My Adventures

Walking though the neighborhood in October awes us with vibrant hues.  Using fall leaves in floral designs brings the outdoors inside. This bouquet is created in a twig basket with a chicken wire base to support the stems. Preserved oak leaves are strung onto wire and...

Water can be a graceful way to elevate flowers in a vase without the heaviness of a ceramic or other material. Let’s take a look at some ways to work with the element of water without creating an underwater design.

August in Pennsylvania brings hot summer days and fields of zinnias.  The name zinnia comes from a German botanist, Johann Gottfried Zinn who found zinnias in Mexico and brought them to Europe where he bred varieties and new hybrid forms. Zinnias are easy to grow in...

Ikebana is the Japanese art of floral design and there are many schools of Ikebana including Ikenobo, the oldest and largest school founded in the 15th century. For many years the term ikebana meant following the strict established forms of the Ikenobo school. In 1927...

Peony flowers have been favorites for many years. The Chinese preferred the full double blooms as a sign of position and wealth. Japanese people favored the simplicity of the single flower. In Europe, it was the fragrance of the blooms that attracted people to the...

Peony flowers have been favorites for many years. The Chinese preferred the full double blooms as a sign of position and wealth. Japanese people favored the simplicity of the single flower. In Europe, it was the fragrance of the blooms that attracted people to the...

One of my favorite design styles is the cascade or waterfall design.  As in its name, it has a form with primarily downward motion but with some curls in upward motion.   Gregor Lersch says. “Water falls down and splashes up.”  We teach this Art Nouveau inspired...

Daffodil is the common name for Narcissus and both names are interchangeable. It is a very satisfying perennial to grow and is adaptable to many growing conditions, hardy, and increases from year to year. Another big plus is that deer do not like it! To get an array...

When people ask me how my career evolved in floral design I have to give credit to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Flower Show. While taking classes and workshops, whenever they were offered, the chance to try my luck in competition was a...

One of my favorite books is “The Secret Lives of Color” by Kassia St. Clair who begins her chapter on white with quotes from Melville’s Moby Dick.  “The Whiteness of the Whale,” is a powerful chapter touching on the psychological effect of the color white. It can be...