Hydrangea is one of the hottest flowers used in event work and this trend has been going strong for quite some time now. There are some who may shy away from using this beautiful flower in their arrangements because of the fact that they tend to wilt fairly easily. ….NEVER FEAR, we are going to list some tips on how to properly prep this flower so that it looks great in your designs throughout your event.

After you bring home your hydrangea there are a few steps you should follow to prepare this flower before you use it in your design:

Design Tip #1: Remove all of the large leaves on the stem of the Hydrangea. The big leaves suck up a large amount of moisture that would otherwise be going to the petals of the flower.

Design Tip #2: Fill your sink or bath tub with water, trim the bottom of the stem and submerge the whole flower in the water for approximately 10-20 minutes. Flowers absorb water through all surfaces of the flower including the petals, stem, bark and leaves….not just through the bottom of the stem as some might think. Ever had wilted, rubbery celery in the refrigerator and soaked it in a bowl of water to make it crisp again? It is the same concept with the Hydrangea.

Design Tip #3: While the Hydrangea are soaking in the tub, fill a bucket with fresh water and add a liberal amount of Alum. Alum is a spice used for pickling and can be found on the spice rack at your local whole foods or grocery store. Alum forces water up the stem of the flower and makes the blooms of the flower nice and hard. Remove the flower from the water, gently shake off the excess and place the flower stem end down into the bucket.

Design Tip #4: While the Hydrangea drinks the Alum & water mixture, spray the bloom of the hydrangea with Crowning Glory. Crowning Glory is a wax based spray that seals the pores in the leaves, stem and petals of the flower preventing the loss of moisture through the flowers pores. Crowning Glory is distributed by Oasis Floral Products and is sold at your local Wholesale Flower Market or on Amazon.com.

Your hydrangea is now processed for use and will look beautiful in your designs for a prolonged period of time!

Maybe you were thinking of signing up for classes and time just got away from you.  Never fear!  There is still availability during the fall semester in both the day and evening classes at the San Diego School of Flower Design.

Fall is the perfect time of year to take classes.  Learn how to create gorgeous centerpieces and other styles of design just in time for the holiday season!

To enroll please call 1-877-322-5666 today!

If you have been thinking about signing up for classes, the time is now!!!  Classes for the fall semester are filling up fast and start next week.  We still have plenty of seats available at this time, so do not wait!

Fall is the perfect time to learn the art of floral design!  Learn how to create a variety of design styles that will wow your guests during the holiday season!

To enroll, you can use our convenient online registration option or call us at 1-877-32-BLOOM today!

At the San Diego School of Flower Design, founded by celebrity florist, Michael Gaffney, their students learn a large variety of different floral designs. Everything from traditional to contemporary design work is covered during their exciting 4- or 8-week semester. A gorgeous mix of fresh flower and green materials are provided to the students during each day’s class (all materials, books, containers, tools & flowers are included with the tuition cost), as well as live demonstrations, flower market field trips, instructor assistance and best of all, hands on designing by the students themselves. Michael Gaffney who has been featured on the Hallmark Channel, Today Show and Huffington Post states, “In my book Design Star, there are 100 tips to flower design, but in class there are 1000. Being in class and having that one-on-one access to an instructor is important to learning good design habits and techniques.”

The San Diego School of Flower Design is located in the Carlsbad Flower Market and has the freshest quality of flowers in the country. With several tuition options to choose from, even the tourist can pop in for one of their exciting 1 day classes. Located just miles from the beach, hotels, outlet shopping, dining and more, the students have plenty to do before and after class! Come see what ‘Americas Finest City’ has to offer, and experience a thrilling ‘hands on’ class in the art of floral design!

Classes in San Diego are offered in the afternoon and evenings on Mondays and Wednesdays of each week during the semester. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. If you would like more information about classes and how to register, please call 1-877-32-BLOOM today!

Don’t miss this years Annual Holiday design Workshop!!

During this exciting event we will be learning 3 popular holiday designs using a variety of fresh evergreens, beautiful flowers, berries, novelty items, coach lanterns and more!  All tools, flowers and materials are included and pre-registration is required. So don’t hesitate to reserve your seat today!

Date: Saturday, Nov. 22nd, 2014

Time: 1pm-4pm

Place: Lily’s Flowers, 1205 Aviara Prkwy, Carlsbad, CA 92011

Cost: $200.00 per person

Reservations: Call 1-877-322-5666 OR Email: designstar26@gmail.com

Saturday Nov. 15th, 2014 From 1pm to 4pm Lily’s Flower Wholesaler, 1205 Aviara Prkwy Carlsbad, CA 92011

During the Masters Courses students can look forward to expanding their resumes to include: gorgeous event pieces, funeral sprays, cascading bouquets and much more as they progress through the 4 week course.

At the San Diego School of Flower Design, we run a masters class at the end of each ‘Design Star’ semester with the intention of expanding our students flower design knowledge. The Masters course focuses on the larger event, wedding and funeral pieces that are often requested in the industry today. Once our students obtain and fine tune the instructions that they receive during this course, they can then go out into the industry and put into motion all that they have learned…becoming a true ‘Master of Design’. We believe at the American Schools of Flower Design, that to be a true ‘Master’, you must gain ‘real life’ experiences in the field using the building blocks that have been given during the school session, like any other professional field.

We encourage all of our Design Star Graduates to take the masters classes, as we want all of our students to be fully prepared for success in the Floral Design Industry.

The bridal design workshop was a hit last weekend. Several students participated in the event that lasted all day. The students did a ‘mock’ wedding from start to finish, which included a bridal consultation with a ‘bride’, recipe and shopping list write up, shopped for their product and last but not least designed several pieces for their ‘wedding’. This was a fantastic exercise in that it builds self confidence and know-how for the individual who is interested in making wedding events apart of their business.

The San Diego School of Flower Design will be conducting these one day classes through out the year on a variety of subjects…check back in for dates on the next available workshop!

Ever wonder if the flower food packets you get with your flowers at the supermarket really work?

The flower food packets are used to ‘extend the life’ of your flower arrangement…Well, first we should think about what is killing the flowers in the first place.

~BACTERIA, BACTERIA, BACTERIA!!

Before you mess around with those messy packets of flower ‘food’, I would encourage you to keep the water clean and change it every 2 days or so….this will extend the life of your flowers with out messing around with the packets. Flowers are like our bodies and do the best when hydrated with clean fresh water….when changing your water on a regular basis, you are cutting down on the environment that bacteria grows best in.

At the American Schools of Flower Design, we instruct our students to add 1-2 DROPS of household bleach into the water of their arrangements to take care of any pesky bacteria that insists on polluting your water.

So as a recap of the design tip of the day….

1. Change your flower’s water regularly
2. Add 1-2 Drops of household bleach
3. ENJOY!!

Just a friendly reminder that if our in class schedules do not work with your personal schedule…we offer several online videos for your viewing pleasure at your own convenience. Check them out!!

The San Diego School of Flower Design’s Instructor, Kim Rivas, was at the Spanish Village in Balboa Park this last weekend doing flower design demonstrations at their annual Art-In-Bloom event. If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend this event in the past, you should mark it on your calendar for next summer!! Local artists have many art pieces, paired with beautiful flower designs, on display for the public’s viewing pleasure and purchase. Things offered at the Art-In-Bloom include: Live Music, Art Galleries with a wide variety of art, Food and Drink booths, flower and art demonstrations through out the day and the best part is…..ITS FREE!!!