- [Narrator] J. Schwanke's Life In Bloom is brought to you by... Albertsons Companies.

With additional support from the following companies.

The Ball Horticultural Company, Cal Flowers, Design Master Color Tool, Golden Flowers, Sunshine Bouquet, and TheRibbonRoll.com.

(soft music) - This episode of Life In Bloom is going to the frogs.

Flower frogs, that is.

I'll show you my collection and how frogs make flower arranging easy.

We'll visit a dahlia farm, arrange with and explore chrysanthemum varieties, and try out some froggy recipes for entertaining.

(soft music) I'm J. Schwanke.

Welcome to Life In Bloom.

How lovely the silence of growing things.

When it comes to arranging flowers, a flower frog is a flower artist's most trusted friend.

But you may be wondering, what is a flower frog?

(soft music) At its most basic, a flower frog is pins that are attached to a lead base.

It's placed into the bottom of a vase and our stems go into the pins, helping hold them in place.

But flower frogs can be made different ways.

They can be made of wire or they can be made of ceramic.

They can be a decorative pin holder.

Or in the case of one like this, it can fit over the top of a vase, and our stems go through.

There's a wide variety of flower frogs, as you'll learn today.

But also, we can use natural elements to act like flower frogs.

Placing curly willow stems or branches inside a vase gives us a structure to place our flowers through.

At its simplest, a flower frog is a device used to help arrange flowers.

However, just as there are countless varieties of flowers, so too are there countless types of flower frogs.

The possibilities with flower frogs are endless.

(soft music) So, everyone has a collection.

And my collection happens to be flower frogs.

I'm fascinated by them because I love the different types and shapes that they come in.

Flower frogs started back in the 14th century in Japan and they were used for the Japanese art of ikebana.

Then flower frogs came to the United States in the 1800s with a man named S. Van Stone who applied for the first patent to create a flower frog.

It was a pyramid shape and it had a series of holes that held the stems together.

And that's what happens with all these different types.

We're the most familiar probably with the pin frogs that look like this.

A series of pins that are embedded in a lead back.

They come in different shapes and sizes and the flowers are put directly on top of those.

So when a stem is arranged in a flower frog, we simply place the stem down onto the pins, and then it supports it in place.

Many times, they'll put putty on the bottom of the flower frog, so that they can press it down into the container so that it won't fall over.

Balance is an important part of ikebana too, so sometimes you don't need the putty if you're really good.

Today, flower frogs are super popular on sites like Etsy or eBay, and people get them so that they can put pictures in them.

And they use them as a picture holder.

I like that they're decorative and that they're unusual.

Another question people ask many times is, why is it called a frog?

So, it was because the container itself was green, it's amphibian-like because it goes under water, and it sits down at the bottom of a vase.

So thus, a frog.

And that's why it got the nickname of being a flower frog.

It's great too because at times then, people had clear vases.

So they wanted those to be decorative.

This is one of my favorites.

It's a rhino.

And it has the holes in the top for the flowers, but then he sits down inside the container.

So, it's a decorative part of having it submerged and then the flowers come out of the top.

So, when you were sitting having coffee or tea over the table, you'd see the little rhino sitting down inside.

They also create decorative ones that look like flowers.

So this one looks like a lotus blossom.

Down inside the vase, you've got a flower inside the vase.

And then there's other ones that are egg-shaped and different types of ceramics.

I love this one because it would set in a low tray and then flowers would fit into the bottom of this.

(soft music) It's hollow on the bottom, so then the water level's going to float up and be inside there, and then we simply place the roses into those little holes, and it makes it decorative.

You'll find these in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

A really big part of the art deco movement.

There's ones that have pins, little hooks like this that hold the flower stems in place.

So when a flower stem goes in there, it isn't going down on a pin, but rather, it's gonna be held inside.

This is the biggest one I ever found.

And these were super popular.

They used to sell these in cases at the dime store.

You could pick these up for a dime or a quarter and then you'd use them in an arrangement and your flower stems would fit inside.

I found this one at an antique show one time.

It's the biggest one I've ever seen, but what a great size.

When it comes to porcelain ones too, there could be flowers or birds that are decorative.

I like these Czechoslovakian ones because they're sealed on the bottom and then the flowers go inside.

So it's really almost like a little vase.

So whether they're made of wire, they expand, or ceramic or metal, flower frogs come in so many different shapes and sizes.

My biggest problem is trying to figure out where I'm gonna keep the entire collection.

Flower frogs, a fun part of life in bloom.

(soft music) Dahlias are an excellent choice for arranging in a flower frog.

Let's learn more about this beautiful flower.

We're in the middle of a field of beautiful dahlias at the Hamilton Dahlia Farm in Hamilton, Michigan.

And we'll show you how they grow these amazing flowers.

Do you know how many varieties you grow?

- Probably 150 to 200 varieties is what I have here.

