♪ >> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪ At home.

♪ At work.

♪ Or anytime.

♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

♪ >> Today on "Life in Bloom," we're finding inspiration in French themes, including a sensational topiary, creating homemade potpourri, enjoying a French cocktail, and flowers in pavé and etagere formations.

♪ ♪ ♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Considering the significant artistic achievements of the French in so many areas, such as painting, architecture, formal gardens, wine and cuisine, it's not surprising to find a French influence in floristry and flower arranging.

♪ There are some often-used techniques with flowers that have their origins in France.

♪ And while perfumes did not originate in France, Louis XV's embrace of them in the 18th century established the country as a leading purveyor of scent, often derived from flowers.

♪ Flowers are also famously the subjects of many French artists, including Monet's "Water Lilies" and Van Gogh's "Sunflowers."

♪ ♪ An étagère shelf was originally a French set of hanging or standing open shelves for the display or collections of objects or ornaments.

The étagère became a popular form of furniture in the 19th century.

The shelves of the étagère provided extra space for the display of accumulation of knickknacks.

I'm going to show you my flower take on the étagère, which includes three distinct forms that can be enjoyed separately or in one grand statement.

So, to create our flower étagère, we're going to need three different types of arrangements.

We'll need a vertical arrangement, we'll need a horizontal arrangement, and then we'll need a transitional arrangement that will go in between to mix the two together.

Each one of the containers is filled with soaked flower foam.

We'll start with our vertical arrangement.

We use our line flowers to create that vertical line.

And our foliage is to reinforce them.

Our line flowers are stock flowers and our snapdragons.

The mint also serves as a great vertical foliage.

We'll also use our focal flowers down towards the base.

These gerbera daisies and ranunculus in pink.

And then for our orange tones, we use tulips and garden roses.

I'm using asparagus plumosa foliage to soften the look.

And we'll also be using a philodendron known as Swiss cheese because it has beautiful holes in it.

I also have some spray roses that'll transition nicely between the two shades.

We also have African iris grass, an umbrella foliage.

Our next arrangement is our transition arrangement.

It's basically a round arrangement.

We use the exact same flowers again, but now we're creating it all the way around.

And that'll be a great transition from our vertical line with more attention to our horizontal one that's more relaxed.

When people look at a vertical arrangement, they get more excited.

When they look at a horizontal arrangement, they feel more relaxed.

We use our foliages to create a strong vertical line out either side of the bouquet.

Different from the transitional piece, we're elongating this arrangement and sending our lying flowers out further on both ends.

We'll still keep our focal flowers close up front so that we get nice focus with our roses and our gerberas and our snapdragons.

So now we have our three arrangements, and this is my favorite part because it's always fun to reveal something that you've created, and it's a great impression that gets made with a flower étagère.

We take our middle bouquet and we place it right in the center of the other bouquet.

So it's starting to transition to our vertical bouquet.

So now you see we have a grand, elaborate piece, and it just was created by three different shapes, using the horizontal and the vertical with a transitional piece in between.

A flower étagère truly is something to behold.

♪ Syringa vulgaris, the lilac or common lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family.

Grown for its scented flowers in spring, this large shrub or small tree is widely cultivated and has been naturalized in parts of Europe and North America.

As an ornamental plant, lilacs are popular in gardens and parks due to their attractive, sweet-smelling flowers.

The common lilac reaches 8 to 12 feet high and 6 to 10 feet wide with dark green leaves and flowers in purple, lavender, pink, and white.

Lilacs bloom in late spring and early summer, depending on geography.

The term French lilac has come to mean all cultivars of the common lilac that have double flowers, regardless of their origin.

♪ Today, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Jean-Yves.

He's the sound mixer for our show.

And he's also French, which makes him the perfect guest for our French-inspired episode.

Ours is a little job, I mean, which we love having you.

But you're a big sound guy.

You've done very, very unusual, unique things with sound.

>> Yes.

Yes.

Actually, I've been doing it for quite a while.

So, yes, I was lucky enough to have very different experiences all over the world.

>> You come and do "Life in Bloom" because you enjoy it and you're my friend.

