Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming -- An Easy Floral Arrangement

It's always fun to go back to WKAR, where I used to work, so when I was invited for a special floral arranging workshop with J. Schwanke, host of "Life in Bloom," I was eager to say yes! (Cue the music!)


The program airs in 83 markets and WKAR is the producing station. I was delighted to walk into a studio filled with tables, laid out with greens. We were given our clippers (a great take-away!) and then J started his presentation (being recorded; if it streams, I'll link it!)


After some opening remarks he walked us through our arrangement, a symphony in white!


We were given three carnations, six roses, one hydrangea and one orchid, along with the greens.


He also used black oasis. I'd not seen this before but it's great because it's unobtrusive if not totally covered. He also beveled the edges, which made inserting the flowers a bit easier.


We started placing the hydrangea in the center, then laying in the tree carnations in a triangle of the oblong piece. Then we placed six roses between the carnations. He says every arrangement has what he calls "Thriller," "Spiller" and "Filler."


You could call the hydrangea the thriller or the orchid. I thought they were both pretty thrilling. The filler is the greens and I guess everything else is the spiller. I was writing and listening too fast to be sure.


We learned some fun tricks, like how to turn the aspidistra into what looked like a ribbon (the big silver leaf). (To do that, fold the large leave over to about an inch or two from the stem and poke it through the leaf, then poke the stem into the foam.) With the grasslike pieces, if you cut them short and tightly wrap them with wire (or hold them close), you can put them into the oasis all together. (I have to watch Lizzie like a hawk around those!)


He also showed us how to run the ribbon through the arrangement rather than making a bow. This is a fun trick (it requires a polyester ribbon, probably wired). Use a chopstick or something firm to put a chunk of the ribbon into the foam, then loop it into another spot on the arrangement and stick it in the same way, and again until you're satisfied with the look.


This is a perfect arrangement for the holidays. The rose is protected by thornsand represents secrets, life, blood, death and rebirth. Virgin Mary is often painted with roses and in Christianity the blooms hold a special place to remind people of what Jesus did and the promises he made.


And, besides, like the orchid, they're just beautiful.


Our arrangement also included a silver pine cone but one could easily do a very similar arrangement or insert more colorful holiday ornaments for a brighter look. Here it is at home!


I love it! (Check out J's site for more floral ideas and tips. Oh, and he was a great guy, too!)

Sharing with:   Let's Keep In Touch      /     Pink Saturday     

31 comments:

Liz@ HomeandGardeningWithLiz said...

What a fun event to attend. I follow J on FB after I saw an arrangement he made for P. Allen Smith. Yours turned out lovely and I like the design of the arrangement!

thepaintedapron.com said...

What a fun experience! Thanks for sharing all the cool tips and tricks! I love that black oasis! The combination of flowers is gorgeous!
Jenna

R's Rue said...

Lovely.

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful arrangement. Hugs, Valerie

Rustic Pumpkin said...

What a beautiful and fun thing to do. Thanks for the tip on inserting the ribbon! I think even I could manage this arrangement.

Deb in Wildly Windy Wales

Louca por porcelana said...

How adorable!

Misadventures of Widowhood said...

Truly beautiful! I have not heard of black Oasis, just the green. Makes sense when using a black vase or base. Those roses and orchids are so pretty.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Looks like you had a lot of fun.

Iris Flavia said...

Beautiful arrangement!

Pam said...

Oh wow....those flowers are so pretty. Cold here today with snow flurries, not pretty flowers. I am HORRIBLE at flower arranging.

Alexandria said...

That's a beautiful arrangement and what fun to learn from a great teacher.

Lynne said...

Sounds like, Looks like a wonderful learning experience!
Your piece is gorgeous!
Oh Happy Day!!!

My name is Erika. said...

What a fun day out, and I think it was made even better by making such a gorgeous flower piece. That was a nice change of pace I bet. Hugs-Erika

Joyful said...

What a fun outing. Later I'd love to see the program if you have a link. I love white bouquets. I find them so classy and elegant. Actually I love monochromatic floral bouquets with greenery, in many colours but white is my favourite.

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Jeanie, your arrangement is lovely. I'm partial to white flowers and these are beautiful. What fun events you attend.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I did a bit of flower arranging in a previous lifetime. You were lucky to be invited. I took a similar (free at our extension office years ago) class. The flowers were sorted similarly but the wording was different. The designs were sorted, too. Your beautiful arrangement turned out great.

Sami said...

Beautiful flower arrangement Jeanie. I'd never seen black oasis, but the last time I arranged flowers was quite a few years ago, when all they had was the green one.

Victoria Zigler said...

Sounds like a fun little workshop. Glad you got to go to it. Thanks for sharing the tips you got from it with us. :)

Sandra at Maison De Jardin said...

Love your arrangement, Jeanie. There is much that goes into a beautiful floral design. And your design is lovely. I would imagine with your artistic talents you would quickly become a great designer. During my many years in garden club, I did many designs and was involved with planning many flower shows. I enjoyed it all and learned so much.

The French Hutch said...

How nice to attend at your past workplace and this looks like it was such fun. Great info, loved reading about the rose. Your arrange turned out beautifully! I do love fresh flowers.......Happy week dear Jeanie.

Friko said...

Thanks ever so, you’ve given me a few ideas how to make my own festive arrangements. Particularly the oasis and ribbon tricks.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I do love white floral arrangements and this one is lovely. Working in an environment where this is on the schedule sounds like heaven to me.

Prims By The Water said...

What a beautiful arrangement! Janice

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Sounds like a lot of fun!! Very pretty!! Thanks so much for always stopping by!!
Hugs,
Debbie

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

What a fun event. The flower arrangement is beautiful. Well done!

Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy weekend ahead!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Beautiful! What a cheery and bright arrangement that will work for many seasons! I can see why you have to watch Lizzie extra closely. Kitty would love to chew on something like that!!!

Lowcarb team member said...

Looks a great event, and I love your arrangement :)

All the best Jan

Pam Richardson said...

Jeanie, now this an event that I would have loved. He definitely shared some great ideas for flower arranging, I will reread this post a few times to take it all in. Your arrangement turned out beautiful ...love the orchid!

William Kendall said...

I'd be out of my element trying this.

Evi Erlinda said...

Stunning white arrangement!

Katie Mansfield said...

That is gorgeous.

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