I'm Jan Brondyke and I own the Hamilton Dahlia Farm here in Hamilton, Michigan.

- [J.]

So how long have you been growing dahlias?

- This is my 14th year.

Yeah, like I say, I worked with my dad.

I got a business degree in college and I came back to the farm and worked with him.

And then one year he said, you ought to try something different.

So I worked in an office for six months.

I called him and said, please let me come back to the farm.

So, I've always been an outdoor person and always loved working with my dad.

Started the dahlia business.

He went to Kellogg's to promote his dahlias for the back of their cereals, and a man was very impressed with them, but he said he wasn't a large enough grower, that he didn't think he could do it.

So the next day, my dad hired tons of Hamilton boys and they popped all the heads off of the dahlias and brought them back to Battle Creek, to the headquarters.

Laid them out on the entire grass lawn in Battle Creek.

And the man, from above, everybody's looking out the window and then the head guy said, anyone with that determination gets the job.

And that absolutely changed the dahlia business.

They would literally deliver three mailbags a day of mail to my dad's house.

And my mom and three other ladies did nothing but open them.

But it was two for 50 cents or five for a dollar.

Including shipping.

So for six years, that's what we did, but that just, it was an amazing thing.

And it was the break my dad needed.

After he passed away, I found some of the dahlia boxes that he had, the originals, and then he had his order form.

It was 1959 and the first 50 cent piece.

So I have it framed in the building.

- So Kristine, you and I met at the Fulton Farmers Street Market.

And that's how I found out about you guys.

It's my favorite time of year when the dahlias come out.

- I know, ours too.

- So, what's the process with this?

How do you, I mean, how does the year go for you?

- So, we plant early in May.

They take a couple months for us to get blooms and during that time, we're just cultivating and hoeing to try to keep the weeds down.

Starting in mid to late July, we get blooms.

And then all winter long, we're dividing them and getting ready to sell them, or we plant in the spring.

- So it's a continuous cycle.

- Absolutely.

It's a year round-- - It does not stop.

- [Kristine] That's right, it's a year round job for my mom.

I work part time in the winter, but all full time during cut flower season.

- Normally, all flowers have two chromosomes, okay?

And we as people have 23, which is why people can look so different.

However, dahlias are considered an octoploid, which means that they have eight chromosomes, which is why this flower can look so different.

There's over 20,000 different species of dahlias.

It's the most broad.

(soft music) - This is just a bouquet I picked, but it has some of the dahlias that my dad developed.

And this is our signature one that we talked about earlier called Bradley Aaron.

Named after our son.

My son named all the seedlings that my dad had done.

He just called them by number and then by the year he developed them.

- So this was Dad.

- This actually came in our field.

Dad didn't, my father did not develop this.

It came out in our field and we named it Harvey Koop.

And then this dahlia, the yellow one, was my dad's seedling.

Kristine named it after herself, so that's Kristine Lynn.

And this is mine, Janet Alison.

And then my mom's dahlia is Mary Lou.

And this past March, she turned 90, and we had a big party and Kristine and I made packages with ribbon and everything, and everyone got a Mary Lou.

So the town has Mary Lou all over it.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- And all the family.

One family of six has six dahlias and they're all Mary Lou from the party, but anyway.

- What an incredible legacy.

- Isn't that cool?

- It is.

- Yeah, I mean, it's just so neat.

But like I said, these were just numbers, and then our son said, numbers are not fun, so.

- No, absolutely.

- Anyway.

And these are, this is April Dawn and Tempest, Hy Patti.

This one I love and it gets to be absolutely like a soft ball, and this is Bracken Sarah.

Honestly, it can get this large.

- That's beautiful.

- Ferncliff Copper.

Just some fun ones, Hillcrest and more.

So over the years, we grow ones we like and we get rid of ones we don't like.

- But they're all beautiful.

- They're beautiful, they are.

And some that we don't particularly like, others just absolutely rave, so.

It's all about preference.

- That's great.

- People come to the market and they say, I buy my flowers first because they make me happy.

Hands down, even last week people said, you sell out so quickly that we now realize that we have to come here first, and we'll hold them for them in the back, because they need their flowers.

- I couldn't resist combining two of my favorite things during our visit to the dahlia farm.

Dahlias and flower frogs.

(soft music) Many flower farms welcome visitors.

Check for a seasonal farmer or grower to visit in your area.

(soft music) I was looking for a recipe that would go along with our flower frogs.

And did you know that there's actually a frog jam.

They call it a frog jam because it's made with figs and raspberries and oranges and ginger.

And so, you make the jelly, you sterilize all the containers, do all that, and you can make frog jam.

So I went to the store, and I got the ginger, I got the raspberries, I got the oranges, but then there were no figs.

I'm looking at the recipe and trying to figure out how I'm gonna do all that and show you how to make it.

But I figured something else out.

