>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪ At home.

♪ At work.

♪ Or anytime.

♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... Dollar Tree.

♪ >> Today's show is about flower care -- how to care for them, and the ways in which flowers care for you.

I'll have tips on flower longevity, improving your health through flowers, and we'll visit with an elderberry expert and learn the benefits they can provide.

♪ ♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

If you care for flowers, they will care for you.

There are numerous health benefits associated with gardening.

Along with the benefits of gardening, the mere act of arranging flowers actually releases endorphins in the body that make you feel good.

It's also been scientifically shown that even just the act of looking at an image of flowers causes stress to dissipate.

On today's episode, we're looking at the ways flowers care for us as well as ways to care for flowers and extend their vase life, further enhancing their ability to promote health and well-being.

♪ One of the greatest things that flowers do for us is improve our health and wellness.

Flowers make us feel happy, they make us feel less depressed, they can reduce arguments.

So let's talk about a few of the things that we can do to care for our flowers.

One of the things I like to tell people when they're thinking about the water, first and foremost, is that the water should be ice-cold.

Lukewarm or hot water has more air trapped in it.

And, also, it starts to actually cook the stem if it's too warm.

We should always make sure that our vase is clean.

That's another important factor.

The number-one enemy of flowers is bacteria.

And so, if we have a clean vase to start with, we're not gonna have bacteria buildup.

I always make sure that I scrub my vases after I've used them.

When we add our water to our vase, it's always important, too, that we use enough.

That's not very much water.

And a flower's going to drink water fast, especially if it's been dry or if it's relocating to a new place.

So, we want to make sure that we fill our vases full.

That's a better level for our flowers.

You've seen these little packets.

Typically, we'll see one of these in a bunch of flowers we might pick up at the grocery store.

It's food especially designed for flowers.

On the back are instructions.

And you can see how to measure it.

This is for 1 liter of water.

So measure your water so that you know you're using an accurate amount of flower food.

Another thing to think about is when we have an arrangement -- flowers that have been arranged in flower foam.

I always go in and check it with my finger -- sticking my finger down inside the container to see if there's any water.

The backside is usually a great place to add water.

Then, we can pour it in until it's nice and full.

Checking our flower arrangements every day to make sure they have plenty of water is very important.

That's something that is the lifeblood of the flowers.

And when there's flower food involved, you're strengthening your flowers and making sure that they're going to be as colorful, that the blooms will open as big as possible, that the foliage will remain green, and that your flowers will fully open and bloom for you.

As a florist, I grew up working with a knife.

A knife is a great way to cut a flower.

And when we cut that flower, we want to cut it at a 45-degree angle like that.

And that point, we're exposing so much area of the stem, and when we put it down inside the water, it can take the water up the stem.

If we cut it flat, like this, when it goes into the vase, it sits on the bottom.

You can see how a stem that's sitting on the bottom won't take up as much as one that's cut at an angle.

Some people are intimidated by knives, and I don't blame you.

It could be easy to cut yourself.

So let's talk about another tool that you can use.

I love a bypass cutter.

A bypass cutter is great because the one blade bypasses the other blade.

It has a spring in the center so that it releases and helps us cut through flowers better.

A bypass cutter is always better than a scissors.

A scissors will compress the vascular system of a flower and doesn't do as good of a job.

A bypass cutter can be a friend, and it's easy for just about anyone to use.

When we cut our stem, we want to be sure that we're cutting it at an angle.

We want to place our flower arrangement in a cool area, out of direct sunlight.

Another thing we want to avoid is ceiling fans.

The problem with that is that it evaporates water faster.

That air movement causes the flower to transpire moisture, and it's working really hard to suck it up the stem, and then it's evaporating off its face very quick.

Making sure that we use ice-cold water, keeping our vases full, using our packet of flower food, cutting our flowers at an angle, making sure that we fill up and refill our vase every day, and making sure that our flowers are sitting in an appropriate spot are ways that we can make sure that we're taking care of our flowers, and then they'll take care of us.

♪ I love having plants in the house.

It's really wonderful to have a blooming plant in the house and experience it.

But there comes a time when there's just not enough light in the house and especially if a plant can winter over in your climate.

So we can take plants like this rose bush and move it to the garden.

A plant like this begonia is beautiful plant, but it doesn't do well in the low light that we have inside the house.

It's better to move it into a shaded area in the yard and will get more profuse blooms throughout the summer.

There's other things, too.

I save my bulbs.

When I get bulb plants in the spring -- daffodils, tulips, hyacinth -- I save those bulbs, and I plant them in the fall in my garden.

The amaryllis is also fun.

