Treat yourself to a unique opportunity working with one of the best floral designers in the business, Ariella Chezar, in an upcoming workshop in beautiful Sonoma, California. This three-day workshop, from June 12th- 14th, will teach students how to arrange centerpiece flowers using Ariella’s signature compote, the process of creating a soft cascading bridal bouquet and wedding garlands, and finally how to create an overall event concept and and environment.

Below, Ariella describes the impact of this event, what students will learn, and how they will expand upon their skills:

“During the three days, participants will be immersed in my design style and sense of color using flowers that I love. One day will focus on centerpieces, the next on bridal flowers, and the third on what comes into play when conceiving of a whole event. We will take inspiration from two life size design boards, (which will be designed in collaboration with Kathryn Storke whose blog Snippet and Ink is known for it’s gorgeous color boards) one for a modern, and one for a romantic design. La Tavola Linens and Classic Party Rentals are donating their products, so there will be a great selection of rentals for students to incorporate into the designs.  Students will come away with understanding my approach to creating bridal bouquets and centerpieces as well as my technique for layering colors tone and tone.”

For more information or to register (there are still a few spots left!) see the full trip brochure here.

Gudrun with students

We started the second section of our trip titled, “Modern Interpretations” over the weekend.  For this leg of the trip, we made Ghent, Belgium, our home base.  This medieval city has a very strong history and appreciation for flowers.  Due to it being surrounded by fields of flowers, it quickly gained the nick name “city of flowers.”  Here, we experienced many of the city’s contemporary floral traditions, and learn techniques from some of their most celebrated florists.

Our Introductory Design

One of the designers we worked with was Gudrun Cottenier of de Groene Verbeelding School.  Gudrun took our students through a host of design concepts that are most common for Belgian designers.  In particular, one design that really stuck with the group was using discarded rubber from bicycle tubes to wrap a nondescript vase.  We have used birch bark, leaves and sometimes plastic products created for the floral industry, but never garbage.  This was an insightful and refreshing new take on design.

She then moved onto an interesting technique for treading grasses.  In the above case, this is a special weave of bear grass to form a cone siting in a rubber vase with one single rose.

After doing over five different inspiring designs, it became abundantly clear that Belgians often give as much attention to their containers as they do the flowers themselves.  In Gudrun’s class, students learned the lengthly process of making containers for each of their designs.  The containers included woven sticks, branches cemented to wooden boxes, wax bowls and giant metal frames.

Below are some more examples.

See our Facebook for the complete shoot.

All of the plants here are grown as green as possible. For example, rather than pesticides they use spiders, and rather than fungicides they use tiny packages of organic matter distributed at the base of the plants.

Roses still on the plant and in the ground.

Cut roses drinking

Quality control and packaging.

Group on tour with Rutger.

Next, during a workshop with Dutch Master Florist, Rob Plattel, we learned the long-lasting history of flowers in the Dutch landscape at the Historical Garden Aalsmeer. The Dutch flower tradition began at Aalsmeer in the early 17th Century when first generation farmers and peasants began an in agriculture. Later this area became known for its floriculture, and in the 1890′s, with the perfection of making glass windows, the first greenhouses were built. They began growing some of the first varieties of roses and lilac.  The Historical Garden is committed to growing these ancient varieties that their ancestors cultivated on the same grounds hundreds of years ago. It is amazing how these plants are true living histories of the country’s floricultural past.

See even more pictures of this amazing historical location here.

Historic Aalsmeer

Plants taken outside and planted after harvest.  They will settle here for the next 2 years.

Old root stock with new grafts.

Old rose varieties.

50 year old plant with abundance of flowers ready for harvest.

Stay tuned for more images of our experience at the world’s largest horticultural expo Floriade, and the next portion of the tour in Belgium. See more images of the tour on our  Facebook Page!

Above:  Spring popping on the street across from our hotel

Hello from Amsterdam! One day and FSNY has already seen and done so much. Early yesterday morning we visited the Aalsmeer Flower Auction; and incredible experience seeing the size and efficiency of this facility. Aalsmeer is one of the largest buildings in the world (10.6 million sq ft.) and sells over 20 million flowers around the world every day.  It is entirely owned by the flower growers to help bring their products to market.  This is important to point out because  the auction ultimately benefits the farmers as a way of getting their product to market and forces high quality control in line with market expectations.

Viewing farms and seeing the origin point of flowers really gives perspective of the industry. To see the generations of tradition, ingenuity and all out back breaking work is quite a sight.

Below is a selection of images from the tour with descriptions.  For the entire collection, check out our Facebook page.

Car with rose design on top.  Seemingly a simple design.  However, the roses on the top were some of the biggest, most luxurious, white roses we had seen to date.  They make the car look even smaller than it is.

Auction workers have 2 hours to get the product, from the point of purchase, to the purchase’s distribution center where it is awaited by packers and idling plains.  If it is not there in the 2 hour window, the auction pays for it.

Preferred mode of personal transportation.

The price starts high, one euro for example, and goes down with time.  The clock, indicated by the large circle, bounces around like a tennis ball.  To get off 20 million stems per day, and in just a few hours, the whole process is lightning fast.  Bidders often have less than one second to react making this a highly caffeinated process.

