>> "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.

♪ >> Let's explore the idea of an escape without racking up hundreds or thousands of miles.

Sometimes a getaway is accomplished with just a state of mind or a short ride across town.

Join me on today's show for ideas on enjoying flowers in a tropical oasis, a faraway land, or a secret garden in your own mind.

I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Sometimes, you need to get away from it all, but circumstances will not allow it.

On today's show, we'll look at ways to take the break that you need, even if it's of a shorter, less time-consuming variety.

How about exploring new worlds that are right in your backyard?

Have you ever been a tourist in your hometown?

Are there places you've never visited but know all about?

Actually going there will be a new experience and provide the much-needed break from everyday routine.

Today, we'll learn more about tiki, a style and experience originally created by Americans to help them escape to a tropical paradise.

We'll experience the serenity of a Japanese garden and enjoy an escape through art.

Our first escape is a tropical one.

We're at a local restaurant to learn more about Tiki.

While Tiki bars may have started as an inauthentic form of American escapism following World War II, today, collectors and curators are sharing tiki artifacts as a way to create appreciation and exchange.

I was happy to chat with Mark Sellers to learn about how this place came to be and the revival and love of tiki culture.

Mark, this is probably one of the most amazing places in Grand Rapids.

>> Well, thank you.

>> Maybe the world.

Maybe -- I think, yeah, the world.

>> We have the largest collection of tiki art and artifacts anywhere in the world.

And not just at a restaurant, but anywhere.

So it's really kind of like a museum of tiki artwork.

And a lot of the stuff is vintage from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s.

You know, there was a huge boom in America in the 1950s and '60s.

There were tiki bowling alleys, tiki motels, tiki restaurants and bars everywhere.

And then a lot of those places went out of business in the 1980s and '90s -- in fact, almost all of them.

>> So that's why the authentic things are so valuable and so sought after.

>> Correct.

So, I've got a lot of stuff from old Trader Vic's locations, Kona Kai locations, and just a lot of other vintage tiki bars that, you know, they went out of business and the stuff ended up either put in warehouses or some of it got thrown away.

Quite a bit of it got thrown away.

But I was able to cobble together this large collection over a number of years and finally decided to open this place and put it all on display.

>> Our show is about great explorations in your own backyard, and I think that people have that opportunity to be a tourist in their own town.

And then there's something like this that is a world-class experience.

I have seen, too, people post online about and tag you and say, "This was a dream of a lifetime to come here."

>> We had one woman that cried because she's from Philadelphia, and we have a giant bird artifact.

It's 12 feet high.

It's from the Kona Kai, Philadelphia, which was torn down in 1982.

And she said that her father used to take her to that restaurant all the time.

And I have the artifact, and she hadn't seen it in 40 years.

>> You also have local art.

Anthony Carpenter is going to be one of our guests.

And when I was talking to him, he's done a lot of your artwork here.

>> Yeah, he did a lot of -- He did our logo, all the signage in here telling you where the restrooms are.

And I wanted everything to be kind of artistic in here and not just buy signs from some supplier that says "exit" or "restrooms" or "open" or whatever.

So he created them all by hand.

>> Well, Mark, thank you so much for allowing us to be here.

Thank you for allowing us to be inspired by this amazing facility.

>> Sure.

>> And I think -- Now that I'm inspired, I think I need to make a flower arrangement that goes along with your decor.

>> Alright.

Can't wait to see it.

>> Thank you.

Flowers have the power to calm us, distract us, or even transport us in mind and spirit.

Flowers and foliage of the tropics can help us create our very own tropical oasis.

I filled a lined large wooden box with biodegradable flower foam soaked in flower-food water.

These are two handcrafted tiki sculptures that were made in Hawaii.

Polynesian cultures carved these statues into figures of various gods, and they served to protect holy sites.

This beautiful arrangement almost feels like a tribute to honor these sacred figures as it enfolds them.

Giant Monstera leaves, variegated flax, Dieffenbachia, and Dracaena leaves set the stage for my tropical flowers.

I'm adding bunches of decorative bananas and reversed-back tea leaves as visual foreground and background for my tiki statues.

