Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

From time to time I teach flower arranging. It gives me the opportunity to play with color and exercise my artistic side. It is also rewarding to teach Garden visitors simple tips and techniques for producing colorful displays for their homes. With Monet’s Garden in full swing, I decided last weekend to focus on French floral arrangements.

I wasn’t terribly successful in uncovering the art of French floral design. It seemed like it’s become trendy to designate a floral design as being French, and I have had a hard time deciphering between those who were simply jumping on a marketing bandwagon and the true Francophiles.

I did discover a few sources that discussed the art of French floral design, however, and their bouquets and centerpieces were breathtaking. They were too elaborate for me to recreate, but they provided me with some principles that I could replicate in my simpler renditions.
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It may seem hard to believe, but signs of spring are all around us here at the Garden. The Chinese witch-hazel has unfurled its sunny, yellow streamers, the Magnolia kobus near the Visitor Center is covered in buds, and there’s still a faint glow in the sky when we all head to Botanical Garden station to catch the 6:04 p.m. train back into the city. But, this is not to say that we all couldn’t use another assurance that spring is on its way. And isn’t the promise of being taught how to arrange the most gorgeous, fragrant spring flowers–lilies of the valley, muscari, lilacs–by two of Brooklyn’s most sought-after florists the very thing to raise your spirits?

The Adult Education department at The New York Botanical Garden is very pleased to announce three new floral arranging classes to be taught by Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua and Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camille, known collectively as The Little Flower School.

Arrangement from the class Spring Flowers 101, photo courtesy of the Little Flower School

The first class, Fragrant Flowers, will be held on Wednesday, May 16 from 6-9 p.m in Manhattan at our Midtown Center. The class will focus on the art of layering flowers, not just to form a pleasing arrangement, but also to create an amazing aroma.

On Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. join Sarah and Nicolette at the Garden for From Garden to Vase. The class will begin with a curator-led tour of the Garden, and then after a break for lunch students will head inside to make wild, lush arrangements inspired by the Garden and featuring some very special cuttings from the grounds!

From Garden to Vase will be repeated on Sunday, September 11 from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. to take advantage of fall’s beautiful flowers, fruit, and foliage.

We are so excited to have Sarah and Nicolette joining us for these amazing classes at the Garden! Space is limited, so be sure to register for one, two, or all three soon.

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

At this productive time of year, borrow some of the beauty from the garden and from nature to adorn your dinner table. Look around your garden as well as farmers markets to see what interesting flowers and herbs are available to fill a vase. Ornamental grasses and interesting foliage from woody plants will add wonderful touches to your arrangements as well.

Recently I was at the Union Square Farmers Market perusing the vendors and admiring the kaleidoscope of cut flowers. I saw for sale bundles of sages, from culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) with its pungent, soft, fuzzy, silvery foliage to the ubiquitous mealy cup sage (Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria’). Silver is a great color to add to bouquets since it picks up light and creates drama. Gray intensifies other colors, making them glow. I love the combination of silver with red and orange. The intense blue of the Victoria sage is another good companion for autumnal colors providing wonderful contrast.

In my own garden I grow a beautiful and bountiful sage that is sometimes referred to as hummingbird, Texas, or scarlet sage, (Salvia coccinea). It also makes a nice cut flower. I often grow ‘Lady in Red’, ‘Coral Nymph’, or ‘Snow Nymph’. This ornamental sage produces an abundance of wispy spires of flowers up to the first frost. read more »

Rustin Dwyer is Visual Media Production Specialist at The New York Botanical Garden.

Instructor Ken Norman Shows How to Make a Centerpiece

NYBG Continuing Education — Flower Arranging with Ken Norman, A.I.F.D. (Full version) from The New York Botanical Garden on Vimeo.

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