>> "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 learning about flower meanings.

We'll see how to send a secret message through flowers, see how color influences and is influenced by our moods, and discover the meaning behind colors of roses as we turn feelings into flowers on this episode of "Life in Bloom."

♪ ♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

A flower is not a flower alone -- a thousand thoughts invest it.

The symbolic language of flowers has been recognized for centuries.

They even play a large role in William Shakespeare's works.

Mythologies, folklore, sonnets, and plays of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese are peppered with flower and plant symbolism.

Learning the meaning of flowers was a popular pastime during the 1800s.

Many Victorian homes had guidebooks for deciphering the language, based not only on the flowers but also color.

Even today, though less specifically, we rely on flowers to express our feelings when words seem difficult.

♪ While beauty, hope, and passion are among the attributes of roses, the most common meaning is, not surprisingly, love.

However, the color of the rose may reveal more specific messages.

While many ideas are associated with various colors, the following are among the most prevalent.

White rose -- purity, innocence, a new beginning, or a heart unacquainted with love.

Red rose -- love or "I love you."

A pink rose -- grace, happiness, and gentleness.

A yellow rose -- friendship, apology, but also jealousy or infidelity.

Orange rose -- fascination.

Peach rose -- modesty.

Lavender rose -- love at first sight.

Purple rose -- enchantment.

A coral rose -- friendship, modesty or sympathy.

So, now that you know some of the language behind roses, you can try your hand at sending a message with roses to someone you love.

♪ It's interesting that something as simple as a flower can help us shift the mood of a party or an event that we're going to host.

We can set the mood with the color or the style of the arrangement.

For example, if we use complementary colors, we start to create a party atmosphere.

If we use analogous colors, ones that are next to one another on the color wheel, those help us be more friendly.

It can be more inviting.

If we use monochromatic colors, tints, tones, and shades of a specific color, that helps us calm things down.

Perhaps you want to have a dinner party where you want people to be excited.

The arrangement itself can also have more tension, a more contemporary style of design with lots of vertical action and interesting, ornate placements of flowers.

That makes it more party-like.

If we go to a more relaxed state of flower, where things are more horizontal in nature and more relaxed in design, we also help enforce the calm.

So today we're going to create an arrangement in a monochromatic color scheme using purple and lavender.

We're also going to arrange this in a horizontal fashion so that it will be more calming.

When we're finished with the arrangement, we'll set the table with a few other colored accessories, as well.

We'll start with our focal flowers first, using our large mums and the hydrangeas as the base for this arrangement with the blooms sitting right on the edge of the container.

You'll notice that I incorporated two bright green hydrangeas.

The interesting thing about the chartreuse green is that it makes the other colors bubble up.

Then we'll build in other flowers around them.

Our gorgeous allium, a round-shaped ball with all of those little pin-shaped inflorescence is beautiful.

Then we can add our carnations and our roses.

We've talked about the fact that we're using monochromatic colors.

Those monochromatic colors are tints, tones, and shades of the color purple.

♪ Our final flower is Limonium.

And it veils over the top of the other flowers.

So we can see through it and see the other flowers below.

Our last thing is our foliage.

This is going to enhance the horizontal nature of this arrangement.

We're using red flax leaves, and they have a wonderful purple-like appearance.

We'll bend them, place the stem in the water, and then have the leaf go out horizontally from our arrangement.

Our last two pieces of flax leaf are bent on the front and the back, so they almost look like a little ribbon of foliage through our arrangement.

This is going to set on the center of our table, and those horizontal lines are relaxing.

People can still talk over the top, and the horizontal nature of this arrangement is calming, along with our monochromatic colors.

We'll enhance it more by using lavender chargers, white plates, purple napkins, and I created some decorative napkin rings out of metallic wire.

I simply twisted these so they can hold a carnation.

Using that coloration to set our table and the style of design allows us to create a calming mood for this intimate dinner party.

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

Color blocking is a great way to create an impactful arrangement.

We have four different types of flowers.