One of my favorite tropical flowers are hanging Heliconia.

These amazing flowers hang pendulously and really evoke the tropical feeling we're looking for.

I'll mirror the Heliconia with red-torch ginger and balance the visual weight of the hanging Heliconia with parakeet Heliconia on the opposite side of the arrangement.

Fragrant shampoo ginger adds texture and focal emphasis to this bouquet.

It's fun to manipulate different pieces of foliage by curling or wrapping them.

I secure the leaf structure with a stapler before placing them into the flower foam.

Lobster-claw Heliconia are giant flowers on huge, thick stems.

And I love how they tower over the other flowers, much like they would in the rainforest.

Reflexing the blooms of the red-torch ginger gives them a fuller appearance.

Flowers can provide a wonderful escape to calm, support, and enhance our personal well-being.

Many locations across the country are fortunate to have local botanical gardens, and we are, indeed, very fortunate in West Michigan to have access to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

It's a wonderful way to escape everyday life.

The main campus covers 158 acres.

And today, I'd like to show you specifically the Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden, which opened in 2015.

It's an incredible place to explore and reflect.

So, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Steve LaWarre, who's the vice president of horticulture here at Meijer Gardens.

You're kind of the expert about this Japanese garden.

>> Well, you know, I love the space, and I've had the opportunity to work through, you know, being part of the group that found Hoichi Kurisu and was here during the construction.

And it's just been a real pleasure to help build this team and to help take care of a space that the community just loved so much.

>> As a horticulture person, this is like your passion to start with, and then you have this that you get to come to work at every day.

>> Yeah, it's so nice to be able to walk through this space, you know, to gather your thoughts, to contemplate, you know, your to-do list, and to just watch the public, our guests, just thoroughly enjoy a space like this.

It's truly a blessing to be able to walk through this area.

>> This is 8 1/2 acres of the campus.

>> Yeah.

>> How did this all come to be?

And how long did it take?

>> Well, you know, this garden opened in June of 2015.

>> Okay.

>> It was just a desire of Fred and Lena Meijer to have a Japanese garden.

You know, Fred loves the idea of a world garden of some sort.

Lena loved the idea of the garden space, especially a teahouse.

You know, she loved that idea.

>> Right.

>> And through working with Hoichi Kurisu, we were able to have this come to fruition.

>> Part of this is the sculptures that occur and the art that's available in the gardens.

>> Yeah.

>> So can you talk a little bit about that, too, how that comes together?

>> Sure.

You know, Fred was a collector of sculpture, and the West Michigan Horticulture Society came to Fred wanting to open a botanic garden, and it was just a wonderful fit.

And so that early combination of gardens and sculpture art is our foundational recipe, and that's reflected in this Japanese garden as being a traditional space, but then also having contemporary art.

So it's really unique.

>> People are always asking me what there is to do in Grand Rapids, and this is one of the highlights.

>> Absolutely.

Over and over again.

>> Exactly.

Exactly.

And it changes, too.

It's a seasonal adventure.

>> It is.

>> Because you can come all times of year.

>> Yeah.

We like to say that it's always new, and it truly is.

You know, every season is different.

There's always something that -- I've been here for over 24 years and I continuously discover things that I see in new ways that I didn't notice before.

>> Oh, that's wonderful.

>> Yeah.

>> Well, thank you so much for allowing us to be here and being part of this amazing Japanese garden and for taking the time out today to explain it to us.

I appreciate it so much.

>> I love the fact that you're here and enjoying this with us.

>> Oh, that's great.

Thank you very much.

We're here in the Japanese gardens, and I've been so inspired by these bonsai.

Let's create a beautiful ikebana arrangement from these glorious flowers.

I'm using a piece of driftwood and I've wedged it down inside my alabaster container.

The container is very heavy.

It's made of alabaster, so it's going to give weight to the arrangement.

And having that piece of driftwood wedged inside will form the structure where we can place our flowers.

We start with the three classic placements of shin, soe, and tai -- heaven, earth, and man.

Then we have other pieces of foliage and flowers that will help support those.

It's always great to look at the flowers and decide what direction they're going so that you place them in the appropriate spot.

ikebana is also perceived as spiritual, which means that we're joining as one with the flowers to make a beautiful arrangement.

