>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by Albertsons Companies with additional support from the following companies -- CalFlowers, Design Master Color Tool, Smithers-Oasis, Sunshine Bouquet.

♪ >> Today on "Life in Bloom," we're going to the dogs and cats and pets in general.

I'll explore pet communication with my friend, Ms. Margo, review how pets relieve stress and can improve overall health and then create treats for cats and dogs and their owners too.

♪ ♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

"Pets are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

♪ Those of us with pets know that they enrich our lives every day.

They're as much a part of our environment as the flowers that surround us, a reminder that all living things are connected.

Today on "Life in Bloom," we're going to explore some fun ways to marry two of our favorite topics -- pets and flowers.

♪ So today, I brought in one of my dearest friends, Ms. Margo, the bone reader, and we met at a women's expo, where you were doing pet communication, and I was having some trouble with my dogs and trying to figure out what they were thinking and what was going on, so tell us, what is a bone reader, and how did you get started?

>> Well, actually, I'm known as a seer for my clan.

There's only four of us out of 100 years that is chosen.

I'm with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, so I'm known as a high priestess or a oracle.

>> I have to admit that the first time I was a little skeptical because I always am.

>> Right.

>> But as soon as I met you, I was -- There was just like this instant connection, and I think about what you tell me because the things you tell me involve nature and involve flowers.

It's so comforting and so peaceful, and I can be very troubled about how things are going.

>> Sure.

How's that working for you?

>> It's awesome now because you calm me down.

>> Okay.

>> Yeah, you know, and that was one of the things is I think in these times, we need something.

And I think flowers do that for me.

They calm me down.

They heal me.

It's true.

And so I think you offer that.

You're part of that puzzle for me too.

>> Right, right.

>> You've brought the Native American story, the Native American heritage into my life and made me appreciate it, and one of the most profound things you ever said to me -- Outside the back of my house are trees, and I said, "I hear the wind and the trees at night," and you said, "But do you listen to them?"

And I listen to them now because you told me to listen to what they were saying.

>> If we just listen to nature a little bit more, we just kind of relax into our own setting.

We are able to connect a little bit more with nature and animals, and then we can communicate better with people.

>> So, Ms. Margo, this is Eleanor, and she's 10 years old.

>> Mm-hmm.

She's beautiful.

>> I think personally that she's the smartest dog in the world.

>> Of course, you're the master of that, huh?

Oh, she thinks so too.

>> Right, right?

She does.

It's true.

She's the smartest girl.

>> So you have to pick out three stones for her, and then I'll see >> Okay, so I -- So don't look.

>> Right.

I won't look.

Okay.

>> No, I mean I don't look.

I don't look, correct?

Yeah.

>> You don't look.

And just try to place them right here in front of you.

Okay?

>> Alright.

>> Okay.

Get your vibe for her.

>> Get my vibe.

>> And listen to her to see which ones to pick out.

Just tell me when you're done because I got -- I have my eyes closed too.

♪ >> This right here.

Okay.

>> Okay.

Well, first of all, she represents, like, a bobcat, so she's always on the go, go, go, and she's ready for anything, and she likes to take charge.

She likes to voice her opinion.

You have the bear tooth, so the bear tooth represents a good healthy, long lifeline.

It also represents that she might hibernate.

When it's her down time, she'll hibernate a little bit longer to come out and emerge back up.

The last one is about her communication.

At times, she might be confusing, not knowing what direction to go to, and that's why she hibernates a little bit, you know, and then she does her own thing, like you said, that she's the princess.

She's the smart one.

She already knows she was, and with the bear tooth, it also represents that she likes you to communicate to her more and more, you know, like, tell her what you're doing.

If you're changing around furniture or anything, she needs to know.

She wants to be up ahead, ahead of the game.

>> You have told us that, and we have -- and we always tell her what we're doing.

>> Good.

>> She knows, and we just talk to her in our normal voice.

We're just like, "Okay, beds are going to go here.

We're going to do this.

We're going to do this.

We're going to do this.

We'll be back in approximately this much time," and she's really good with it.

She loves it.

>> Well, she's the lady of the house.

You can't leave just a written note.

She says she can't read that, so... [ Laughter ] Well, hi, baby.