We can add these separately and intermingle them all together.

Or it's more interesting for us to do big swaths of color and block the colors together.

Let me show you how this works.

We've got these beautiful yellow tulips.

I'm going to cut the entire bunch and drop it into one side of the vase.

We'll add some orange tulips.

Tulips do their own arranging.

They're affected by the light and they're phototropic, so they'll move towards the light.

Several days from now, this arrangement will have arranged itself to the light source it has.

We use one bunch of iris.

Got a block of yellow, a block of orange, another block of yellow, and now we'll add texture with our pincushion protea.

Using color blocking allows each flower to have its own importance.

It's a great way to arrange flowers.

♪ Did you know that, similar to astrology, color horoscopes can reveal much about our personalities and feelings.

We touched on the subject before in an episode all about color.

Although we refer to color horoscopes, there's one key difference.

Unlike astrology, our color horoscopes are not fixed.

Colors we favor at different times in our lives may inform what's going on in our lives, even on a subconscious level.

Your color horoscope could reveal how you actually feel about a current situation.

Let's review colors and their attributes reflected in these arrangements.

Yellow.

People who love yellow are the sunshine in our lives.

They have extreme positivity.

They're perfectionists.

And they also have optimism.

People who like orange are extremely creative.

They love change.

Although they may be a little bit fickle, they're also adventurous.

And orange provides an appetite stimulant when we see that color.

Red.

it's hot and powerful and seductively sexy.

It's also exciting.

We talk about red being the fire in our lives.

Pink.

This color is sweeter than other colors, especially when we view it.

It's innocent and feminine and demure.

It's also one of the softest colors we can look at.

Purple.

It's the color of royalty.

It's spiritual and generous.

It also has a little bit of vanity that goes along with it.

And purple is a magic color.

Blue, the most popular color in our society.

It's dependable, steadfast, gentle, and traditional.

Green.

That's my favorite color.

It symbolizes health and caring.

It's also the color of growth.

People who like green also have a tendency to like gossip.

It's also a loyal color.

White.

People who like white like pure, clean, sterile things.

It's also thought of as being neat, maybe a little bit fussy.

Brown.

Safety and stability.

It's also an earthy color, and it also has a hint of deliciousness about it.

Think about chocolate.

It's a very natural color.

Black.

It's timeless and classic, sophisticated and worldly and can be a little bit serious.

So now that you know a little bit more about color horoscopes, you can pair those colors with your favorite flowers.

Did you feel that there was a color that was especially speaking to you right now?

Each of us has those.

And remember, it's changeable.

Just like our tastes in flowers, we can change our taste in colors.

♪ The scientific name of forget-me-nots is myosotis, which comes from the ancient Greek for "mouse's ear," which the foliage is thought to resemble.

Forget-me-nots are one of the few plants that can boast a true blue color.

However, the adorable blooms also come in light pink, purple, and even a clean white, and yellow centers brighten every shade.

The flowers emerge in early to late spring and continue until summer's heat slows the plant down.

Forget-me-nots prefer full sun.

But where the summers are hot, they are better placed where they get some afternoon shade.

Forgive-me-nots also prefer consistently moist soil.

This plant has many historical references and meanings tied closely to its name.

Forget-me-not was commonly grown in gardens to remember lost loved ones.

People would wear sprays of these delicate blossoms as a sign of faithfulness to a loved one.

♪ Now that we've learned about the meaning of flowers, I'm eager to arrange a bouquet with a special message.

And joining me is my flower friend, Jen.

So, Jen, we are going to talk about flower meanings.

>> Mm!

I love that.

>> So, in Victorian times, people would communicate with one another with flowers.

>> Makes sense.

>> So a guy would make a bouquet, and he would send it to her.

>> Uh-huh.

>> And she would look at the bouquet, and she would determine what it meant.

And then she might even respond with a bouquet.

>> Oho!

It's like way back-in-the-day texting.

>> Exactly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Flower texting.

>> Flower texting.

>> Right, right, right.

I found this book.

