Best in Blooms

Meet the winner and finalists in FR’s latest bimonthly flower design contest.

By Nita Robertson, AIFD, CFD

Florists’ Review is excited to present the finalists in our March “Best in Blooms” flower design contest. We received more than 45 entries from floral designers across North America. 

The four selected finalists were challenged to create an “Enchanted Forest”-themed flower arrangement or display highlighting Pantone’s “2022 Color of the Year,” “Very Peri,” using flowers provided by Ball SB and showcasing them in containers from Melrose International.

The finalists received beautiful stocks, ‘Skylight’ Limonium, hybrid bicolor ‘Trick’ Delphinium, Dahlia and Campanula from Ball SB. Additional botanicals were allowed in the designs as long as the flowers provided by Ball SB were used as the focal flowers.

The winner receives a “Florist Spotlight” feature in a future issue of Florists’ Review, a $250 credit from Melrose International and a $250 credit from Ball SB.

For information about how you can enter future editions of the contest, visit our website at FloristsReview.com.

Rodrigo Varito Vásquez, AIFD, CFD, FSMD, FPCF, was born in San José, Costa Rica. His journey in the floral industry started 32 years ago. After studying music and working in the travel and tourism industry, he found his true passion in flowers. Before moving to the United States, he owned and operated Flowers by Flowers, a floral events company in Costa Rica. Today he stays busy as the floral director of R. Varito Designs and Institute, a floral events company and floral design school in West Palm Beach, Fla. 

About his design, Vásquez says:

“The quote from French artist Émile Gallé, ‘Our roots are in the depths of the woods—on the banks of streams and among the mosses,’ was my inspiration for this design. Forests inspire me the most, and spending time in nature is one thing I love to do. A forest allows me to slow down and appreciate the small things in a different world and makes me realize that the fantasy of nature is much larger than my own fantasy. The forest ‘perfume’ of trees and earth is like incense in a shrine to me; I fall into a state of prayer.”

MATERIALS

Other Botanicals

• Asparagus setaceus/A. plumosus (plumosa fern)

• Rosa spp. ‘Ocean Song’ (hybrid tea rose)

• Polystichum munitum (Western sword fern)

• Salix matsudana/S. babylonica ‘Tortuosa’ (corkscrew willow)

• Hypnum cuppresiforme (sheet moss)

• Agaricus bisporus (portobello, cremini and button mushroom/fungus)

Jules Sandlin is a self-taught florist in a growing Southern town north of Nashville, Tenn., and she has spent the past four years pushing the traditional floral boundaries in her community (successfully, luckily). She opened a gift and plant storefront, Jules with the Flowers, in October 2019 with her mom and husband, and she is looking forward to doing bigger, better and more challenging things with each step she takes.

About her design, Sandlin says:

“I relied heavily on the inspiration of ‘Very Peri’ [Pantone’s ‘Color of the Year 2022’], leaning into the wildness of a forest during the twilight hour. Texture was key in this arrangement.”

MATERIALS

Srini Perera started Kreative Hands in 2001 in her home-based studio in Woodland Hills, Calif., with a passion to “kreate” and make a difference in people’s lives. As a busy mother raising twins with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and floral design certification from Phil Rulloda’s Southern California School of Floral Design, she has learned to reuse, reimagine and reshape traditional floral arrangements into one of a kind masterpieces. Perera loves all things nature, creating beauty for weddings and beyond.

About her design, Perera says:

“The [horizontal] vase depicts a fallen tree in the forest. I incorporated Eucalyptus barks as branches, with ‘messy’ flowers. No particular design style for the fallen tree depicts the dark years past. The free standing vase with blooms reminds us of joy, hope and the bright year ahead.”

MATERIALS

Anika Wilson is a studio-based farmer-florist in Southern Maine. She grows flowers on about a half-acre of land in addition to sourcing locally, regionally and internationally. Her designs are natural and wild and have a life of their own. Wilson loves out-of-the-box projects and new floral challenges. She lives with her husband, two miniature sheep, a cat named Mimi and an ever expanding flock of exotic- and rare-breed birds.

About her design, Wilson says:

“I took the ‘Enchanted Forest’ theme a tad literally. I thought it would be fun to create a little ‘enchanted forest’ in our studio, where Alex, our model, would be ‘picking flowers from the forest floor and creating arrangements in the woods.’ The photo inspiration for this project reminded me of fantastical Disney movies from my childhood, fairies and magic, so I wanted to capture the playfulness of youthful fantasy.”

MATERIALS