Here's your "Bloom 365 Tip" from the bonsai garden, helping you enjoy flowers every day of the year.

I'm going to show you how to bend a branch for an ikebana arrangement.

It's a two-step method.

We'll take and cut partway through our branch.

Then we go back to the other end and cut off a wedge.

We take our wedge and we stick it into the bent area.

That provides a wonderful bend so it can go into our arrangement and bend in the appropriate direction.

Many people escape everyday life through art, like our next guest, Anthony Carpenter.

Anthony's unique illustration style is sometimes inspired by the bright colors and shapes of American mid-century tiki design.

Purely escapist fantasy.

And I'm a big fan.

So, Anthony, this is such a huge treat for me, because I have admired your art for so long.

>> Excellent.

>> We own pieces of your art in our home.

>> Also excellent.

>> Yeah.

We even were gifted a piece.

When Kelly and I got married, we were gifted a piece from the crew, from Chris and Keith, that you created for us.

>> I remember doing that one.

That was a lot of fun.

>> Yeah.

Kelly as Aquaman, and me as Gorilla Grodd.

>> Yeah.

Right up my alley.

>> I know.

So, that's really interesting.

Now, you have a lot of things here.

There's a bar menu.

There's signage.

There's glasses.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Even the tiki mug.

What do I call that?

What's the official term?

>> They're tiki mugs.

>> The tiki mug.

Yeah, the sculpted -- >> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

That's amazing.

For me, my flower arranging, I can escape through my flower arranging and I can create my own -- if it's a little, tiny world, if it's a great, big world, if it's tropical, if it's Victorian, whatever that is.

Do you feel that way about your art?

That you can transport yourself to another place?

>> Oh, of course, of course.

I'm literally creating the places that I go to, so... And the beautiful thing is, there's both the professional side of the art and the recreational side of the art, as well.

So I get a little pleasure from both.

You know, I get to create things for other people and I also get to draw for myself.

And sometimes, they bleed into each other, which is great.

>> Oh, that's fun.

>> Yeah.

>> Now, I've noticed -- I follow you and I noticed that you sketch with pencil.

You do -- You generate digital art.

Do you have a favorite medium?

Is there -- >> Pencil is, I think, what I really gravitate towards for the most part.

>> Okay.

>> You know, I'm making inroads into the world of full digital.

I got an iPad in 2020, and it sort of changed my world.

>> [ Both laugh ] >> And with some of that, I've noticed that we can follow along when you're creating something.

>> Yes, yes, because it tracks everything that you're doing on-screen and it plays it back as a video.

>> How interesting.

So we can watch the process.

>> Yes.

>> Wow.

>> And that's interesting for me, too, because I don't see the process myself 'cause I'm working on it.

So my thought is all just in the next move.

So then, when I go back and I look at what I did, I'm like, "Oh, oh, okay.

I see these decisions I was making."

>> That process is fascinating, because I experience a similar thing when I place a flower in a certain spot, and then, when the arrangement's getting completed, I may want to adjust and move something because it just didn't kind of happen the way that I thought it should.

>> Yeah.

>> And I think that that's also part of the learning process and also part of what we love about it.

>> Oh, the beauty of art is mistakes... >> Right.

>> ...and knowing when to accept them and when to push them away.

>> Right.

Right.

So, Anthony, one of the things that you do is, people can commission art from you, as well.

>> Yes.

>> So, I gave you a list of some fun things that are kind of inspiring for Kelly and I, because we wanted another piece of your art in our home and we wanted to also show what you do.

So I gave you a list of things, and you created something for me, and I don't know what it is, so I'm very excited.

>> Well, you mentioned one of my favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons, "The Herculoids"... >> I'm getting goose bumps.

Okay.

>> ...and flower arranging and such things, and I came up with this.

>> Oh, my gosh.

Anthony, that is fabulous.

>> Thank you.

>> We love "The Herculoids" so much.

And we love you so much and we love your art, so this is an amazing, amazing thing that we're going to be able to add to our house.

It makes me want to cry, Anthony.

It's just so beautiful.