New styles for export.

After seeing all those flowers, we spent some time and euros purchasing some goodies to take home.

Petals Floral & Party Design in Locust Valley, NY is looking for a motivated and well experienced floral designer for their busy, up-scale store on Long Island. This person must be able to help with wedding preparations and store management.

In addition to floral care and design, this individual must have knowledge of the business, day to day operations, good computer and phone skills. Must be dependable, punctual, and without issues and dependencies.

Full time/ Part time

Weekends are a must.

Contact Petals directly to apply with prior experiences, skills and salary requirements.

516 674 9325

It is interesting to think about how floral trends can change over time; what was once considered outdated and tired, can be revitalized into something new. This is what Matthew Robbins did during his exceptional master class last Thursday.

To begin the class, Matthew explained how for his very first photo shoot with Martha Stewart, Martha asked Matthew to reinterpret the traditional cascading bouquet. At first Matthew was unsure, because he immediately thought of those gaudy 1980′s cascading bouquets that were popular over twenty years ago. But put to the challenge, Matthew had to reinterpret the idea of a cascading bouquet and achieve the look he really wanted.  What does a modern cascade look like?

Years later, the soft cascade, or semi-cascade look is exceptionally popular and a beautiful design for any bride to hold. This shape is asymmetrical and organic; not as formulaic as the more traditional round bouquets. A cascading bouquet allows you to use the gesture of the materials and the length of the stems to create the shape of the bouquet.  Matthew described it as, “a sophisticated version of what you might gather from the garden.”

To begin, Matthew started by creating a little collection of flowers on the table. He used some of the sturdier stems to create a base, such as the lilac or the delphiniums; giving the bouquet some support for the more delicate stems. Next, he started to weave other flowers into the bouquet, while keeping in mind which colors and textures go together.

Keeping a limited color palette, Matthew selected a beautiful array of purple flowers including dendrobium orchids, sweet pea and whips of jasmine. For contrast Matthew also included really beautiful and graphic flowers called Nerine, which almost looked like little firecrackers in the bouquet, as well as while freesia for sent. For the extra added touch, Matthew brought in the most beautiful and delicate clematis flowers as well as blooming passion vine. This was an incredible addition and a perfect finishing touch to the overall bouquet!

Take a look at more images of Matthew’s class on Facebook HERE.

Last week Eileen and Cal were invited to a special viewing the NYBG’s Orchid Show featuring Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens, and simply based on their reaction this show is surely not to be missed! French botanist and artist, Patrick Blanc creates the most lush and textural living tapestries by building large vertical structures then covers them in orchids, ferns, exotic plants to completely transform the look and feel of a space, engulfing the visitor.

The Orchid Show is currently on view till April 22nd.

On March 8th, Lewis Miller of LMD gave an incredible Master Class demonstrating his unique design style called “Fleurs Sauvage”, which combines both structural and natural elements in one look.  To explain this style, Lewis asked the class to “imagine a structured garden that has been fertilized to death and has gone crazy.”  To create this beautifully graphic, yet soft and natural design, Lewis used lush textural greens such as gaylex leaves, umbrella ferns, and horsetails which emulated the horizontal and vertical lines similarly found in nature.

Lewis always looks to bring the energy and motion of natural plants in his designs. Using his years of of horticultural study, Lewis prunes his flowers and leaves to replicate how they would naturally look.  For example, Lewis explained how in nature you never see the backside of leaves, because they always follow the path of the sun. With this in mind, in designing you should also show the front of the leaves mimicking nature.

Once the greens were in place, to soften the look Lewis next added purple and violet local anemones, green ranunculus from Holland and checkerboard lilies called fritillaria. Referring to these flowers as “silly little things,” Lewis mentioned that the fritillaria are particularly fitting for this design because they are graphic, but very light and natural as well.

Above all, Lewis explained how his design style is all about compromises and contrasts. While combining and bridging the gap between the natural, organic style and the architecturally modern look, he also highlights and plays on the differences between style to create the overall look.

Check out more pictures of Fleurs Sauvage on our Facebook page. Also, read about Lewis’ upcoming workshop, “Saying Goodbye with Grace and Beauty” taking place at his beautiful East Village studio on May 24th.

Spring is certainly in the air, and here at FlowerSchool we are in anticipation of all the excitement and promise it brings. Although these beautiful 60 degree days may have come upon us a little early, it is hard not to get excited with the daffodils sprouting and branches in bloom. With the beginning of spring, comes our spring and summer programming too! A highlight being our first annual trip to Holland.

Bruges, Belgium

This whole week we have been putting the finishing touches on our trip, and it keeps on getting better and better. While we are in Ghent, learning from some of Belgium’s finest and most accomplished florists, we thought it was too great an opportunity to not visit the neighboring city of Bruges as well. Well boy were we right! Scouting for restaurants and chocolate shops in this historic and medieval city was too much fun. This is certainly going to be a trip for the senses between the flowers, food and chocolate!

Check out this recent New York Times article: 36 Hours in Bruges.