>> "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.

♪

♪