I am blown away by your ability to transfer what it is you see onto paper.

That's an amazing talent, and it's just so wonderful.

>> And it's also surprising for me when I do it, to be honest with you.

All these years later, I'm still like, "Oh, this one turned out really good."

>> That's amazing.

Well, thank you so much.

So, I have a question for you.

>> Sure.

>> Would you like to join me for a drink and we can pick something off of your drink menu that you designed?

And maybe there will be some flowers in it.

So that'll be fun.

>> I love it.

>> Okay, good.

>> Excellent.

>> Thanks.

The scientific name for shampoo ginger is Zingiber zerumbet.

The plant is native to India, Malaysia, and Indonesia and widely cultivated in the Asian tropics.

The common name of pinecone ginger is in reference to the pinecone shape of the inflorescence.

Both the leaves and the pinecone-like inflorescence arise from underground rhizomes.

The common name shampoo ginger relates to the creamy liquid substance in their cones, or bracts, which may be extracted by squeezing for use as a hair shampoo and/or hair conditioner.

The fluid in the flowers and the rhizomes have a ginger-spice fragrance.

Polynesians brought this plant to Hawaii in canoes many years ago.

It is now cultivated worldwide for its culinary and medical uses.

Austin, you're going to make us a Flower Cocktail Hour.

>> I sure am.

>> Oh, looking forward to this.

>> Austin, how many drinks do you make a day?

>> A lot.

>> [ Laughs ] >> An average night is usually close to 100 or more.

>> Wow.

Yeah.

>> This one here is our most popular seller.

>> So, what's this called?

What are we making?

>> This is called the Puka Punch.

>> Aha!

>> This one's going to be -- have some fresh pineapple juice, in it, some orange juice, a little bit of passion fruit, some honey, and then a blend of four different rums.

So, it's our most popular drink on the menu and also happens to be our strongest.

>> And the menu -- so, this is your artwork, Anthony.

>> Yes, it is.

>> And you drew all of the little drinks that are in here.

>> I drew every individual drink.

There were actually more when the place first opened.

>> Okay.

>> It was a fun exercise.

>> That's amazing.

I love that.

I love that your art's right there.

See, now, I love this, because typically with Flower Cocktail Hour, I have to make it.

So I like having you here, Austin, and you're adding your expertise.

Yeah.

>> And then one last little floater.

>> [ Laughs ] Anthony, you are driving.

[ Both laugh ] Oh, lookit -- there's flowers!

We love that!

Fresh mint.

Austin, amazing.

>> Cheers, gentlemen.

>> Oh, Austin, that's amazing.

>> Delicious.

>> It's right at home.

I mean, this is exactly what I should be drinking when I'm standing here.

>> Absolute perfection.

>> Yeah.

Wonderful.

>> Glad you like it.

>> Anthony, cheers.

>> Cheers to you.

>> There we go.

Today, I have two photos to share with you from viewer Claudia Dinwiddie, who often sends me pictures of her creations, which include flowers from her garden.

And her garden is magnificent.

Claudia loves to share her life in bloom at home, at the office, and with her friends.

That's just the kind of flower friend she is.

Thank you, Claudia, for brightening our world with your flower creations.

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

We call them "Schwankies," after a viewer's nickname.

Send them to J@uBloom.com That's the letter "J" @ the letter "U," bloom.com.

And watch for more Schwankies on upcoming shows.

I hope you found inspiration in today's show and create your own escape, even if it's just for an afternoon or even an hour or two.

Taking the time for a break with flowers will help clear your mind and activate the imagination.

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

>> Well, you guys liked those.

You want to see something really cool?

>> Well, yeah.

>> Of course.

>> Of course.

Yes.

Yeah.

I always like it when a bartender says, "Can I show you something better?"

[ Laughter ] >> Alright.

>> It has a ship and a monkey.

>> Couple straws for you, gentlemen.

>> Okay.

Oh!

>> Nice!

>> Austin, you were right.

It is better.

>> That was fabulous.

>> Oh, yum!

>> That's very good.

>> I like the little ship and the monkey and the flowers.

It's all good, Austin.

It's all good.

"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 by Holland America Flowers.

♪