gonna bevel it, 'cause
that's one of the things we
always do with the foam.
'Cause when we bevel it like
this, we're creating a smoother
surface to put flowers in.
You can see on this side how now
I have a surface here and here
and here where I can insert
flowers.
That's much easier than just
inserting here or here.
Gives me another surface area,
and it's gonna give me a nice,
rounder bouquet.
Since this is a mid-century
modern container, I'm gonna do a
mid-century modern design in it.
We'll do an asymmetrical
arrangement.
That's a very traditional
American-style bouquet.
It's an asymmetrical triangle
that has a very strong vertical
thrust in the middle.
We'll use that central vertical
axis and create it with the
mini carnations.
We'll start with the middle
insertion and then graduate our
placements all the way around
the middle.
Then we'll add a stem of our
Solidago.
People used to call this a
filler flower, but I like to
call it an accent flower 'cause
I think filling up a bouquet
doesn't really sound very
pleasant.
This flower accents the other
flowers that are in the bouquet.
So that's what I choose to
say -- an accent flower.
♪
Then, we'll add our yellow spray
chrysanthemums.
They're so vibrant in color, and
they're a great contrast to the
container.
They bring out the deep yellow
inside of the mini carnations,
too, and we're simply filling in
between.
If you wanted to, you could do a
tight cluster of flowers, just
almost like a hump on the back
of the Cocker Spaniel.
That's another way that you
could arrange this.
But I thought it was fun to stay
true to form and make it a
mid-century-style design.
♪
Now we have a our beautiful
little Cocker Spaniel that we
can place just about anywhere.
♪
I love plants, and I think it's
fun for us to use the plants to
create a fun thing that would
include part of our
Cocker Spaniel collection.
We'll start with the little
greenhouse.
This is great 'cause it has a
little door that opens up.
So, we could start with a prayer
plant.
That would be fun.
And we'll place it in the back.
Can put our little heart plant
in front of it.
Got a little fern.
This is another type of fern.
It's a rabbit's foot fern.
♪
So, now we've got our little
plants all arranged inside our
greenhouse.
And then our figurine can sit
inside.
So, our little greenhouse is
finished.
Now let's look at a terrarium.
This is an actual terrarium that
is enclosed.
Has a couple air vents on top,
and we could work inside here,
but we'd need really tiny
plants.
And then, it closes, and the
humidity creates a perfect
environment inside there for our
plants.
But sometimes, we have bowls
that don't have tops.
I love these beveled containers
like this.
And this is gonna allow my
bigger plants to be part of this
dog-park terrarium.
So, we'll start with rocks in
the bottom for drainage.
This allows someplace for our
water to go when we water it and
so that the roots of the plants
don't sit down in water.
Then we'll add potting soil.
And I put in just a little bit
to cover up the rocks.
Then, we can add our plants.
This little tiny palm tree will
go in the back.
Look at how that sets up and is
gonna stick out of there.
We'll add another one on this
side.
♪
I want to add some soil now
so that I'm getting soil all the
way around those plants.
See back there?
I want to make sure that I get
soil into that spot, too.
We want to make sure that we're
bringing that soil up to the
same soil level...
on our little potted plants.
♪
These little pots have moss on
top.
The moss is super helpful,
because what happens is, it
holds the moisture in once the
plants have been watered.
So I'll make sure that that moss
sticks around inside there.
If I want to add some decorative
pebbles, I can add those right
now in the back.
♪
Notice how I've tucked it in
right up to the soil level right
here.
And then, we'll add additional
soil to the front.
♪
And there's our little moss
that's gonna help keep that
moisture on those plants.
♪
The rocks will do the same
thing.
The rocks are gonna help retain
moisture in the soil.
So, now that we've got out
landscaping all done, we can go
ahead and water in our plants.
I like using a bottle of water
or even a turkey baster because
it allows me to direct it right
on each plant.
♪
This way, we can monitor each of
the plants and keep track of
them.
Each plant might react
differently and need water at a
different time.
Now it's time for a little
Cocker Spaniel statue.
One of our first Cocker Spaniels
was Lucy, and she looked just
like this statue.
She was all black, and there's a
perfect little dog park to think
about her.
Having fun and playing.
Another great way for us to
include our collectibles and
create a life in bloom.
♪
Today, we'll be making a
pawprint stepping stone for the
garden.