After I have a beautiful amaryllis that's bloomed, I'll save the bulb, and I'll move it to a container garden.

That way, it can grow on and gain strength throughout the summer.

In the fall, I'll go back in, cut off the foliage, and let it rest for about a month or so.

Then I can replant it, and I'll get blooms inside the house again.

It's time for this rose bush to go into the garden, so let's transplant it into its new home.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> I met my friend Taryn Nance at the Fulton Street Farmers Market.

And you make elderberry syrup.

>> Yes.

>> And so I wanted you to come today and tell us a little bit about you.

So...I'm interested.

How did you start making elderberry syrup?

What -- Why did you, like, say, "I need to make this, and I need to sell it"?

>> Well, I knew how good elderberries are for your immune system.

>> Okay.

>> They're full of antioxidants and vitamin C and for antiviral and antibacterial and all that good stuff.

So, I knew it was a great natural remedy, and I used to buy it.

>> Okay.

>> Like, at the health-food store, and we would take it in the wintertime if we got sick, and it was great.

But it was so expensive to buy a little bottle.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And it was shelf-stable, which made me always wonder, "What do they put in that that is -- I'm putting in my body?"

>> Right.

>> That might not be the best thing to do.

And then, when I had kids, I felt that even more, you know?

>> Right.

>> I thought, "I don't want to give my kids something that I'm not really sure what's in it."

So, I started making it myself.

>> Will you walk us through the process... >> Absolutely.

>> ...and show us how you do it?

>> I would love to.

>> Okay, thanks.

>> This is the honey version.

So, we have elderberries -- dried elderberries, cloves, fresh ginger, and cinnamon sticks.

>> And that all goes into your simmering.

>> Yep, you simmer it all on the stove for at least 30 minutes.

>> Okay.

>> And then, kind of cool it down enough that you can touch it.

>> Got it.

Okay.

>> Because then we need to strain out the -- the herbs.

>> Okay, so, we're straining it, so we have -- we have a colander, and we have cheesecloth.

>> I love cheesecloth, but you can use anything, like any sort of napkin or towel -- I mean, it will probably turn purple.

>> Good.

Okay.

So, we're gonna strain it in there.

>> Yes.

So, we're gonna strain it in here.

Get all the good elderberries.

You can just strain it, but I like to squeeze it out.

>> Then we just discard this.

>> Yes.

>> Okay.

>> You can save it for tea, if you want it.

>> Oh, you -- Oh, wow.

Okay.

I love that.

>> I love elderberry tea.

One of my favorites is elderberries, cinnamon, a little bit of turmeric, and just kind of simmer it a little bit on the stove and strain it out like this and drink it.

It's so good for you.

>> How wonderful!

>> It's a great immune booster.

It's delicious with a little bit of honey.

So now, what I usually do is put this back in here.

>> Okay.

In here, okay.

>> And then, we got to add our honey.

>> Got it.

>> So, I usually add -- for that amount of herbs, usually about 1 to 2 cups of honey -- it totally depends on your taste.

And raw local honey is the best.

>> I know.

>> 'Cause it's good for your allergies, also.

Now we can taste it to see if it's sweet enough.

I think it's just personal taste.

>> Right, right.

>> When you make it for yourself, you can do whatever you want.

[ Smacks lips ] Yeah, see, I think that's perfect.

>> Oh.

good.

>> I wouldn't want anything sweeter.

>> Alright.

That's perfect.

>> Perfect.

Alright.

>> Okay, good.

>> So, then...you can just bottle.

>> See, I love your bottles, too.

Your bottles are adorable.

>> Thank you.

I like them, too.

>> You might see them appear again sometime with flowers in them.

>> We -- Oh!

What a great idea.

>> 'Cause I love them with the flowers.

>> What a great idea.

>> They're really pretty.

Look at how pretty color it is.

>> Oh, it's beautiful.

Oh.

>> So, that's what I love -- I drink it in my tea every morning.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And I love the way that it changes the color.

>> It's beautiful.

It is beautiful.

>> It's just a really pretty color in the cup, and it looks really wonderful.

>> Well, the thing about elderberry syrup is -- obviously, as we've talked about, it's amazing for you.

It's -- The health benefits are great.

But you can do lots of other things with it, too, like, if you just like the taste, you can make, you know, cocktails.

You can make desserts.

You can make vinaigrettes.

I put it in my smoothie every day.

I put it in my sparkling water.

I put it in juice.

>> Exactly.

>> I put it in unsweetened oatmeal or... >> Where should we keep this now?

>> This should go in the fridge.

>> Okay.

Because it has the honey in it.

>> The honey acts as a preservative, as a natural preservative.

