>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"

is brought to you by...

Albertsons Companies...

with additional support from the

following...

CalFlowers...

Dollar Tree...

Sunshine Bouquet.

♪

>> Today on "Life in Bloom,"

we're featuring a timeless

flower, the sunflower.

I'll make several arrangements

using this popular bloom, create

three-dimensional wall art, and

I'll visit a clever baker who

creates exquisite flower cookies

and more.

♪

♪

I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Few flowers immediately lift the

spirit the way sunflowers do.

They're bright and cheery, as

warm and inviting as their

namesake, the sun.

Their brilliant yellow petals,

also known as rays, form a

sun-like appearance that has

made them a crowd favorite,

especially in the summer months.

♪

Sunflowers have become iconic

due in part to the sunflower

series by Dutch

post-impressionist painter

Vincent van Gogh.

Letters to his brother Théo

indicate creating the vivid oil

paintings brought van Gogh much

joy.

♪

Sunflowers continue to be a

constant inspiration for

fashion, home interiors,

crafting, and more.

♪

With the advent of social media,

many seek out golden fields of

them growing in the summer for

irresistible selfies.

♪

♪

Today's project is all about

topiaries.

We'll start with our sunflowers.

This is easy, because sunflowers

naturally make themselves into a

topiary form.

So, we've got our beautiful

sunflowers.

We're gonna gather them up, and

notice how the heads start to

form.

So, we continue to add them in.

I just look at the shape and

form of the sunflowers as I'm

putting them into my hand.

♪

That collection's gonna look

great.

We'll take our bind wire.

It's a craft covered wire.

We're simply gonna wrap it

around underneath the blooms.

♪

Gonna make a band with that bind

wire so that it's decorative as

well, and it's gonna support the

stems.

♪

Tie it off.

We want to make sure it's secure

at the top.

♪

That looks great.

And that's about the length

we're gonna want it.

So, you know how we cut a stem

so that it has a sharp angle?

We're gonna treat this as one

big stem, and we're gonna cut it

at an angle.

♪

So it's just like a smaller

stem, and it's gonna push into

the foam easily.

♪

Now, we'll take our other

sunflowers and we'll arrange

them around the bottom.

♪

You get the idea of how that's

gonna come together.

Now let's do something different

with the tree fern.

♪

I'm gonna take the stems, and

I'm gonna gather them up in my

hand the same way that I

gathered up those sunflower

heads...so that all the foliage

is falling up towards the top.

♪

We use our bind wire again.

♪

And we're gonna wrap it right

around where we were holding

those.

♪

I like having a broad little

band, because it holds everybody

together tightly.

So, now we'll trim it up.

Just like giving it a hair cut.

♪

So, now we have a perfect little

topiary shape.

Again, we're gonna cut that at

an angle.

♪

And then we'll go directly into

our container with that.

♪

We'll fill in around the base of

our sunflower topiary using

other sunflowers.

Next, we'll take four sunflowers

and place them around the base

of our tree fern topiary.

♪

Now I've got two other

containers, and these three

containers will stack.

Our first container we'll fill

in using sunflowers.

♪

The next one, we'll grab little

bundles of tree fern and place

those into the foam all the way

around and trim it off.

♪

Then I'll grab a small bundle of

tree fern, bind it off, and trim

it up.

We'll add it in between the

topiary base and the topiary top

so that we have tree fern in

both our arrangements.

Sunflowers and topiary tops --

it all goes together so well.

♪

So, I'm so excited for you to

meet my friend Kara Bolt from

Cyclops Bakeshop.

I fell in love with you through

your cookies.

I mean, your cookies, the first

time I saw your cookies, I was

walking through the farmer's

market and I -- like, my head

jerked around and they were

zinnias.

And I was just like, "I have to

have them," and they were, like,

all different colors and I

bought all different colors.

So, you've been doing this a

year and a half...

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ...and you end up in national

magazines with your radishes.

I love the-- I bought these.

I bought these, I bought the

asparagus.

I mean, I thought of "let's do

sunflowers," and you were like,

"Okay, send me some pictures,"

and then this is what happens.

So, where do you get your

inspiration?

Where does that come from?

What are you looking for?

>> Um, I mean, I kind of just --

My brain is just like a cookie

brain I guess, because I just

see things and I'm like, "Oh,

that would be a funny cookie" or

like, "Oh, I wonder how that

would look as a cookie."

And, you know, sometimes I make

them and they turn out terrible

and no one ever sees them.

>> Are there pictures of those?

>> No.

>> Oh, okay.

>> I, like, throw them away.

Um, but, yeah.

I just -- I don't know.

I think the more that you, like,

do something, the more your

brain is just, like, attuned

to finding those, you know,

things.

>> So, let's talk about the

cookies then.

So, these are vegan cookies.

