“Best in Blooms”

Meet the winner and finalists in the “American-grown” edition of FR’s bimonthly flower design contest.

By Nita Robertson, AIFD, CFD

Florists’ Review is excited to present the winner and finalists in our latest “Best in Blooms” contest series. Nearly 40 floral designers from across the country submitted photos of their work for our jury’s consideration. Four florists were chosen to compete in the celebration of “American Grown Flowers and Foliage Month,” which is this month (July).

The four contest entrants featured on these pages were selected to create designs showcasing cut flowers and foliages from four Certified American Grown-member farms: Sun Valley Floral Farms, CamFlor, Mellano & Company and Continental Floral Greens. The four fantastic florists were each asked to create a design inspired by the theme “American Summer Pastimes.” 

The winner will be featured in a “Florist Spotlight” article in an upcoming issue of Florists’ Review, have her work featured across all of our social media platforms and receive a $500 product credit with our Certified American Grown partners.

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

Winner

“I am thoroughly smitten with nature and all things growing. I adore the reduced impact on our planet that growing/buying ‘local’ flowers can have on our communities. As a small-business owner, I am always looking at ways I can support the businesses in my community and support home-grown flowers and producers. I love that American-grown flowers cut down on the environmental impact that comes from shipping flowers worldwide and that we can support companies within our own communities and states.”

About her design, McLean says:

“I was inspired by the color and sweetness of watermelons and how they are a constant presence in our kitchens through the summer months. I thought the color and stripes would pair well with a color palette of pinks and light greens. I hollowed out a watermelon and cut the bottom off so that it would sit level.”

MATERIALS

American Grown Botanicals

• Lilium spp. (Roselily^®, double-flowered Oriental lily)

• Tulipa spp. (double-flowered tulip)

• Ranunculus spp. Butterfly^™ series (butterfly Ranunculus, butterfly buttercup, butterfly crowfoot)

• Delphinium scaposum (bare-stem larkspur, tall mountain larkspur, desert larkspur)

• Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, devil-in-a-bush, wild fennel)

• Achillea millefolium (common yarrow, cottage yarrow, Western yarrow, milfoil, devil’s nettle, soldier’s woundwort, thousand leaf)

• Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum)

• Mentha spp. (mint)

• Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Variegatum’ (variegated Italian Pittosporum, variegated New Zealand Pittosporum)

• Asparagus virgatus (tree fern, tiki fern, broom fern, African broom fern)

“I love using American-grown flowers. I live in Utah, in the desert, and am seriously amazed at what our local flowers farms grow. Local Dahlia and Lisianthus are my favorites. I have to ship in a lot of flowers and foliage grown by farmers in California and Oregon during the off seasons, and I’m always amazed at the quality. The Spiraea from Continental Floral Greens is exquisite. Tulips and butterfly Ranunculus from Sun Valley Floral Farms are always stunning. Mellano grows beautiful Ranunculus, Eucalyptus and Dianthus. I love the wide selection that CamFlor has to offer. One of my favorites is jasmine vine, and their color selection of cottage yarrow and their Euphorbia is fabulous!”

About her design, Hall says:

“My design idea for the ‘American Summer Pastimes’ theme was swinging—something that I still do every summer. Once the flowers and foliages arrived, I knew that I wanted to use as many of them as I could. The colors of flowers were quite varied, so I had to get creative. While processing them, the idea of a swing came to mind. There’s not a summer that goes by that I don’t sit in a swing a few times, and my girls still love to swing.”

MATERIALS

American Grown Botanicals

• Helianthus annuus (sunflower)

• Lilium spp. (Roselily^®, double-flowered Oriental lily)

• Delphinium x Belladonna (larkspur)

• Tulipa spp. (double-flowered tulip)

• Tulipa spp. (parrot tulip)

• Tulipa spp. (fringed tulip)

• Ranunculus spp. Butterfly^™ series (butterfly Ranunculus, butterfly buttercup, butterfly crowfoot)

• Alstroemeria aurea/A. aurantiaca (Peruvian lily, lily-of-the-Incas)

• Scabiosa atropurpurea x caucasica ‘Scoop’ series (pincushion flower, scabious)

• Xerochrysum bracteatum (strawflower)

• Achillea millefolium (common yarrow, cottage yarrow, Western yarrow, milfoil)

• Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, devil-in-a-bush, wild fennel)

• Limonium latifolium (sea lavender)

• Limonium sinuatum (statice, wavy-leaf sea lavender, notch-leaf sea lavender)

• Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Variegatum’ (variegated Italian Pittosporum, variegated New Zealand Pittosporum)

• Mentha spp. (mint)

• Rumohra adiantiformis (leatherleaf fern, leather fern)

• Gaulteria shallon (salal, lemon leaf)

• Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia)

• Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ / A. aethiopicus (sprengeri fern, Sprenger’s Asparagus)

• Asparagus virgatus (tree fern, tiki fern, broom fern)

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

• Panicum elegans/P. capillare ‘Frosted Explosion’ (witchgrass, old-witch grass)

“

“I am passionate about American-grown flowers because I am committed to using ‘local’ and seasonal materials wherever I am, all over the United States. Using flowers that are ‘of a time and place’ make the event for which I am designing feel as if it belongs and is a snapshot of the celebration. I support local flower farmers because not only are their flowers and foliage far more beautiful than anything I could import but also not having to fly the flowers all over the country is a small thing I can do to help slow the impact of my business on our precious environment.”

About her design, Delgado says:

“My inspiration was the classic American summer picnic, and my design concept incorporates a nontraditional vessel—a small cooler—overflowing with the bounty of American-grown flowers. A floral feast.”

MATERIALS

American Grown Botanicals

• Helianthus annuus (sunflower)

• Lilium spp. (Roselily^®, double-flowered Oriental lily)

• Ranunculus spp. Butterfly^™ series (butterfly Ranunculus, butterfly buttercup, butterfly crowfoot)

• Xerochrysum bracteatum (strawflower)

• Alstroemeria aurea/A. aurantiaca (Peruvian lily, lily-of-the-Incas)

• Agonis flexuosa (peppermint willow, Australian willow myrtle)

• Mentha spp. (mint)

• Panicum elegans/P. capillare ‘Frosted Explosion’ (witchgrass, old-witch grass)

About her design, Bazana-Weber says:

“What I created is inspired by a Florida summer backyard pool party—colorful and fun, to celebrate the summer heat.”

MATERIALS

American Grown Botanicals

• Helianthus annuus (sunflower)

• Lilium spp. (Roselily^®, double-flowered Oriental lily)

• Tulipa spp. (tulip)

• Scabiosa atropurpurea x caucasica ‘Scoop’ series. (pincushion flower, scabious)

• Ranunculus spp. Butterfly^™ series (butterfly Ranunculus, butterfly buttercup, butterfly crowfoot)

• Xerochrysum bracteatum (strawflower)

• Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, devil-in-a-bush, wild fennel)

• Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia)

• Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ / A. aethiopicus (sprengeri fern, Sprenger’s Asparagus)

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