>> Okay.

>> But it will eventually, if you do not put it in the refrigerator, if you don't cool it down, the honey will actually grow yeast and explode -- like, it'll... >> Okay, got it.

>> ...ferment.

>> Got it.

Okay.

Ferment.

Okay, got it.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And the other one without the honey will ferment a little bit, and that's why it makes me think of the cocktails that you've shared with me.

>> Yes.

>> Which is so awesome.

Hey, you know what?

Will you join me?

>> Oh!

>> Let's -- Let's make a little cocktail in a little bit.

>> I would love to do that.

>> Okay?

Let's do that.

>> That'd be great.

>> That's wonderful.

Well, Taryn, thank you so much for coming and showing us how to make elderberry syrup.

>> Well, you're welcome.

I had a really fun time.

This is great.

>> Awesome.

Thank you.

♪ Typically, when we pick up a bunch of flowers and bring them home, there will be a packet of flower food that's included with them.

There are simple things inside every flower food packet that will make our flowers last longer.

The first thing that's inside is flower food.

And what that actually is, is sugar.

When flowers are blooming, sometimes, you might see a little clear sap that develops.

And flowers secrete a sugar and need sugar to bloom and open up.

So our flower packet includes sugar to feed the flowers, give them deep, rich color, make the blooms get bigger, make lily blossoms open up, and to keep our leaves green instead of yellow.

The second ingredient is a pH controller.

Our flowers love a pH level between 3.5 and 4.5.

Everybody has a different pH level in their water.

And if you're familiar with a pool kit, that's a way to test what your pH level is.

There's an old wives' tale about putting a penny in the water, and that penny was supposed to make the pH level go down because a penny was made of copper.

Well, pennies aren't made of copper, and it never really worked.

But the pH controller inside our flower food is the same kind that you would have in your pool.

It controls that pH and keeps it at that 3.5-to-4.5 level.

It's the perfect level for our flowers to last a long time.

The third element inside is a bacteria controller.

We want to control the bacteria levels inside the water.

As our stems sit in water, they're going to create bacteria.

It's gonna make it cloudy.

But if we use our flower food, it will prevent it from getting cloudy.

The pH controller inside the food is chlorine.

It's just like these little chlorine tablets.

These little pills are just like the time-released chlorine that's in your swimming pool.

Now, you may have heard about using bleach in your water.

That's not a really good idea because bleach only works for about two hours.

A little time-released chlorine tablet like this will last three days.

The one inside our packets will also last three days.

Another old wives' tale is to put clear soda pop in your flowers.

And, really, the benefit to that was supposed to be three different things -- it was supposed to be sugar, it was supposed to be citric acid, which is the fourth thing that's inside our packet of food, but the other thing inside this soda is something that prevents bacteria from forming inside the can.

So, that's why people thought that worked and did such a good job.

But, really, using your flower food packet is the best advice I can give you.

The fifth thing inside our packet of flower food is a vasodilator.

We have vessels that run from the bottom of the stems to the top of the flower.

They're just like a straw.

And the water has to travel up that straw to the top of the flower.

Along the way, there's leaves.

And the leaves produce photosynthesis, which allows the plant to create suction and draw that water up that straw-like vessel.

If we can make those vessels get bigger, then it can take more water from the bottom of the stem to the flower.

The flowers evaporate water off of their faces.

And so, as they do that, they create more suction with photosynthesis and draw it up the stem.

You may have heard of putting aspirin in your water.

Aspirin can act as a vasodilator, making the vessels in our body get wider.

In flowers, it doesn't really work that way.

And the white buffering that makes it into a tablet gets stuck in those straws, in those vessels, and won't allow the water to go up.

Inside these packets is a special flower vasodilator.

Now you know the simple things inside our flower food packet and the way those simple things help our flowers last even longer.

♪ Matricaria is a genus of flowering plants in the Chamomile tribe, within the sunflower family.

Chamomile tea is an herbal infusion made from dried flowers and hot water.

Two types of chamomile are used -- German chamomile and Roman chamomile.

Matricaria can be used as a remediation of the soil.

The plants actually draw heavy metals out of the soil.

Chamomile may be used as a flavoring agent in foods and beverages, mouthwashes, soaps, or cosmetics.

Chamomile has been used over the centuries and is generally considered a safe and gentle herbal remedy that may be used daily as a calming tea.

♪ This is a recipe that you gave me, Taryn.

I love it.

>> I did.

>> And so, we're going to make elderberry mules.

>> Yes.

>> If you do a mule and you want to use a copper cup, you can, but we're gonna use glasses today because I want to see the beautiful elderberry syrup that you make.