So what made you say, "Okay,

I'm gonna do these cookies,

these fabulous cookies, and

I'm gonna make them vegan"?

>> You know, I personally am

vegan, and, you know, everyone's

like, on their own journey.

I'm not here to, like, judge

other people and things like

that.

But I think, like, if you have

the opportunity to choose

something that, you know,

involves less, like, animal

harm, it's probably a better

option.

And so I just wanted to do

something that, like, reflected

my own personal values.

So I chose to make them vegan.

>> Okay, so, I thought we would

decorate.

So show people how you decorate

the cookies.

>> Sure.

>> And maybe I would try it with

your coaching and see how -- see

how well I do with that.

So, yeah, show us what you do.

♪

>> Have you decorated cookies

before?

>> Poorly.

[ Laughter ]

I mean, at Christmas, I -- Okay,

Christmas, I do the royal

frosting and then I do the

sprinkles.

>> Yeah.

>> That's what I do.

>> That's great.

>> [ Chuckles ]

It's not like this.

>> Um...

So, the good thing about these

is that they're an organic

shape, so even if you mess up,

it's not a big deal.

>> Oh, okay, I get it.

>> Most of the cookies I do

involve flooding, which is like

putting down a really soft layer

first and then going back over

it, but these are, like, really

structural, so this is a little

bit different.

>> So, you make your own

frosting.

>> Yep.

So, I use -- So, typical royal

icing uses egg whites,

but I use the liquid from a can

of chickpeas 'cause it has a

similar protein structure and

you can whip it into, like,

meringue.

So that's how it hardens is

through that.

>> Alright.

And why it's even.

>> Right.

So, then you're just gonna go

back over.

>> What's your most popular

cookie?

>> I have definitely done a lot

of avocados.

People really like those.

>> Oh, right.

Your avocados are adorable.

>> Honestly, any, like, pop

culture.

It's interesting to see --

>> You do interesting

pop culture stuff.

>> Yeah.

It's interesting to see what

people, like, connect with.

Sometimes cookies, I'm like,

"Oh, this is gonna be great,"

and then everyone's like, "What

is that?"

So it just -- It kind of just

depends.

So, yeah.

This is just -- You can pretty

much do whatever you want at

this point.

Just adding color, and generally

the more detail something has,

the more interesting it is.

You want to try?

>> I do -- I have been dying to

try, but yeah.

So let's see what happens.

>> Okay.

>> Alright.

>> Okay, so people have

different ways of holding their

bags.

Um, this is what I generally do.

>> Okay. Alright.

>> But you can kind of...

>> So, okay, got it.

I see. Okay.

'Cause I've got to keep that out

of the way so it doesn't run

into stuff, right?

>> Right.

>> Okay.

It wants to go.

Oh, so you want to be --

'cause -- Oh, okay.

♪

>> Yeah. There you go.

>> Uh-huh.

♪

♪

♪

So, we have a tradition on

"Life in Bloom."

Because you came to share your

fabulous cookies with me,

I made you a flower crown.

>> Oh, thank you.

It's beautiful.

>> So, yeah, let's see how well

I did.

>> Is that hosta?

>> Yes. There are hosta.

There's marigolds.

There's lilies.

>> Wow.

>> So, I didn't have sunflowers,

but I had pretty little gerbera

daisies.

>> Thank you.

>> Here we go.

Oh, that's pretty.

See? That looks good.

>> Thank you.

>> Yeah.

Thank you so much for coming and

sharing what you do so well,

and I appreciate the fact that

you came to be on the show.

>> Thanks for having me.

I appreciate it, too.

>> You're very welcome.

♪

I love a party, and it's fun to

have a garland of flowers

running down the center of the

table.

It's easy to create with

sunflowers and ribbon.

You can start with a premade

garland of foliage or even

repurpose a Christmas garland.

No one would know.

I like to use three different

kinds of ribbon.

I use tints, tones, and shades

of yellow and run out an ample

length of each.

Then I simply use a bamboo

skewer to push the ribbon into

the garland, making big loops.

♪

And then it's time to add the

sunflowers.

Sunflowers can last quite a long

time out of water, so I can add

them right before the party.

Or if I need more longevity,

I can place them into a water

tube.

Placing the sunflowers where

I've gathered the ribbon looks

like the flowers are holding the

ribbon in place.

♪

♪

To make the flowers last even

longer, I can spray the entire

garland with an

antitranspirant to reduce

evaporation.

♪

Now all that's left is to set

the table and bring on the

party.

♪

♪

Sunflowers are fun to arrange

with, but it's also fun to work

with flowers that are

reminiscent of sunflowers, and

then we can play with texture

and scale in our arrangement.

Let me show you how it's done.

♪

♪

Using yellow foliage like coleus

or yellow Lysimachia flowers

mimics the color of the

sunflower...

while flowers like coreopsis,

coneflower, and daisies echo the

shape and form of the sunflower.

