flower blog

Believe it or not, spring is right around the corner. Celebrate the season with free flowers by entering Flower Blog's monthly floral bouquet sweepstakes. Make a comment on any post this month and you'll be automatically entered.

The winner for February will be picked on or around March 6. To see the official rules, visit www.teleflora.com/FLOWERBLOG/post/February-is-about-all-flowers%2c-here's-your-chance-to-win-a-bouquet.aspx.  

Good luck, flower fans!  
 

Today's post is from expert florist Tim Farrell of Farrell’s Florist in Drexel Hill, PA, www.farrellsflorist.com.  



Want your party to be an event that all of your guests will remember? Just add the right flowers. Your local florist can create beautiful bouquets to elaborate on a theme, complement any décor, or just add a fun-filled sense of creativity and beauty to an evening of fun and friends.

Want to transfer your space into a tropical paradise? Try adding just a few blooms to an carved wood vase. Stems of heliconia or anthurium are bright in color and unusual in form and you only need a few combined with one or two beautifully patterned leaves to create a dynamic arrangement. Pour a bit of sand and a few shells at the base of your design and you are all set for some Jimmy Buffet music!

You can easily create an Arabian Nights theme on your table by scattering multicolored silk scarves across your table and adding in an arrangement of intensely toned flowers. Look for velvety red roses (I personally recommend a variety called “Charlotte”) and pair them with purple lisianthus and orange Mokara orchids. The bold colors lend themselves to a feeling of opulence. Dim the lights and place about a dozen or so candles on the table and you have a setting fit for Rudolph Valentino.

Another fun party could be themed around the four seasons! You can accent one room with an arrangement consisting of sunflowers and lemons. Lay out many pairs of sunglasses and have guests wear them as long as they are in that room. In another room, scatter artificial fall leaves on a table and group different sized pumpkins around vases of orange lilies.

Have your guest sport Halloween masks as long as they are gathered in this place. Feature winter in a third room with vases of all white flowers like larkspur or stock, nestled these vases in mounds of ice cream salt…..it looks just like crushed ice….but no mess. Mittens are a must when you enter this room!

Lastly, group bunches of tulips, iris and daffodils in clay pots throughout your spring room. Fun old-fashioned Easter bonnets could be available for the women, and you can keep the guys happy with an assortment of baseball caps to celebrate the onset of spring training! Whatever your theme……your local florist will most likely be able to come up with a creative suggestion to make your party memorable.

 

Each year, one of the most important decisions at the Oscars is the color scheme for the impressive display of flowers that helps make the ceremony such a grand event. Between 70,000 and 80,000 blooms will be used and florists from all over the country are lending their talents to help pull it off. And this year’s winner is: red and yellow/gold.

Just as film is a visual medium with a universal language so is flower arranging. With that in mind, it’s particularly interesting to consider what those brilliant blooms will say to millions of viewers all over the world.

Red is the classic color for passion, which is a must-have for any filmmaker, actor or tech genius. Red roses especially make us think of drama with a capital D and the creative spirit of love. Remember, it is a red carpet! Additionally, the number of roses in a bouquet can also influence the flowers’ meaning. Oh, and those thorns … hmmm, I think I’ll let you figure that out from the tabloids.

As for yellow, any flower in that color sends a message of joy, friendship, affection and fun. In the Victorian era, a yellow bouquet meant jealousy. Just saying … after all, not everyone can win! And I know I’m jealous of the chance to stroll down that carpet.

 

 
Rich Salvaggio works with more than 20 florists from
around the country to make Oscar flowers picture perfect.

Any bets on which celebs will make flowers part of their ensembles at the Oscars on Sunday? My money's on Best Actress contender Anne Hathaway, who played the sister of a bride and the daughter of a florist in the movie "Rachel Getting Married." (The other nominees are Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet.

From the Best Supporting actress list, I predict Amy Adams as the most likely to sport flower power. (She's competing with Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Marisa Tomei.)

Key to the beauty and excitement of the event are flowers. Lots and lots of flowers! Up to 80,000 stems will be on the red carpet, in the arrivals tent, at the artists’ entrance, dressing-room bouquets, VIP arrangements and elsewhere. This year's special blooms include roses, anthurium, ginger, gerbera daisies, Oriental lilies, alstroemeria, carnations and lots of greenery.

"It will have an architectural feeling, strong lines softened with greenery," says floral design expert Rich Salvaggio (shown above preparing for last year's ceremony). Rich coordinates the big event with Charisma Floats and Designs charismafloats.com and more than 20 floral designers from around the country. 

With gray skies and winter rain in LA recently, Rich is prepared to cover and uncover the flowers to allow for pre-shooting on Friday. Check Flower Blog on Friday to find out what color the Oscar flowers will be.

How does Rich keep his cool when juggling all these demands? "I stay 12 hours ahead. That way I'm ready for anything!"