>> Absolutely.

>> And you're here today because -- >> And I love flowers, too.

>> Right, right, right, right.

And you're French.

>> Yes.

>> And so that's why you're here today, because it's our French-inspired episode.

And I thought to myself, "Well, who should I have today?

I should have Jean-Yves."

And even though you're normally in the back at a table -- So I brought you out here today.

When you and I talk about food and we talk about customs and culture, you always talk about the French way of life.

And so how -- how do flowe-- how are flowers different or unique, or what part do they play in French life?

>> I would say that, for example, when you're invited for dinner, most of the time, you're not going to bring, like, wine, because it would say to the host that maybe you're not sure about its wine, and so you bring your own.

No, you don't do that.

But flowers are very common.

And it's also something that's going to be here for a little while, not forever.

You know, it's not gonna -- >> Right, right, right, right.

>> And it's just to celebrate the moment.

And since quite young, actually, I've been doing that.

>> You bring flowers.

>> Yeah, you bring flowers.

>> And I make that a part of what I do is, I always feel that it's important for me to bring flowers.

And if -- I know that some people always worry, too.

They always say, "Well, what will I do with them?

Does the hostess have to stop and put them in a vase?"

I'm always happy to jump in and do that for them.

And I think that that's important.

The raison d'etre.

Did I say that right?

Am I -- >> I'm not sure.

>> Raison d'etre.

>> Raison d'etre.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

>> Raison d'etre.

Okay, all right.

So you help me 'cause -- I know, yeah.

Merci, merci, and -- Yeah, that's what I know.

Okay.

All right.

So, like, the way of life.

>> Raison d'etre -- it's even more than that.

It's what fuels your energy.

It's what -- It's your passion, also.

>> Okay.

>> Raison d'etre -- it's the -- the meaning of your life, almost.

>> So that's what it is for me.

You know me.

>> Oh, yes.

>> So that's -- that's a good description for me.

I just need to say it properly.

[ Both laugh ] Okay.

So, would you like to arrange flowers with me?

>> Oh, yes.

>> Okay.

>> Absolutely.

I've been studying your style the last few years, but...

Taking your lesson with the master.

>> I want you to do whatever is opposite or whatever -- whenever you'd like.

So let's set up for that, and let's do that.

>> Yes.

>> First thing I always tell everyone is that your arrangement should please you.

It doesn't have to please anyone else.

Typically, what I do is, I will generally start with either foliage -- This is a great opportunity for us to use this flower that looks a lot like foliage.

That's a great opportunity inside there, to kind of sometimes create a structure.

Or we can go with heavier flowers, and we can do them -- we could use those around the outside, or we could put things in in groupings, too.

So we could, like, put all of our lisianthus together, all of our callas together.

And that gives us a group look.

Or we can be serendipity.

You know, there's all sorts of different things, so... >> Okay.

♪ ♪ ♪ Jean-Yves, that's beautiful.

I'm gonna -- I'm going to pluck your pollen for you.

>> Oh, yes.

>> Because that will make our lilies last longer.

We have a small tradition here at "Life in Bloom" that you know about.

I have created a flower crown for you.

So how about that?

That's the back.

>> That's the back.

>> That's the back.

There we go.

>> That's... >> Oh, it fits.

Is that French?

Do you suppose a flower crown is French?

>> It's the first time I wear a flower crown, so... [ Both laugh ] But maybe not the last time, because -- >> Does it give you more of a raison d'etre?

>> Yes, and it gives me, also, this fragrance that is coming, you know, from my head like that.

I can smell the flowers.

It's pretty cool.

>> I like that whenever anyone puts on a flower crown, they smile.

>> Yes.

Oh, yeah.

>> I mean, it's like, "Oh."

>> How can you not?

>> Like, "Oh, here, no, take that back!"

That's perfect.

Would you like to come back and create a cocktail with me that's a French-inspired cocktail?

>> That would be great.

>> Great.

We'll do that in a few minutes.

I think that'd be great.

>> Fantastic.

♪ >> Let me show you how easy it is to create your own French-inspired "rotten pot" of flowers, or potpourri.

