Flower Power (101)Interior designer Sheila Bridges demonstrates how to enhance the look of a home with flowers. She then visits NYC's Flower District and a leading floral design shop, Bloom, to learn how to create beautiful floral arrangements.
Growing and Displaying Flowers at Home
- The most popular orchid grown in the home is Phalaenopsis or 'Moth Orchid'
- Herbs such as rosemary and thyme make excellent topiaries.
- Fiddleheads are young, edible fronds from ferns that grow in the Eastern United States.
- Peonies are available in a variety of colors ranging from deep red to white. Those with blooms partially closed will last up to a week.
- To get maximum longevity from a flower arrangement, change its water every day.
- Use a floral frog or colorful stones in the bottom of a vase to hold the flowers upright.
- Don't place flowers near certain types of fruit such as apples, which produce methane gas that kills flowers.
Designer's Notebook
- Enhance the décor of a room with flowers.
- Flowers are the perfect greeting in a foyer.
- Place flowers on a coffee table, away from sunlight and the TV.
- Scientific studies show that flowers can reduce symptoms of depression or anxiety.
- Flowers thrive in the humidity of a bathroom.
Contact Information
Takashimaya
693 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10022
800-753-2038
Resources
www.orchidweb.org
The American Orchid Society home page
www.nybg.org/edu/soph/
The New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture website
Floral Arranging
- Recut flower stems every 2-3 days underwater to ensure the stems draw in water and not air.
- Remove leaves that will be below water to reduce bacteria.
- Cutting stems at an angle increases the surface area where water goes up the stem. Other methods of increasing waterflow are multiple slices into the stem's end and crushing the bottom of the stem.
- When arranging, try to create a dome-shape with the tallest flower(s) in the arrangement's center.
- A floral arrangement should be 1 to 1-1/2 times taller than its container.
- If you're using a glass container, use an angle cut to avoid floating particles from the cross cut or mashing technique.
Contact Information
Lesly Zamor
Bloom Flowers, New York, NY 10022
212-832-8094, www.bloomflowers.com
Resources:
Arranging: The Basics of Contemporary Floral Design by Hal Cook
Flowers A To Z—A practical guide to Buying, Growing, Cutting, and Arranging by Cecelia Heffernan
Sheila's Fab Finds
Vase d'Avril ($195) and Japanese Shears ($22-28) from:
Takashimaya
693 5th Ave., New York, NY 10022
800-753-2038
Bottle Vases ($24-38) and Decorative Stones ($3.95-4.85/lb.) from:
Smith & Hawken
www.smithandhawken.com
Bypass Pruners ($18) from:
MoMA Design Store
800-447-MoMA (6662)
www.momastore.org
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