So, I have this thing about -- about lime juice.

So, I... >> It should always be fresh.

>> I know.

Right?

Right?

♪ So, we need some lime wedges for this, too.

So, we got those.

>> I love the smell of the fresh lime juice.

>> Right, right, right?

So, we're gonna put that in our pitcher.

We are going to add our vodka to the pitcher.

>> I've never seen this recipe made so eloquently before.

Usually, it's just kind of, you know, pour it all in a glass.

>> If we're gonna have "Flower Cocktail Hour," we got to, like, schmaltz it up.

>> Absolutely.

Do it right.

>> We have to have flowers.

We got to have the whole nine yards.

And then... your elderberry syrup.

Which -- See, I'm just gonna love what color it makes this.

>> Ooh, that's really pretty.

>> Isn't it pretty?

Okay, now, we could ice that if we want to, but I'm gonna put ice in our glasses.

♪ See?

Look how pretty that is.

>> Beautiful.

>> Right?

Because it's -- it's an elderberry mule, we're gonna add the ginger beer.

>> Mmm!

♪ >> Okay, now, there's one more thing before we do "Flower Cocktail Hour."

I have a flower crown for you.

>> [ Gasps ] Where's yours?

>> I -- You know -- I know.

I make them for guests.

It's a -- It's a special thing.

[ Gasps ] Look how pretty you look.

Awesome.

Okay.

>> I'm the Elderberry Princess.

>> There you go.

>> [ Laughs ] >> Here we are.

Cheers.

>> Cheers.

>> Thank you so much for coming.

>> Thank you so much.

>> I appreciate it.

>> This is special.

♪ >> Now, see, Taryn, that's fabulous.

>> Mmm.

That is delicious.

>> Isn't it good?

It's your recipe.

>> I know, but -- >> So, I know, right?

>> I -- It's the best.

>> It's the fresh lime.

>> Mmm.

>> It's the elderberry.

>> Yes.

>> It's all of those things together -- and the flower crown.

>> And the flower crown -- the flower crown makes everything taste better.

>> Oh, this is so good.

>> Yeah, it's really good.

♪ ♪ Flowers improve our health and wellness.

It's a simple fact.

The act of arranging flowers, physically placing the flowers into a vase, allows our body to release endorphins that make us feel more relaxed and calmer.

So, placing these flowers right into this bouquet allows me to feel better.

The other interesting thing, when we're giving the flowers away, those flowers also allow the recipient to release dopamine, and that makes them feel better.

So, it's a two-way street when it comes to arranging flowers and, also, giving them away.

♪ Homes that have flowers in them have less disagreements, so that's a huge benefit to start with.

I love that having them around means that we're gonna be happier with each other.

One of the pieces of research tells us that flowers make us have happier thoughts and feel less depressed.

For elderly people, it's really quite amazing, too.

They find that people who are surrounded by flowers who are elderly are more likely to enlarge their circles of friends.

They're also more likely to seek out medical attention for things that are ailing them.

And, again, they reduce depression and help us have happier thoughts.

♪ Did you know that, when flowers are present in the workplace, that people think more creatively?

It also helps them to figure out solutions to problems that are more creative.

Here's one of my favorite pieces of research -- did you know that people who are ill get better faster when flowers are around?

They also found out that, if the flowers were yellow, that people got better faster still.

It really is amazing that flowers have magical powers.

They allow us to feel happier.

They reduce stress and make our lives better.

It's a perfect reason to create a life in bloom.

♪ Thanks for joining me on this journey of flower care -- both caring for flowers and the care they provide us.

I hope these techniques will help you not only extend the life of your flowers, but also enhance your enjoyment of life, as well.

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

♪ So, what's your favorite flower?

>> My favorite flower would have to be calla lilies.

>> Oh!

>> They were my grandma's favorite flower.

>> Okay.

>> And so, I carried them at my wedding.

She couldn't be with us at the wedding, but her favorite flower was, so... >> Oh, that's awesome.

>> That is my favorite flower.

>> So, do you have a first flower memory, then?

>> First flower memories would, for sure, have to be about Tulip Time in Holland because... >> Oh!

>> ...I'm very Dutch.

Our family is Dutch.

And I have memories as a little child going to the parades and... >> Right.

>> ...all the tulips blooming and my mom posing us for pictures with tulips, and so... >> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> Visit J's website, ubloom.com, for flower projects and crafts, complete recipes, behind-the-scenes videos, J's blog, flower cocktails, and more.

♪ "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪ At home.

♪ At work.

♪ Or anytime.

♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... Dollar Tree.

♪ Closed-caption funding provided by Holland America Flowers.

♪ ♪