So, we need to gather up flowers.

And I like this method.

I like to let them dry naturally, because then they retain so much of their natural color.

So I went out into the garden, I got some lilies, I got some hydrangeas, I have some bleeding hearts, I got some crabapple blooms, I have some lilac.

And I just laid them out on paper towels.

And it takes about two weeks for these to dry completely.

But you'll notice how much color we still have.

And that's really the romantic part about this, I think, to have those antique colorations in our potpourri.

So once we have our flowers, we need an activator.

It's going to be the thing that we put inside our potpourri that's going to manage and maintain and hold the essential oil that we use.

So it could be cinnamon sticks, it could be pinecones, it could be wood bark.

In this case, we're going to use lavender blossoms.

And I think that that's a pretty way because it kind of gives it a French lavender smell.

And so we're going to pour that into our bowl, and then we'll add our essential oils, and we'll put our flowers on top of that.

It's that simple.

Potpourri literally translates to "rotten pot" in French.

The earliest use of potpourri in English was to describe a type of stew.

The word is now more commonly accepted as describing a collection of dried flower petals, leaves and herbs and spices used to scent the air.

Potpourri as we know it today, more or less, became extremely popular in 17th century France.

Flowers that abundantly bloom during the spring and summer were collected in ceramic vessels and mixed with salt.

The salt acted as a drying agent.

This combination was then layered in autumn with seasonal spices like orange peel and cinnamon stick.

The word is also used to refer to the vessel, which was used to create potpourri.

A decorative ceramic vessel with a perforated cover was originally used to hold a wet blend of spices, flowers, and herbs.

This blend, over time, emits a fragrance through the vessel's vents, thus perfuming the surroundings.

♪ ♪ Here's my Bloom 365 Tip, helping you enjoy flowers every day of the year.

Free of debris.

We want to make sure that there's no leaves that fall below the waterline.

Removing those leaves, petals, anything that falls below the waterline is going to make sure your flowers last longer.

♪ Today, I'm going to create an arrangement in a pavé style.

A pavé floral arrangement can come in many shapes.

However, the word pavé describes the proximity of the flowers to one another.

The word pavé has its origins in France.

It is the French word for paved.

Imagine a walkway paved in cobblestones.

The stones are fairly small but are set so closely to one another that they form a solid surface.

You may also have heard of the term pavé as it refers to jewelry.

It refers to gems that are set very close to one another so that there's very little metal showing.

In floral arranging, a pavé arrangement is one where stems are cut fairly short and the flower heads placed very closely together.

The term pavé lends an arrangement an upscale vibe.

The overall look is clean, tailored, luxurious, and sophisticated, lending itself well to elegant occasions.

Our first step is to fill in our entire container with soaked flower foam.

I've measured and cut all the pieces so that it fills in the basin entirely.

♪ Then we'll add monstera leaves to extend the arrangement beyond the basin.

♪ ♪ We'll lay in our calla lilies across the center.

And then, we'll fill in spaces with each individual flower type, making lines, or pavés, out of each one.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is a drink that was discovered or created in France, but it is attributed to an American who was there.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So the American was an Army general.

His name was Harry, and he would drive his motorcycle to the bar.

Okay?

And when he got there, he would ask for something to warm himself up before dinner.

So they decided to mix cognac and the lemons with the alcohol to create a drink that could be had before dinner.

>> Mm.

>> And thus, the sidecar was born.

>> Because he was driving his motorcycle.

>> His motorcycle.

All right?

We have fresh lemons.

And I always have to squeeze fresh lemons.

That's the best drink.

♪ We have Cointreau.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We have cognac.

We have lemon juice.

>> So it's going to be citrusy... >> Correct.

>> ...cocktail.

>> And equal parts of all three.

Equal parts.

♪ >> Smells good.

>> I know, right?

And then a pinch of sugar just sprinkled around it.

Not on the rim.

Is that good?

>> Yeah, that's great.

>> Thank you, my friend, for coming.

I appreciate -- merci.

>> Thank you very much.

>> All right.

Cheers.

>> Cin cin.