How are you doing?

>> So Ladybird's about five, and she was a rescue, so we've -- >> She has an old soul.

She has a very old soul that she's very graceful.

She, you know, and that she's lived a few lifetimes, and that's what it shows me, that she doesn't mind being dainty, but she has an old soul.

Yes.

I know.

I'm telling him all about you.

Want me to tell him some more?

>> Should we find out some more?

>> That was the sign.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

So just pick out any three and just tell me when you're done.

>> I know.

Oh, okay.

That one?

Alright.

You tell me when.

Tell me when.

That...Okay.

I got it.

Alright.

Thank you.

>> Okay.

Well, she has a secret medicine bag, and we thank you for that.

That means a lot of prayers, that she just doesn't pray for herself.

She prays for others, whoever she crosses paths with, and this is actually the stone that she had picked that you actually take the back of the skin when you're scaling and defurring it or, you know, when you're cleaning it up and stuff, the rawhide.

So this means she likes ancient, old things.

She comes as a deer, so she likes to eat healthy and good.

Deers do have a good, healthy, long lifeline.

She'll stare you down when she wants to, you know, get her way.

She'll, you know, give you those puppy eyes or whatever she needs, but she does it in a classy way.

With also the medicine pouch, this means that she puts a lot of thought and her energy into things.

She'll mull it over.

She doesn't want to just dive into something new.

She's a classy lady.

>> You are a classy lady.

>> Yeah, a classy lady.

You like that.

>> So, Ms. Margo, we have a tradition here at "Life in Bloom" that I make flower crowns for our guests.

>> Ooh, wow.

What a great honor.

>> So this is for you.

Let's see how we did.

>> It's perfect.

>> Does it fit?

>> Okay, hold on.

>> Okay.

>> I have a tiny head.

>> Do I need to tighten it up?

Are you good?

>> We'll tighten it up.

>> Okay.

>> But I have a tiny head, so I had to go like this now.

>> Oh, okay.

>> It's okay.

It's all good.

>> You are such a special friend.

You have helped me in so many ways.

The heart that you have for everything that you do is so wonderful, and I wanted to show that with our people... >> Aw.

>> ...and let them know Ms. Margo is a wonderful flower in my garden, so I appreciate that.

>> Oh, thank you.

♪ >> When I was a little kid, probably the first arrangement I remembered is a poodle mum because they would make them in the store, and as a kid, you know, you're fascinated by the fact that it's a flower arrangement that wasn't a flower arrangement.

It was a flower arrangement that looked like a dog.

When it got to be really popular in, like, the '60s, there were other kits you could buy, and you could make, like, a giraffe, and you could make a turkey, and you could make an elephant and a Santa Claus and a scarecrow, so it really kind of took off and was the beginning of what we know as novelty arrangements.

♪ I've taken a third a block of flower foam, and I've soaked it in water with flower nutrient and stood it on end in the basket, but we need to carve down the edges because it'll actually take the place of part of the body of the puppy.

My basket has a liner, so I can add water to this, and it'll last a long time.

♪ I've taken a little bit of fresh moss and surrounded the foam.

Then we'll start with the face of our puppy.

The first carnation forms the nose.

The next two form where the eyes go.

♪ ♪ Then we'll use two for each leg -- two in the front and two in the back.

We originally used chrysanthemums, and I think because they're so big and white, you know, and that looked good for a poodle mum.

With the avenue of carnations being more durable, it takes more flowers to do it, but the carnations are a little more durable, a little more long-lasting.

Chrysanthemums are still long-lasting too though.

I love both of them.

They're both, what I would consider, classic flowers.

We'll fill in the body, and we'll also use a standard carnation for the tail.

I like working with the standard carnation and many carnations.

That way, if I need to fill in a smaller space, I can use the smaller-sized flower.

I'm using another type of carnation, the Green Trick carnation, to fill in between the legs.

I like this because it gives good definition, and this is actually a dianthus or carnation too.

It looks like fresh moss.

♪ ♪ Eye and nose placement is super important.

That's how you give your puppy personality.

I've created the eyes and the nose out of a pipe cleaner.

I've just used a black pipe cleaner and tightened it into a nice little circle.

