Sin City Flowers

Written by Suzanne Smith
Driving from Southern California and out of the dry Nevada desert into the flash and glitz of Las Vegas is always an experience. Seeing the mix of old and the ever changing new resorts and casinos can be dizzying but it is never boring.In the harsh light of the day the city looks a bit dusty and filled with throngs of tourists in shorts and flip flops carrying their yard long Margaritas to take the heat down a notch. And it truly is a spectacle of international proportion as you hear the dialects spoken.My objective...to see the floral side of Las Vegas!I would start and base my adventure at the mid-point of the famous strip.The Planet Hollywood Resort was a clean neon dream. Filled with A-list displays of movie stars. As we entered the lobby, massive curved Swarovski Crystal columns glowed with thousands of strands of cut drops and rounds drawing your eyes to the casino above. I can only describe them as “Sexy Vegas chic”. And the designer in me tried to calculate the expense of just one of these massive displays.The flower du jour for PH was the green Goddess Calla, which I found in tall clear columns in the casino lounge. Not a floral heavy location, it was on to the Grand resorts of The Bellagio and Ceasar’s Palace.The Bellagio is massive and its famous dancing water fountains are amazing, but for a traditional flower lover it is a must see on a trip to this town. Wandering the gardens and grounds is a beautiful way to spend some non casino time. You must enter the hotel to see what can only be described as a fantasy of flowers. If traveling with kids they will love the display and live colorful birds.The concierge desk is accented with seasonal flowers in gorgeous displays that tower over the guests. Hundreds of bright yellow Sunflowers, mango calla lily, lavish stems of Sunny Cymbidium orchids and lily grass and massed bunches of erumurus fronds in bloom everywhere. The flowers are mirrored by the 2000 glass blossoms of artist Dale Chihuly set high overhead.Just Ahead is the center Botanical Garden with fantasy floral figures of giant lady bugs and Terracotta rose covered snails that you would be pleased to see visit your garden. Be sure to look above your head, as the hanging flowers and décor are to be found on every level.A Wisteria vine covered Victorian Conservatory greenhouse is the central focal with a wonderful rainbow of live Lorikeet birds and spouting water arches . It is quaint and a delight amid the flash of Vegas. The entire area is accented with flowering foliage plants , water features and Large Blue and Violet Hydrangeas.Topiary touches carry through the casino with seasonal displays as you wander the shops and fine dining areas. Large urns of yellow and mango Calla and orchids were tucked into niche and around marble statues all maintained by a team of 140 Expert Horticulturist.Wandering back into the desert heat I crossed a bridge and I found myself at Ceasar’s Palace as the pool scene was in full swing. In the middle of this Bacchanal stood a Lost groom in a tuxedo looking for the wedding garden. I thought I’d follow him and see what Ceasars Palace offered for their Vegas wedding package.The small side garden on the pool level featured trimmed boxwood hedges and a Giant Italian Marble statue of Venus overlooking the couple . The bride was waiting with a traditional teardrop bouquet of Deep red Gran Prix roses and Italian ruscus and the hotel in house florist had designed a side spray of matching roses with what looked like herbal thyme and rosemary for their posed photos. As I walked on I saw two more couples waiting nervously for their time slots. Yes, this was Vegas High summer wedding season.Taking a drive into the older realms of the city you will see Elvis greeting couples at the drive through Wedding venue and couples in their bridal finery walking to the assortment of chapels. Traditional flower shops can be found on the outskirts of the row of chapels offering their versions of the quick bouquet and Boutineer .As night fell the sparkle of the strip erupted as theatrically as the volcano at The Mirage. The vibe is electric and the dress turns from tourist trashy to Vegas Flashy & dress to impress.It was now time to browse The Venetian and its richly appointed sister The Palazzo.The Venetian with its Gondola filled canals and Italian crooning musicians does have impressive art and floral work. Beautiful scenic urns with gilded detail, spill Calla and Vanda Orchids to mimic the classic ceiling murals.The impressive St. Marks Square has sculpted spiral cypress and festive Italian festival lighting that gives the impression of a never ending dusk over Venice .The Palazzo was for me a floral highlight and offered impressive high style floral details and décor. A display of colorful umbrellas dripping drops of electric neon rain drops above a waterfall wall. Two story towering branches with Spanish moss & blown glass vials filled