I have stepping stones like this
for my other dogs, and so I
wanted to make sure that I make
one for Ellie and for Ladybird.
so I made one for Ellie the
other day so that you can see
what it looks like when it's
finished.
We've placed stones inside here
to form flowers, her pawprint's
in the center, and we wrote our
name across the top.
So I thought I'd go through the
process with you and show you
how easy it is to do this.
They make kits that come like
this, or you could use quick-set
concrete and your own form to
create your own stepping stone.
I like to think about my
stepping stones first.
I'm gonna do flowers again with
the marbles.
And I think, for this one, we'll
do the flowers across the
bottom.
♪
And then, I think the pawprint
will go here in the center.
And then, we need to leave room
for her name up here.
And I think we can get one more
flower up here on the side.
So, there we go.
Now I've got a plan.
So now I'll show you the whole
process.
One of the things you need to
remember is, it doesn't have to
go as fast as you think.
When we're working with cement,
we think, "Oh, hurry.
Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
But I've noticed that the longer
that you take to do it, about
30 minutes is the period of time
you have, then it makes it
easier to write in.
You want to have it settle a
little bit before you start to
write, or your writing areas
will fill up with water.
I suggest that you do this
outside, or if you do it inside,
make sure you wear a mask when
you're emptying the dry concrete
into your bucket.
♪
I like to use a small bucket so
it's easy to move around and
pour into the mold.
We'll go with a cup of water
first.
♪
Now we'll mix it up.
It's always good to start with a
cup of water and then go back in
and add extra water about a
tablespoon at a time.
Now, make sure you get to the
bottom and get all the dry
powder wet.
Depending on your humidity
level, you'll need less water or
more water, but this looks
great.
It should be about the
consistency of cookie dough.
We're gonna place it inside this
mold.
Now, this mold isn't very stable
once it's full of the concrete,
so I've placed it inside the box
to give it more stability so I
can move it around.
We want to let it set for about
two days before we unmold it.
So when we do that, this makes
it easy to move about without
shifting it around.
So now we're gonna pour our
concrete into our mold.
This is a point that I worry,
'cause I thought, "Now, how am I
ever gonna get this all straight
and even?"
But once we get it pushed into
all the corners, then we can tap
it on the table and shake it
back and forth.
♪
Again, you have plenty of time
to do this, so don't panic and
be like, "I have to hurry up and
get everything done."
'Cause it's still quite watery.
And we want to let a little bit
of that saturate in before we
start to make our printing and
also make our pawprint.
So this is a great time that we
can add our marbles and make our
flowers.
So I'll start with an orange one
in the center.
We want to make sure we push
them down far enough so that
they will adhere in once it sets
up.
If we set them on top, they'll
pop off.
♪
So, this is Ladybird, and she's
gonna do the pawprint.
One of the things that I would
suggest for you is practice with
your dog, you know?
I mean, we want to make sure
that they know what they're
gonna do and what's expected of
them, and that's really
important.
And we always tell them what
we're gonna do so that I can
tell her that we're gonna put
her paw in something.
So, we're gonna put your paw in
like that.
Yeah.
We're gonna put your paw in like
that.
And that gives her an idea of
what we're gonna do so that it's
not a foreign idea.
Also, they're Cocker Spaniels,
so we trim their paws to make
sure that there's not a lot of
hair down inside there so that
we can get a really good
impression when we deal with it.
Also, you want to be sure that
you have a wash rag ready so
that once you take them out of
the cement, you can wipe off
their paw right away.
You don't want them licking off
the concrete.
Here we go.
Okay. So, we're gonna put your
paw in here.
There we go.
Good job.
You're doing so good.
Ta-da!
That's great.
My goodness sakes.
So, now, it's still not quite
ready to write in, so you're
gonna want to let it set up for
a little bit longer, and then
you're gonna let it dry for at
least two days.
Then, we're able to pop this
out, and we've got a wonderful
stepping stone that can go right
into the garden.
In about 30 minutes or so, I'll
go through here and write her
name in there, and then, also,
add any other details that I
want with my skewers.
That's the detail part.
And, again, just keep an eye on
it.
Don't get too distracted, and
come back and write those names
in there.
Then, we'll place this in the
garden, and we'll have a
lifelong keepsake with a
pawprint on our garden path.
