Flower Design Tools 101: Our Favorite Shears

So...what is the best tool to cut flower stems when you are flower arranging? Most professional florists use floral knives. Knives are easy to keep sharp which will bring you the best results when you are trimming stems for floral arrangments. It is key to make sure that the cuts you make to a floral stem are clean. When we teach our flower design classes; however, we use the floral shears pictured above. This is because when students are just learning the new skill of flower arranging, we feel it's a bit safer to go with an easy to grip floral shear. We've tried a lot of cutters over the years and these 7.5" Bunch Cutters by Clauss are the BEST we've found (picture above). If you are beginner and you want a good pair of shears, these are the ones. If you are more exprienced and would like a good floral knife, we recommend a folding one like this one from Clauss 6.5" Titanium Bonded Folding Straight Knife. Remember that whatever tool you use, the blade or blades should be sharp. The cleaner the cut on the stem, the longer it will last in the vase!

California Poppy bloom peaking now!

The official California State Flower is the Golden Poppy. Distinguished by its four brilliant orange, satiny petals and gray-green leaves, it can be found blooming from March through May on hillsides and valleys across California. In SoCal, we had a great winter of rain in 2005 so my mom, sister and I trekked up to Lancaster to show my nephew the beautiful wild poppies in bloom. This is another great year of blooms and right now they are peaking. Visit the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Web site to see current bloom photos. And check out the California Poppy Festival in the Antelope Valley next weekend on April 19 & 20 – Celebrate spring at the festival and enjoy fun family events, great food, a flower & farmers’ market, art fair and even a circus! Learn more at the Poppy Festival Web site. Grown your own field of poppies the easy way by using a "carpet" of seeds. Get Orange Poppy Seeds In A Blanket and watch those poppies grow!

Washington D.C. National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and Celebration

We Flower Duet sisters grew up just outside of Washington, D.C. and each year looked forward to the blooming Cherry Blossom trees around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. The blooms may be fading and turning into lush green leaves on the cherry trees by now, but there are still celebrations this weekend you can attend if you are close to our nation's capital. On Saturday, April 12th, there is a parade with celebrities and the largest Japanese festival outside of Japan. Learn more at the National Cherry Blossom Festival website. Visit the National Park website for more information on where to view the trees.

Kermit Mums & St. Paddy's Day

The perfect green flower for St. Patrick's Day has to be the Kermit Pompon mum pictured here. What's not to like?

2008 San Francisco Garden & Flower Show

The San Fransisco Flower & Garden show is going on now through Sunday, March 16th. Casey and I attended 4 years ago and had a wonderful time walking through all the exhibits, watching floral demonstrations, becoming organic fertilizer converts and buying up exotic lily bulbs. This show is the sister show to the one in Seattle that was held a few weeks ago. So if you live near the Bay area - check it out this weekend. This is a huge show with large displays and tons of vendors. You can purchase everything from large ladders (Casey bought one) to handblown deocorative glass balls for the garden (I bought a red one). Read the garden blogs from the shows.

Bouquets to Art

Bouquets to Art 2008 began yesterday in San Francisco at the de Young Museum and continues through March 15th. Bouquets to Art is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and one of the country’s premier floral events. Bouquets to Art raises funds to support acquisitions, traveling exhibitions and education programs. You can see floral demonstrations, floral designs, have tea and view the art collection at the museum. Buy tickets for the Benefit Drawing that features twelve extravagant prizes to tempt - from land or sea travel to jewels. On Friday, March 14th - wear a Botanical-themed hat and be part of the parade Friday as they celebrate Hat Day at the de Young.

Send a Flower Bouquet greeting card from the Bouquets to Art website.

2008 Minneapolis Home & Garden Show

Take a break from winter and attend the Minneapolis Home & Garden show going on now (Feb 27 – March 2) at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Learn what’s new in Gardening, Remodeling and Home Décor. Over 1,000 experts will be at the show along with thousands of products and services. Over the weekend at the show, you can attend seminars on in-home fitness, design, green living, curb appeal, and more.