Flower Power

While visiting London last week, I had the chance to take a little step towards one of my personal dreams: learning to arrange flowers like a pro!  Now, I won’t claim to be able to step in for any of the incredibly talented florists I get to work with on my events… but I definitely gained a bit of creativity & skill to use on the arrangements for my living room!

It all started when I was exploring the Marylebone neighborhood, and passed by this breathtaking window display.  ”Jane Packer Flowers,” read the chic black & white sign… and of course I had to circle back and go inside.

The interior of the shop was just as heavenly.  I was surrounded by buckets of roses, peonies, tulips, hydrangeas, & sweet pea in creamy shades of white, beautiful porcelain vases, & innovative designs.  I picked up a pamphlet on the Jane Packer Flower School offered in London, Tokyo, & New York.  A chat with the salesgirl led me to discover the next day’s course on “Arranging Flowers for the Home.”  I was hooked!

The next day, I arrived for school on time and was handed my supplies: shears, twine, & a stylish little Jane Packer apron.

Our instructor was a total artist, and patiently taught us how to recreate Jane Packer’s signature hand-tied style of arranging classic bouquets.  You hold all the flowers in one hand, and rotate the entire bouquet as you go…

The first step in any arrangement is cleaning each individual stem so that it’s free of unwanted leaves & spotted petals.  A time-consuming step, but can certainly make or break a bouquet’s appearance.

Really though, how could you not make a gorgeous arrangement when given such gorgeous raw materials?  The roses & dahlias were in similar shades of pale pink, but their contrasting textures gave the bouquet lots of depth.  It was so much fun to leave with my gorgeous creation, and even more fun to practice my newfound skills at home!