I glue them on with a low-temp glue gun.

You could also use rubber cement or a glue tab.

♪ ♪ I also made three little bows.

We use two on each ear and one on the tail.

We'll glue those into place too using the low-temp glue gun.

When I was a little kid, it was kind of the thing you got taught first because you could do that.

You could glue the chenille eyes on them, and we even used googly eyes at one point in time, so you could glue those pieces on, and it was something that I could do as a kid.

I started helping in the flower shop when I was probably 4 or 5.

Absolutely, it's a project for kids because they get excited about it, and I think it's interesting because everybody does.

It brings back the kid in everybody.

Everybody is like, "Oh, look it.

It's a little puppy made of flowers," and I think that that's an important part about it for people is it's a little magical, and it's a little bit memorable, and it reminds us of being a kid again, so I think it's a fun way for kids to get their hands on flowers.

Carnations are very forgiving, and they would love to be played with by kids.

♪ ♪ Making healthy treats for your four-legged friends is easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients right in your pantry.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Today, "Flower Cocktail Hour" is going to the dogs.

We're making a traditional greyhound cocktail but not in a martini glass.

We're going to make it in a mug, and we're going to change it up a little bit.

We'll call it Yappy Hour.

We've got a special vodka for today too.

It's a vodka that has rose and grapefruit infusions, so we'll add that first, and then we'll add our fresh grapefruit juice.

I love squeezing the fresh grapefruit juice and adding a beautiful grapefruit as our garnish.

I love our arrangement too because we have rose lilies and roses fresh out of the garden.

Time for a Yappy Hour.

♪ ♪ So I didn't want to do a show about pets and not address cats.

I don't have a cat, but my niece, Grace, does have a cat.

>> Yes, I do.

>> Flossy.

>> Yes.

>> Who we love, right?

>> She's so sweet.

>> We want to talk a little bit about catnip because catnip isn't just for cats too, which is kind of interesting.

>> And I just kind of learned that recently.

>> This is Flossy's.

>> Yes.

What I do is I just take off a little piece, and I break it up like this and just give it to her.

And what she'll do is she'll rub it over her head and then eat it when she's done with that.

Flossy will sometimes, like, get really, really energetic after she takes it, and then she just lays out for a while after that, so I think that change in energy level, really, I can see it when she takes that catnip.

>> People can use it also for training, right?

>> Yes.

Yeah, so what we have is some catnip spray in a bottle, and when we were training her to where she could scratch, what was an okay place and not an okay place, we should just spray the scratching post, and she'd go right over and start going for it, so now she knows she can scratch there and not the couch, and we don't have any issues with that whatsoever.

>> They claim that for humans, that you can also make a tea out of it.

The interesting thing is it will induce sweating, so that it's good for fevers.

>> Okay.

>> So you could reduce your fever by taking some catnip too.

>> Well, and I love hot tea, so that would be really interesting to try out.

>> Wheatgrass too is, like, another thing that people can do with their cats too.

>> Yeah.

Yeah.

>> So does she like the wheatgrass?

>> Yes, so what we do is we sprout some seeds every once and a while.

They grow up, and then we put it right by the window so that she can look outside while she's eating the grass, and she just goes up whenever she's a little bit hungry, has a little bit, and then when she's full, she leaves.

She's done with it, so... >> And do you leave the grass in the house the whole time?

>> Yep, correct.

>> So that...

So she has access to it.

>> Yes, she has the kitty grass all the time, every day, all day.

>> I love these.

These are square ceramic containers.

They don't have room for drainage, but I put rocks down in the bottom, so then this will just drop down inside there, and then you've got a decorative pot for it.

And I think you've noticed at my house, we just always have this because I think it's pretty.

We don't have a cat, but I just think that it's pretty to have in the house.

So we have a flower crown for you.

>> Oh, my goodness.

>> And so what I did is I made it with herbs because catnip is an herb, right?

>> Yeah.

>> So let's see.

It has an artichoke too, which is...It's kind of heavy.

It looks good though, right?

>> Thank you.

>> That's good.

You're very welcome.

>> This is so nice.

Thank you.

♪ >> Pets have crept their way into every corner of our lives, including weddings.