This is a book that, actually, my sister bought in London for my mother, and then my mother gave it to me.

It looks like a little diary.

>> It does.

The penmanship is amazing.

>> Right?

>> Yeah.

>> And so it has all the different things, like a fern means sincerity.

And so you can look up stuff.

Okay, so I was always trying to figure out, like, you know, is there, like, a compendium that I can look at that's going to have all these things?

There isn't.

>> No.

>> There's, like, several books.

There's a Victorian flower dictionary.

There's plant lores and legends.

>> You really can go deep in this.

>> Complete language of flowers.

Yeah.

Look at that.

>> Oh, I'm kind of digging this, J.

>> Right, Right.

So you can say different things, like a fritillaria means persecution.

>> Wow.

That's -- [ Laughs ] I don't know if I'd want to get that bouquet.

>> Right, right.

A freesia means passion.

A pink one means motherly love.

>> Okay.

>> Oh, so you're a great mom.

>> Yeah.

>> Your kids could give you -- >> And I'm also very passionate about life, so they can give me all of them.

>> Your kids could get you pink motherly love.

And then it would smell like Froot Loops, and you would like that.

>> Oh, I do love that.

Oh, that's like a really good flower.

>> So I've created a little cheat sheet for myself because I can't remember all this stuff.

>> Right?

Who can?

>> But I've put all these things out, and I've put some different things out so that we could talk about what the meanings were.

Alright?

>> Alright.

>> Let's see.

So, for example, this is an asclepias or a butterfly bush, right?

And it's a heartache cure.

>> Oh.

>> But if you were to put it in a bouquet, it might mean, "Let me go."

>> Oh, to spread your wings and "if you fly back to me" kind of thing?

>> Sure.

>> [ Laughs ] >> I think that's perfect.

>> Yeah, right.

Okay.

>> Right, right?

And so we have protea in here, too.

Protea mean courage.

>> Oh.

So let me go with courage.

>> I guess.

Yeah, that little bouquet would be like, "Let me go."

>> Which one was the flower -- >> "Have the courage to let me go."

>> Oh.

>> Maybe.

Huh?

I don't know.

I'm just making it up as we -- >> I think I need a little cocktails with this to kind of really get deep.

>> Okay, so, you know I love carnations, right?

>> Yeah.

>> So carnations mean boldness.

But the red one specifically means admiration.

>> Mm!

>> But the purple ones mean that you're whimsical.

Oh, okay.

So daisies.

>> Yeah.

>> What do you think?

>> Uh... >> Yeah, I -- >> I like these things.

What are these things called?

>> That's veronica.

>> Okay.

>> So, okay, daisies -- cheer and innocence.

>> That's why I don't like it.

[ Laughs ] I mean the innocence part.

>> You are cheerful, though.

>> I am cheerful, yeah.

>> Okay, the veronica is for fidelity.

>> Oh.

[ Laughs ] Okay.

Good to know.

>> Alright.

So you like this one?

>> Yeah, I do.

>> Fidelity.

'Cause it's purple.

>> It is.

>> The purple fidelity.

>> Yeah.

>> So we talked about fern just a minute ago -- sincerity.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> So, yeah, ferns have sincerity.

>> That's beautiful.

>> Which I like.

I think that's nice.

Okay, then gardenias.

>> I love gardenias.

Yeah, it's one of my favorites.

>> So, emotional support and good luck.

>> Oh, okay.

>> Ivy.

So I have ivy down here.

>> Like regular ivy, not poison ivy, right?

>> Yeah.

Yeah, that's true.

I suppose you could look up poison ivy, but regular ivy means friendship.

>> Mm!

>> So that's nice, right?

>> Yeah.

That is nice.

That is nice.

>> Yeah.

Okay, let's see.

Peonies.

>> Which are the peonies?

These?

>> Those.

>> Oh, okay.

>> Good fortune.

>> Oh, I want this.

I want this little bouquet.

>> I know, right?

>> What are these?

>> That's Limonium that's in there with it.

>> Okay.