♪
♪
♪
Flowering dogwood is a species
of flowering tree native to
Eastern North America and
Northern Mexico.
The tree is commonly planted as
an ornamental in residential and
public areas because of its
showy bracts and interesting
bark structure.
The flower head is surrounded by
four conspicuously large white
pink or red petals that are
broad, rounded, and often with a
distinct notch at the apex.
While most of the wild trees
have white bracts, some
selective cultivars of this tree
also have pink bracts,
some even almost a true red.
They typically flower in early
April, in the southern part of
their range, till late April or
early May in northern and
high-altitude areas.
Blooming branches may be trimmed
and used for arrangements.
Cut the branch with a bypass
cutter.
Make a clean cut at a 45-degree
angle for easy uptake of water.
♪
This dog treat has the benefit
of mint as an ingredient, and
it'll keep your dog's breath
fresh.
We'll start by chopping up a
Granny Smith apple, and we'll
set that aside.
♪
Then, in our mixer, we'll add
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt,
1/4 cup of coconut oil, then
we'll add 1/4 cup of mint
leaves.
Make sure they're organic.
And 1/4 cup of parsley leaves.
Again, organic is best.
♪
We'll blend those up in our
blender until they liquefy.
♪
Then we'll add our chopped
apples to the mixture.
We can pour the mixture out into
a tray.
You'll want to freeze this
overnight or until they're
completely solid.
♪
Make sure you store the frozen
treats in an airtight container
in your freezer.
I create smaller ones for my
dogs, but you also have the
opportunity to use silicon trays
and make ones that are a
pawprint or a dog bone.
It's a great minty treat, and
it'll keep your dog's breath
nice and fresh.
♪
♪
So, I thought it would be fun
for us to make flower collars
for our Cocker Spaniels.
And there's a really easy way to
do this.
It's very similar to the way
that I make the flower crowns
here on "Life in Bloom," and
we're simply going to use a
collar as our base.
I created one already using
artificial flowers, and it's all
wrapped around this, and it's
ready to be fastened on them.
And we'll do it now today with
some zinnias.
So what we need are some fresh
flowers, and we also need our
bind wire.
So, this is a wire that's
covered with craft paper.
And it's delicate enough so that
it won't cut through the
flowers.
We're actually gonna use the
flowers short, so we don't need
too much of a stem.
But don't make them too short.
You want to give yourself
probably about 4 to 6 inches.
♪
So we'll start.
And what I like to do with my
bind wire is, I pull it out of
the center, so I put it down on
the floor so that I'm always
pulling it up and it's not gonna
get tangled in anything else.
We'll lay about 6 inches of it
down and wrap it around so that
it's nice and secure.
This piece that heads down here
will be bound into it, so
that'll keep it secure, as well.
We'll lay our first zinnia on
top and simply wrap our bind
wire around it.
Next one goes on top of that,
and we'll wrap our bind wire
around it.
Next one.
We're just gonna continue to do
it this way, all the way down
the collar.
♪
You notice that I'm putting all
of them on top and not on the
bottom of the collar.
That way, it's not gonna change
the size of the collar so it
will still fit them correctly.
♪
The number of flowers are gonna
be determined by the size of the
dog and how big the collar is.
♪
♪
When we get to the end, leave
yourself about a foot and a half
of the bind wire.
We're gonna trim off these
stems.
We'll wrap this around to secure
everything.
Then I make a loop with the
bind wire.
That way, I can bring my wire
from the other side...
and secure it and twist it
together so that it doesn't come
loose.
I like to coat it with an
antitranspirant so that we can
coat it, to make sure it lasts
as long as it possibly can.
It's not gonna last as long as
our permanent one.
Obviously, this has no concerns.
But this one, depending upon the
heat of the day and how long you
have it on them will affect how
long it's gonna last.
♪
♪
Thank you for indulging me with
a show featuring one of my
favorite dog breeds, the
Cocker Spaniel.
Try translating these projects
and ideas to your favorite
breed and celebrate them, along
with flowers.
For "Life in Bloom,"
I'm J Schwanke.
♪
>> Got it.
Got it.
♪
Ladybird.
[ Whistles ]
We got them. Good.
♪
>> There's a good girl.
>> That's a good girl.
That's a good girl.
♪
Oh, that's nice, Ellie.
>> [ Laughs ]
>> There you go.
Good job.
"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.
♪
♪