Here's a simple way to create a garland of flowers so your pet can celebrate with you in festive style.

You know, I was amazed when I started thinking about clematis because I see it outside in the yard so much, and I didn't realize it was so durable and so easy to use for flower arrangements, so we're going to select a few of each color.

I know how big my dogs are, so I know how much I'm going to need, but in some cases, you might not be sure exactly how big that dog is going to be, so leaving yourself extra ribbon gives you a little bit more to play with, and because we'll be weaving the clematis around the ribbon, I want to make sure that I have plenty.

So, then we'll just line up our blossoms, and I'll alternate back and forth with the different colors, so we'll start with three, and I'm actually just going to act like I'm braiding them, and at the same time, I'm going to braid the ribbon into it as well.

Up here, we'll weave it through these as well, just so everybody is good and attached.

♪ ♪ So I also weaved another piece of ribbon through there to give it a little bit more texture.

I cut that first, and then I take both ends of the wire on one end of the ribbon and pull those out, so then taking both ends and scooting enough wire out that we can tie together, so we'll tie them together at one end, and then that also gives me a little bit of wire that can be attached to the clematis stems.

I'll go back to the other end and expose that wire again, and then I can gather the ribbon, and it's actually going to make a perfect little ruffle.

Now, we don't pull hard on this because, again, it's not a very strong wire.

It's just enough to give the ribbon shape.

At one end, we'll cinch it up nice and tight and then wrap the wire around the end of it.

So now I have a piece like that that I wove between everything, and then I was also able to use the wire to connect things together.

You'll notice that I didn't use any pins or anything on this because I want it to be safe for the dog, and since pets are such an important part of our family, it's great for them to be included in special events and have their own flowers too.

♪ Pussy willows is the name associated to many small trees in the Salix genus.

Salix means willows and sallows.

The furry part of the pussy willow is called a catkin.

The name pussy willow is derived in part from the catkins, which are covered in fine, grayish fur leading to a fancied likeness to tiny kittens.

The catkins appear long before the leaves and are one of the earliest signs of spring.

Pussy willows are native to the wetlands of the Southern US, Europe, Asia and Canada.

The pussy willow has deep, far-reaching roots.

This makes them a perfect choice for erosion control and to hold soil on a hill.

Pussy willows symbolize good will and motherhood.

Pussy willows are given as a gift to new homeowners.

The flower is thought to protect the home.

♪ You may not have thought to include your pets in your flower crafts, but today, we'll show you how your pet can make an impression in your artwork.

You can use your pet's paw prints as flowers in artwork for your wall.

You can use a canvas or a piece of paper.

Today, we'll be using these wood panels, and I've tinted the wood panel using a translucent paint, so we have a blue background, but you could also do it in a natural craft as well.

Then we're going to use nontoxic paint, and we'll put it out into a tray like this.

Choosing the colors -- and these are going to be the centers of our flowers, so I'm going to bring Ladybird.

We'll dip her paw in there and make paw prints as the basis for our flower artwork.

It's a simple, fun project that you can do with your pets.

♪ ♪ So now we'll come back in and put detail on the paw prints, turning them into the centers of flowers.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ We hope you'll agree that life is better with pets and, of course, flowers.

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

See you next time.

[ Laughter ] But I just think that it's pretty to have in the house.

>> Yeah, and it's really fun too to, like, use scissors to cut a little design in it, so it's, like, kind of like a hairstyle, and then it can grow out, and you can do it again.

>> Stop.

So, like, we could do a Mohawk?

>> Yeah.

I don't know if Flossy ever really recognizes what we're doing for her, but we absolutely love her and want to give her all the art in the world.

>> Oh, that's very...I like it.

So now we have a little Mohawk.

That's fun.

>> Yeah.

>> Grace, I love it.

See?

>> Yeah.

>> That's the best part.

♪ So you obviously would not give her this.

This could go into a shake for us, right, wheatgrass shake.

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

>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to by Albertsons Companies with additional support from the following companies -- CalFlowers, Design Master Color Tool, Smithers-Oasis, Sunshine Bouquet.

♪ Closed caption funding provided by Ocean View Flowers.

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

♪