>> And let's see.

The Limonium I got to figure out.

Hold on.

Limonium -- joyous.

>> Joyous, joyous fortune.

Oh, yeah.

>> It's good for you.

>> That would be great.

Like, if you get -- if, you know, you're getting a new job, you can just kind of will it to happen.

>> I thought it would be fun for me to make a bouquet... >> Yes.

>> ...and give you a bouquet and see if you could interpret what it says.

>> Pressure's on.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

First of all, this looks like cotton candy.

Alright, so I don't have a cheat sheet.

This was that.

I feel like I'm doing the matching game.

>> The Limonium -- joyous.

>> Joyous.

Okay.

>> 'Cause you are joyous.

>> It is true.

It is true.

And the orchid -- we don't have an orchid on here.

So we didn't do this.

>> Orchids means strength and charm.

>> Oh, J!

That's so sweet.

I'm gonna cry.

>> 'Cause you are.

You're charming, and you have str-- You have superpower.

You have superpower.

>> I do, yeah.

Okay.

And then these are... Tell me what this flower -- >> Peonies.

>> Peonies.

Um...

I don't know.

Give me a hint.

>> Good fortune.

>> [ Sighs ] >> 'Cause I wish you good fortune.

>> I love that.

I really do love that.

And then we've got -- these are roses, obviously.

>> So those are pink roses specifically, okay?

So those are gratitude for being my friend and for everything you've ever taught me.

>> J, thank you.

That's really meaningful.

I love that.

This was the fern.

>> Ivy.

>> Ivy.

>> Ivy was -- See, I'm bad about -- >> Friendship.

>> Friendship.

Okay.

Thank you, J.

This is so gorgeous.

And now I know that I should look up the meanings of flowers before I just hand them over to somebody.

>> Right, right, right.

Or just enjoy flowers for the purpose of enjoying them.

>> But now this is making me hungry because, again, I said this was like cotton candy.

>> It's true.

So, you know, wait.

We have one tradition first.

>> Okay.

[ Gasps ] The flower crown?

>> Flower crown.

>> Do I get the flower crown?

>> You get the flower crown.

>> Do these have meetings on them, as well?

I'm sure they do.

[ Laughs ] Thank you.

>> Is it good?

>> It's good.

It's good.

>> I think I'm getting good at your head size.

>> [ Laughs ] I think you are.

>> Yeah.

So, how about you come back and make Popsicles with me?

>> I'm in.

>> You want to do that?

>> I want to do that.

>> Let's make some Popsicles that have some meaning behind them, as well.

>> Okay.

♪ >> These herbal Popsicles are flavored with lavender and lemon balm and are easy to make.

Lavender and lemon balm are relaxing, stress-reducing, and good for the digestive system.

Interestingly, lavender flower meanings include faith, love, and protection, but also distrust.

So this is how we make these guys.

>> I just think it's interesting that we're going to make Popsicles with flowers.

>> Right!

'Cause that's that's what we do.

That's what we do.

>> Let's do it.

>> Okay.

So, the first thing that you do is you take four cups of water, and you boil it.

>> Okay.

That's easy.

>> Then we have lemon balm.

So this is lemon balm that I grow in my garden because it's organic.

>> Does it smell like lemon?

>> If you rub it.

>> Okay.

Yeah, it's got a little citrusy to it.

>> Right?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So then we put our lemon balm and our lavender, and we're going to put a handful of lemon balm and a handful of cooking-grade lavender.

>> Can you just eat it like that?

>> You can.

>> But it's not so good.

>> Yeah, it isn't sweet.

So it tastes like lavender smells.

>> Gotcha.

>> So I just put a handful of it in here, and then I steep it for 10 to 12 minutes only.

>> Kind of like when you're doing tea.

>> Correct.

You're going to make a tea.

And that's what I did.

>> Oh, that's what it is.

Okay.

>> I made the tea.

>> Yep.

>> 10 to 12 minutes.

But don't go longer than 12 minutes because the lavender will get bitter.

