Episode 103- The Romance of Flowers
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Host J Schwanke shares why flowers are considered romantic, and how to use flowers for every day romance. Beautiful, fragrant flowers are used in arrangements, recipes, and for relaxation.There's Bonus Content- just follow the Blue Links!Pretty Floating Flower Centerpiece- I love making flower arrangements- and we decided it would be fun to create short videos- that help teach you how EASY it is to create simple centerpieces! We frequently create "PRETTY" Videos- at uBloom- that are akin to the TASTY Videos you see about cooking! Here's one that we created for an arrangement that's featured in this week's show- The Romance of Flowers... the Floating Flower Centerpiece!Rose Colors- and their Meanings - It's one of the most popular questions I'm asked... what does the color of a rose mean? I created a wonderful product- many years ago called the "Floral Fan Deck" for the John Henry Company that told the different meanings of all kinds of flowers- (among other valuable information)... There's also a great book - called the Language of Flowers- the describes all kinds of flowers and their meanings... it's a great resource too. I have a Free Flower Guide on uBloom.com that lists the different meaning of all kinds of flowers... it's fun to explore!Eufloria Flowers - and my friend Chad Nelson. In this show I visit my Favorite Rose Grower- Eufloria Flowers in Nipomo California- this was my 3rd Filmed visit- and if you want to check out the entire visit- that was part of our CA Grown Experience on uBloom Documentary - you can watch it here! Eufloria Flowers Garden Rose Collection!I've written a blog about my Eufloria Friend Chad- on the uBloom website- here's a link!Romantic uses for Flowers- in this show I show you all sorts of ways to use flowers in romantic ways... One is a heart made of roses... this is simple- because Oasis Floral Products creates a Heart Shaped Foam product- that makes it easy to create a heart out of any type of flower. Watch along here as I create a heart from Daisy Chrysanthemums on Youtube!I also use Rose Petals in the bath- it's a fun way to add a bit of romance... you can trail them along the floor- or even spread them on your bed sheets... and the folks at Eufloria sell bags of beautiful rose heads- then you can take them apart- and use the petals for all sorts of romantic ideas! Eufloria Flowers have stands at 14 Farmer's Markets in the State of California... Find out more about these locations here!Fragrant Flowers- like Gardenias- are also romantic...and one of my personal favorites. I love the Stemmed Gardenias from Kitayama Brothers- they have a wonderful flower farm in Watsonville CA. I grew up with Robert Kitayama- and being able to have his stemmed Gardenias around is a big treat! The Stemmed Gardenia is featured in our 2019 Flower Trend Report in the Trend Legendary! You can download your FREE Copy of the 6 page Trend Report here... www.uBloom.com/Trends2019Featured Flower- Freesia - and another one of my Favorite Flowers! My grandpa used to grow freesia in the greenhouses when I was a kid- and when they were in bloom- the Greenhouse smelled Terrific... it was intoxicating. If you were to press me on my favorite flower- I would have to say Freesia- because the smell is magical... and in this show I talk about how it smells like "Fruit Loops"... it's true! If you want to see how Freesia are grown- you can see for yourself in our CA Grown Experience Documentary on uBloom- with our visit to Holland America Flowers and my Friend Benno Dobbe!Fruit and Flowers- keeping your flowers away from the fruit is helpful- Fruit produces Ethylene - and this invisible gas- will cause flowers to expire more quickly- in contrast the same gas- allows fruit to ripen quickly and easily... so be sure to keep your flowers away from the fruit bowl- it's also good to keep fruit out of commercial flower refrigerators... Good Tip!Rose Spritzer with Chef Jenna- my friend Chef Jenna- stops by the house- so that we can create a Rose Spritzer- using Rose infused Vodka- that I created using organic roses from my Garden... Here's a link to the Recipe - www.uBloom.com/RoseSpritzer . I've also written a blog about my Friend Chef Jenna- here on the uBloom Website... Check it out here!Lavender Shortbread Cookies - Lavender is another flower that is considered Romantic... and it's also relaxing! I love to cook with Lavender- adding it to all kinds of things- from desserts, cookies- and even my pork roasts... (More on that in Season 2 of Life in Bloom). This week I use the buds of the Lavender in a Shortbread Cookie recipe that is simply delish- and they are easy to create! Check out the recipe here at www.uBloom.com/LavenderCookies!Fragrant Flower Arrangements- If you select the right flowers- you can fill an entire room with the fragrance of flowers. I love having Gardenias by the bedside... I love having Freesia in the Dining room... and even foliage like Eucalyptus- can be a wonderful addition to the bath... I hang a bundle of Fresh Cut Eucalyptus in the shower- from the shower head- so when the hot water falls ... it releases a wonderful refreshing fragrance. I use Lavender in laundry- with a convenient little sachet - that can be thrown into the dryer. It's sew shut and the lavender buds are inside... but it's a wonderful natural fabric freshener!Check out this week's J Schwanke's Life in Bloom Show- "The Romance of Flowers" and you'll be adding the Romance of Flowers throughout your life- everyday in every way!