My Adventures

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...

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...

All Photography By: Laura Pearson Couture floral design may be used when creating a floral design for a flower show or stylish event. We may look to the French for haute couture inspiration.  Much like fabric, leaves and grasses may be folded into graceful shapes to...

One of the most useful designs for filling large spaces is the phoenix design.  The name comes from an ancient Egyptian legend of a colorful bird called a Phoenix.  It lives in the desert for hundreds of years and then self ignites. When the ashes rise to heaven...

Thanksgiving is approaching and a good time to add fruits and vegetables to table arrangements.  With just a few tricks this can be easy and the effect is long lasting.Look to the vegetable aisle in the supermarket for colors and textures to enhance flowers. I like to...

I had the pleasure of visiting Leesburg Virginia for their semi annual Leesburg Garden Club Symposium 2018.  The event took place at Riverside on the Potomac, a fabulous barn and party venue that made working in a barn a very glamorous experience.  The light inside...