>> Oh, okay.

>> It stays sweet otherwise, right?

So, then, after that's steeped, we let it cool.

>> Okay.

>> So then I add some honey.

>> Mmm!

>> Okay?

So we want honey for sweetness.

We add a little bit of lemon verbena elixir.

Okay, so, lemon verbena, simple syrup made with lemon verbena flowers.

>> Sure.

>> Okay?

And then I do some lemon zest.

>> That's my favorite thing to do is to zest lemon.

>> I know, right?

'Cause that's the best part is just, you know, being able -- >> 'Cause it smells so good.

>> Right, right, right?

And so you get a little bit of that.

And so I did a whole lemon in here, okay?

So then we let that cool.

>> Uh-huh.

>> Okay?

And then we pour it into our Popsicles.

>> Oh!

>> And we want to leave a little bit at the top because we want to have some room for expansion.

♪ And then the little popsicle holders go on top.

>> This is so cute.

>> Isn't it cute?

>> Uh-huh.

Boom.

>> And then this goes into the freezer for four to six hours or overnight.

>> Gotcha.

Alright.

>> Okay?

Alright.

So now let me go grab some Popsicles.

>> Yes.

Alright.

This is the moment.

>> Here you go.

Right?

>> Okay, so we take this thing off.

>> This little guy off.

>> Okay.

I think you just got to wiggle it just a little bit.

Ready?

>> Probably.

Yeah.

Oh, lookee.

>> That's beautiful!

Okay, now, I'm not seeing the lavender seeds.

>> Because they're steeped in there.

>> Oh, that's right.

Okay.

>> However, you could add them as a decorative factor.

>> Yes.

>> Or you could also add dye if you wanted to.

>> Oh.

>> But I didn't want to turn our lips purple.

>> That's true.

We don't want that.

>> Okay?

So... ♪ Well, I think they're yummy.

>> Mmm!

>> Lavendery, lemony.

>> Light.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> I can taste the floralness.

But it's not overpowering.

>> Right.

Right, right, right.

>> It's just a little hint.

>> So, in theory, when you serve these, you could say, "Would you like a sensitive, sympathetic popsicle that you can't trust?"

[ Both laugh ] >> And this is the look I would give you.

[ Laughs ] >> That's what you have when you have lemon verbena and lemon balm and lavender together -- sensitive, sympathetic, distrust.

[ Laughs ] >> Cheers to that.

>> Cheers.

♪ >> Today I have a photo of an all-foliage arrangement from viewer Nancy Combest, who was inspired by the all-foliage show from season one.

Nancy writes, "I wanted to make your all-green arrangement for my grandson's graduation.

I wasn't able to get the same greens you used, but tried to make it as much like yours as possible.

It turned out much fuller than I wanted, but I still got a lot of compliments thanks to your guidance."

Thanks again, Nancy.

I love to see pictures of foliage and flower arrangements inspired by "Life in Bloom."

We call them "Schwankes" after a viewer's nickname.

Send them to J@ubloom.com -- the letter "J" @ the letter "U," bloom.com.

And watch for more "Schwankes" on upcoming shows.

♪ I've had a lot of fun discovering the language of flowers and turning feelings and emotions into flowers, too.

I hope you've enjoyed our time together and will consider flowers the next time you have a message to share.

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

>> With hydrangeas, this has really opposite meanings.

>> Uh-huh.

>> So it could mean carelessness.

>> Correct.

>> Devotion.

>> Okay.

>> False pride.

And ruthlessness.

>> [ Laughs ] >> So bizarre.

>> Hydrangeas supposedly also mean deceit.

Is that weird?

>> That is weird.

>> And pride.

But here's my favorite part about it.

>> Okay.

Tell me more.

>> Read what it says -- possible powers.

>> "Break hexes."

What does that mean?

>> Like break hexes, you know, like a witch or something.

You know?

>> [ Laughs ] >> If you need to break a hex or something, you know?

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

>> Visit J's web site, 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 by Holland America Flowers.

♪ ♪