Meet the winner and finalists in the “Certified American Grown” edition of FR’s flower design contest.
By Nita Robertson, AIFD
Sponsored by Certified American Grown
Florists’ Review is delighted to present the winner and finalists in our annual “Best in Blooms” contest celebrating “American Grown Flowers and Foliage Month,” which has been proclaimed annually every July by Congress since 2017 and is now spearheaded by Certified American Grown, a nonprofit national trade association for cut flower and foliage farmers in the U.S., that works toward sustainability and prosperity through unified advocacy and strategic promotion.
More than 65 floral designers from across the country submitted photos of their work for our jury’s consideration. From those, four florists were chosen to compete. Each finalist received an abundance of products from four Certified American Grown-member flower farms to create an outdoor summer tablescape highlighting the beautiful bounty of our country. Finalists were asked to use at least three types of flowers and foliages from each of the four farms and to incorporate a garland in a creative way, such as on or above a table or as chair accents.
The contributing farms are:
• Green Valley Floral
Salinas, Calif.
• Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers
Fallbrook, Calif.
• Pyramid Flowers
Oxnard, Calif.
• FernTrust
Seville, Fla.
The winner will be featured in a “Florist Spotlight” feature 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 our “Best in Blooms” contest, visit our website at FloristsReview.com.
WINNER
Briana Maginn
Wildflower Touch
Center Moriches, N.Y.
FINALISTS
Jalisca Thomason
Rustic Roots Floral Design
Exeter, Calif.
I was like a little kid on Christmas morning, jumping up and down and exclaiming over everything when I received my boxes of American grown flowers and foliageI
Full of Vibrant colors, saturated colors, muted tones, and the most gigantic king protea I have ever seen. There were so many gorgeous blooms that were vying to be the center of attention- from the shapes and smells of the Rose Lily to the perfectly petaled garden roses I just could not choose a star!
Sara Lunn
Sara Lunn Floral Studio
Las Vegas, Nev.
As I envisioned crafting my ideal ‘Summer Outdoor Tablescape,’ memories flooded my mind, reminiscent of warm childhood evenings when I exchanged my lemonade stand earnings for a refreshing creamsicle from the ice cream truck. The magical final touch of the tablescape was the plumosus infused mixed foliage Garland from Fern Trust that I installed along the bistro lights above the table!
Megan Flickinger
Form & Fire
Boonsboro, Md.
Designing for the finals was an exhilarating experience, and I’m truly honored to have been included in this year’s Best in Blooms. I’m in awe of my fellow competitors and want to thank Florists’ Review, American Grown Flowers, Resendiz Brothers, FernTrust, Green Valley, and Pyramid Flowers for their exceptional products and for showcasing the stunning variety of flowers grown right here in the U.S.
Product List of American Grown Flowers and Foliage
Fern Trust | Garland – Salal/Var Pitt/Israeli Ruscus | 10′ |
| Var Ligustrum | 2 bunches | |
| Weeping Podocarpus | 2 bunches | |
| Plumosus | 2 bunches | |
| Medium Monstera | 2 bunches | |
| TI | 2 bunches | |
| Victoria’s Lace | 2 bunches | |
| Green Valley Florals | Garden Rose: Caramel Antike | 1 bunch |
| Garden Rose: Helios Romantica | 1 bunch | |
| Garden Rose: Princess Sakura | 1 bunch | |
| Garden Sprays: Claire de Lune | 1 bunch | |
| Garden Sprays: Scented Air | 1 bunch | |
| Garden Sprays: Princess Fairy Cup Wh | 1 bunch | |
| Pyramid Flowers | Aster Matsumoto Peach | 1 bunch |
| Aster Nina Purple | 1 bunch | |
| Aster Nina White | 1 bunch | |
| Delphinium Sea Waltz Dk Blue | 1 bunch | |
| Dianthus Peach | 1 bunch | |
| Freesia Corvette White | 1 bunch | |
| Freesia Pink Sensation Pink | 1 bunch | |
| Gerbera Orange | 1 bunch | |
| Gerbera Peach | 1 bunch | |
| LAHB Lily Sunderland Orange | 1 bunch | |
| Limonium Purple | 1 bunch | |
| Rose Lily Samantha Pink | 1 bunch | |
| Veronica White | 1 bunch | |
| Resendiz Brothers | Banksia speciosa | 1 stem |
| Banksia ashbyi | 1 stem | |
| Pincushion Flame Giant | 5 stems | |
| Pincushion Spider | 5 stems | |
| Pincushion Brandi dela Cruz | 5 stems | |
| Protea King | 3 stems | |
| Protea Duchess | 3 stems | |
| Protea Venus | 3 stems | |
| Grevillea flower peach | 5 stems | |
| Waxflower Pixie Moon | 1 bunch | |
| Waxflower Jurian Brook | 1 bunch | |
| Blue Lepto or Rotundifolia | 1 bunch | |
| Leucadendron Linifolium | 1 bunch | |
| Leucadendron Jubilee Crown | 1 bunch | |
| Leucadendron Galpinii | 1 bunch | |
| Grevillea Ivanhoe | 1 bunch | |
| Reeves Pink Bottlebrush | 1 bunch |