with Gebera daisies was a delight that had me wishing I could see how they maneuvered to change out the flowers every other day.Walking on through the Palazzo casino I spotted a modern sphere and branch display, In shades of buff and green...Kermit mums and sheet moss orbs above a central gaming and bar area.The horizontal placement of the branch above a sculpted base with orbs placed into the forked branch gave me the impression of “the color of money”. It was an unexpected artistic piece and so unlike any of the displays that were classically beautiful I had ventured to see so far in the casinos.As I entered the grand hall area the large niche areas of molded Italian plaster and marble featured large buff Manzanita branches spilling hundreds of Pink blush Cymbidiums in a display at least 20 feet in height. I had to stop and catch my breath. This was one design to stand and drink in. Truly inspiring in its simplicity, yet on a grand scale. Being so impressed, I ventured to contact The Venetian & Palazzo and requested a chance to interview their VP of Floral & Horticulture Audra Danzak, for this uBloom article. She graciously responded to my inquiries.Audra, what do you find challenging about designing in Las Vegas and in the casino Industry?Floral Design in Las Vegas must be innovative and memorable, the challenges that go along with this are our desert climate which gives us only a 3 day shelf life for fresh cuts, so fresh floral displays get costly. Working in a 24 hour industry means there is always activity and fresh flowers must be freshened up daily. Growing up in the mid-west I find the availability of flowers in the desert to be limited.What is your floral background?My background is in floral design and I also have a degree in landscape maintenance and water management (the other half of what I do). I started with a 2 year floriculture program in high school and have been in it ever since. Display has always come naturally to me and I have taken several courses in landscape design.What is your favorite flower to design with and favorite display?That’s a hard question because there are so many flowers that I love for many reasons. During the summer months I love working with Eremerus and Allium because they give a big show and they have vertical lines, Which when designing lobby pieces are welcoming to your guests, and scale is so important. Autumn brings millet and cattails and ornamental pumpkins. Winter Holiday time I love Amaryllis. My favorite display is yet to come, we have some wonderful projects on the plate!Can you share a funny story about your experiences with displays in Las Vegas?One funny story is that we had a wonderful Cranberry Bog set up for the holiday season and a guest was running towards the pond, thinking it was a walkway, and fell into the pool of cranberries. But as you can imagine working In Las Vegas we always have very interesting stories.Oh! I guess what happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas!If you could design an Ultimate Las Vegas Project what would it be?WOW, this is something I had to give some thought. As far as Las Vegas I would love to create walk-through butterfly gardens that would stay up all year round. As far as our resort my dream would be to create the Ultimate Wedding, calling it the Venetian Bride. I already have the vision of where we would have it and how the flowers would be displayed. Flowers would be flown in from all over the world with top designers working on them. Beautiful tents, pools, gardens with attention to every detail.That sounds fabulous, I’m sure many of the Experts would love to be on board for a project of that scale. I know I would!Pulling myself from the beauty of the Venetian and Palazzo, my final stop on this Vegas flower search was the Mandalay Bay resort.Home to the House of Blues , Raffles and the Lenin Bar. The mix of décor and floral is eclectic.The famous Aureole wine bar with its “Flying angel wine stewards” and exterior wall art of ample womens body parts carved in marble, is an eye popping display that has a line of tourist posing and pointing. The flora here is Succulents, which I found a bit subliminal, but fun. Here you will find palms of every variety and the must see is the Sushi house décor. The fog and mist rolls across the neon blue lit waters amid a mix of pebble Succulent plants, smooth stones and stands of golden bamboo.Designs here were exotic with an Asian flair that was clean and inviting. A restful spot amid the action of the adjacent casino scene.The shark lagoon and tropical feel of this resort is like an oasis in the desert , set just past the famous Las Vegas sign it can be your first or last stop before your flight or drive home.My time in Vegas was drawing to an end, and I had only touched the surface of what is an amazingly creative floral town. The unsung floral artists that live and work behind the scenes of the Las Vegas strip should be proud.They sure WOWED me.