♪ ♪ >> This project has its inspiration from the topiaries in the gardens of Chateau de Versailles in France.

It's a topiary form which reflects the topiaries of the famous formal gardens.

The topiary trees at Versailles were the first to be planted in large containers or boxes so that during the colder season, the fruit trees could be easily moved into the orangerie and then placed back in the gardens during the seasonable weather.

Today, I'm making what I call a triple topiary to enjoy in my own little palace garden.

Let me show you how we've created it.

I have three birch branches that I hot-glued into styrofoam.

I've placed those down inside my container with two pieces of flower foam on either side.

There's still plenty of room for water, and we'll cover this with moss but be able to add a few accents of flowers into the flower foam.

Then we have a full block of soaked flower foam.

I've wrapped it all the way around with anchor tape to secure it.

It'll help hold it together and be supportive when we make all of the placements of the flowers into the top.

On the back, I've beveled some spots so that'll fit right on top of our branches.

Now we can add our beautiful flowers.

We'll start by defining the shape of our topiary, using our agonis foliage.

I like to make an elongated shape for the top of my Versailles topiary, but you could make yours round or any shape you really like.

This agonis foliage drapes nicely so I can extend it both directions.

Then we use our stock blossoms.

It's peach ones, and they have a wonderful rosy hue to them.

They're also extremely fragrant.

Next, we use pink hydrangeas.

I love those because I can separate them out, and I can tuck them in deep, so it's like having a multitude of different hydrangeas throughout the entire bouquet.

Then I'll add this beautiful lavender chrysanthemum.

It has laciniated edges, so they're almost like they're little torn or ruffly edges on this chrysanthemum.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

Next, we use some fragrant French lilac.

I was able to pick this right out of the garden.

We'll add a spray rose.

This one has ruffly edges, and it's called sweet flow.

It gives a wonderful texture to this bouquet.

It wouldn't be a French bouquet without these incredibly fragrant peonies.

We'll accent those peonies with some sweet William.

♪ And then this brushstroke painted daisy pompom.

It's a chrysanthemum.

It's got a little green cast to the center and then has almost, like, little brushstrokes of magenta along the lavender petals.

We'll finish up by adding our moss around the base and tucking a few flowers into the flower foam at the base.

The easiest way to water this is to use a turkey baster or to pour water directly onto the foam in the top of the bouquet.

A stunning topiary like this is a wonderful accent to anywhere we'd place it in our home.

♪ Let's take a look in our Flower Fan Mail inbox and see what's blooming today.

Today, I have arrangements to share with you from viewer Judy Middleswort, in Florida.

This first arrangement is loaded with garden flowers.

I love this French-inspired crock of flowers that has a wonderful collar of ivy and accents of beauty berry.

Ooh la la.

And finally, this collection of three flower vases, featuring tulips and Andromeda.

Thanks, Judy.

I love to see pictures of your flower arrangements.

We call them Schwankes after a viewer's nickname.

Send them to J@ubloom.com.

The letter J at the letter U, bloom.com.

And watch for more Schwankes on upcoming shows.

I hope you've enjoyed our floral take on all things French and learned some fun flower-arranging techniques for your next project.

Vive le fleur.

For "Life in Bloom," I'm J Schwanke.

Is the "She loves me, she loves me not," is that, like, a French thing?

>> With what -- what flower?

>> A daisy.

>> Yes, with a daisy.

But it's not really, "She loves me, she loves me not."

We have our own progression.

So, "She loves me a little bit, a little more."

Un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, à la folie, and not at all.

>> Or not at all.

>> Not at all, so... And you go around, and... [ Both laugh ] >> Not at all.

Not at all.

>> Okay.

[ Laughs ] >> I like that.

>> Ready.

"Life in Bloom," 507, Juliet, scene alpha, take one.

Mark.

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

>> Visit J's website, ubloom.com, for flower projects and crafts, complete recipes, behind-the-scenes videos, J's blog, flower cocktails, and more.

♪ "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪ At home.

♪ At work.

♪ Or anytime.

♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand-in-hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

♪ Closed-caption funding provided