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

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♪

♪

♪

♪

As far back as 3,000 BC,

Native Americans grew sunflowers

for medicine, oil, and food.

♪

The seeds of the sunflower are

highly nutritious and are a rich

source of protein, potassium,

magnesium, calcium, iron, and

vitamin E.

♪

Sunflowers need at least six to

eight hours of sunlight a day,

but time is ideal.

♪

The flower buds display a unique

behavior called heliotropism.

They gradually move to follow

the sun's position in the sky as

it moves through the day from

east to west.

♪

Sunflowers are typically yellow

but can also be purple, orange

or red or even a mix of these

hues.

♪

Sunflowers range in height from

one foot for dwarf varieties

to giant varieties more than 10

feet tall.

♪

Sunflowers are inspirational.

They brighten up any space.

But what if you wanted to use

them to decorate your home or

office?

Permanent or silk flowers are

wonderful stand-ins for fresh

flowers when fresh are either

not available or sometimes not

practical for a situation.

Even principles of fêng shui

allow for silk flowers or images

of flowers to substitute for

fresh flowers.

These stand-ins also provide

similar health and wellness

benefits.

I could arrange these stems in a

vase, but I asked myself, "What

can I craft with these permanent

flowers that isn't practical or

possible with fresh flowers?"

So, today we'll make a piece of

art that we can hang on the

wall.

I'm using a square of Styrofoam,

and we're gonna place our

permanent sunflowers into that

Styrofoam, and we'll make a

framed piece we can hang on the

wall.

We'll also add a ribbon accent

around the outside and use

some moss to fill in between the

sunflower heads.

It's great, 'cause we're able to

glue these heads directly to the

Styrofoam exactly where we want

them.

So it's a fun project that you

can do with your kids.

Hot glue is the only thing that

you're gonna use.

I prefer a low-temp glue gun

because it's safer for

everybody.

♪

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♪

♪

Armatures are quite the rage

when it comes to flower

designing.

I like to make armatures the

easy way.

They can be very intricate and

be very time consuming, but I

like to have something that's

simple that looks great when

we're done.

Today, we're gonna create our

armature out of curly willow.

And we're gonna use it by

placing it over the top of the

container and then clamping them

together using small pieces of

the flat wire.

I've cut off little pieces from

the regular bolt, and we'll use

those to attach our armature.

We'll start with a couple pieces

that have the most interesting

turns to them, placing them over

the top of our container...and

getting them situated just about

where we want them.

We connect the pieces together

simply by taking the flat wire

and wrapping it around the curly

willow branches.

♪

We bind our connection points

together by folding the flat

wire around them.

That's an easy way to make the

connections wherever we want

them to be.

♪

Wrapping the curly willow around

the vase helps me grip it to the

container.

Placing vertical stems inside

the vase into the water, and

then binding them to the

structure that goes horizontally

helps create stability and also

a vertical interest for the

overall arrangement.

♪

Although it begins to look

complex, the technique of

binding the stems together with

a flat wire is still very easy.

The armature can go together

very quickly, or you can take

time and create a wonderful

artistic representation as well.

♪

Today, we're using a selection

of sunflowers, Pincushion

Protea, kangaroo paw, and

Craspedia yarrow, or globe

yarrow.

I've also got a couple pieces of

ribbon aspidistra that we'll use

as well.

So, we'll use a few of these

flowers to accent our armature

structure.

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

This is a great way to enjoy a

few flowers from the garden or a

local farmer's market.

In addition, the structure can

be created from just about any

type of branch.

♪

♪

I hope our journey through

sunflowers has resulted in a

sunny disposition.

I know they always bring me

cheer.

Whether you grow them in your

garden, pick them up at the

farmer's market, or gaze into

artwork, be sure to take a

moment to bask in their golden

glow.

For "Life in Bloom," I'm

J Schwanke.

>> Um, I have a surprise for

you, by the way.

>> Stop it. Okay.

I love surprises.

>> Okay.

♪

>> Stop it.

>> This is you as a cookie.

>> It is me as a cookie!

'Cause that's what you do!

Oh, my God.

>> And I actually brought this

one so that you can decorate

yourself.

>> Nice.

>> If you would like.

>> Oh, sure. Let's do that.

>> Okay.

>> Let me try. Okay.

So I need...Let's see.

I guess I need -- I need a nose,

right?

Yeah.

Is that where I start?

>> That's where I start, yeah.

>> Okay.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"

is filmed in Grand Rapids,

Michigan.

>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom"

is brought to you by...

Albertsons Companies...

with additional support from the

following...

CalFlowers...

Dollar Tree...

Sunshine Bouquet.

♪

Closed-caption funding provided

by Holland America Flowers.

♪

For everything flowers, recipes,

projects, and more information,

visit ubloom.com.

♪