You can buy frog jam on the Internet.

So I bought frog jam and we'll use the frog jam and we'll create a fun little table centerpiece using some of our flower frogs, frog jam in the bowl with some crackers, and we'll decorate it with the other items.

So, no figs, no time, no worries.

Frog jam off the Internet.

So, I've collected a few of my favorite flower frogs.

We've got them there.

We've got some ginger.

Those will be a great accent too on the table.

We're gonna use some raspberries.

I'm gonna put a few fresh raspberries on the plate.

Then get some fun crackers.

And then we'll throw a couple oranges up on there.

I love this flower frog because look it.

The top comes off and then you fill it with water, put that back on and drop in a few flowers.

So it's gonna be perfect for our centerpiece.

Got some flower water.

(soft music) So now we have a little centerpiece.

Got some of my other favorite flower frogs out.

We use some of our frog jam.

So figs, raspberry, oranges, and ginger.

So what could be better?

Frog jam and flower frogs.

(soft music) (upbeat music) (soft music) So one of the great things about flower frogs is that you can use them to create an ikebana arrangement.

I was really fortunate as a kid.

My parents sent me to Japan so that I could study classic ikenobo flower design.

And we'll use those methods today with our three placements, thinking about heaven, earth, and man in our flower frog.

I love this flower frog.

It's a great little piece of wood and it's distressed and then the flower frog sits down in the center.

Was given to me by my friend Richard.

He was a mentor and a friend, and he always was amazing when it came to flowers.

So, I feel like a little bit of his spirit is here with this arrangement as well.

We use three lavender chrysanthemums.

These are the traditional flower that was used in ikebana, so it's fitting.

We'll start with a stick.

I'm always fascinated that nature replicates the ikebana forces.

We have earth, heaven, and man right in the stick itself.

That'll be our first placement.

We'll cut it at an angle and we'll drive it down onto the stakes of the flower frog.

Start with our placement of heaven by one chrysanthemum.

Earth at the bottom.

And man goes in between.

(soft music) The great thing to remember about Japanese flower design is that the action itself relaxes us.

So take your time.

Work with the flowers, enjoy them.

Look at the different leaves.

How little bugs have eaten in them.

That's all part of this whole concept.

(soft music) A flower frog is a beautiful way for us to bring flowers into our home.

(soft music) There are seemingly endless varieties of chrysanthemums.

But these are a few that we use when we're arranging flowers.

We have the standard mum, which is also known as the football mum.

It's common because people wore it to football games.

Then we have disbuds, which are these three right here.

A disbud means that all the flower blossoms were removed or disbudded, allowing the central flower to get larger.

The Dutch refer to a disbud as a cremon.

You'll notice that there's different structures and even different colorations where the edges of the petals have a different coloration.

We also have the spider mum, also known as the Fuji mum, because it's felt that that variety originated in Japan.

So, it has petals that look spider-like.

Then we have spray chrysanthemums.

This one's known as a button, where this one's known as a cushion, and this one's known as a daisy.

It's the structure of the flower itself that causes us to call them different things.

Spray chrysanthemums are also known as pompons.

That's something that a florist would call them.

But a spray chrysanthemum means that there are several chrysanthemums on one spray.

Both of these are daisy spray chrysanthemums.

This one has the wonderful edging on those daisy blossoms.

Let's take a look at the green spray chrysanthemums.

This one is called Kermit, for obvious reasons.

But notice the shapes.

Although they're all bright green, each one has a distinct shape.

One more spider-like, one more cushion-like, and one more button-like.

Chrysanthemums are extremely long-lasting, so it gives us a great opportunity to use these in our flower arrangements.

And don't forget, they're a wonderful addition to the garden as well.

(soft music) I hope you've been inspired by the flower frog and its many applications when it comes to arranging and entertaining.

For Life In Bloom, I'm J. Schwanke.

See you next time.

Okay.

Oh, they're good.

Yeah, it's good.

What was the matter?

- Most florists that I have are because they got dahlias shipped in, they either were dead, too small, wrong color, and they were in trouble.

They were like, can you help me?

And I'm like, of course I can help you.

And local is such a huge thing now.

- Got him.

I killed it, I think.

Juicy frog.

- Probably 90% of the brides will cut their own.

It's kind of a great experience.

I had a mother say, don't tell my daughter but I'm more excited about picking flowers than the wedding itself.

So, it's unique.

- [J.]

J. Schwanke's Life In Bloom is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

- [Narrator] J. Schwanke's Life In Bloom is brought to you by... Albertsons Companies.

With additional support from the following companies.

The Ball Horticultural Company, Cal Flowers, Design Master Color Tool, Golden Flowers, Sunshine Bouquet, and TheRibbonRoll.com.

(soft music) Closed caption funding provided by Chrysal.

For everything flowers, recipes, projects, and more information, visit uBloom.com.

(soft jingle)