>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by... Albertsons Companies... with additional support from the following... CalFlowers... Dollar Tree... Sunshine Bouquet.

♪ >> Today on "Life in Bloom," we're immersing ourselves in something vital to flowers and all life -- water.

We'll visit a flower farm with extensive water reclamation, create some water-centered arrangements, and enhance water to increase the vase life of flowers.

♪ ♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Today on "Life in Bloom," we're turning our focus to water, essential for all flowers -- and humans, for that matter.

♪ Water is vital not only for growing flowers but also for enjoying them in your home, as well.

There are many ways to extend the life of any bouquet or arrangement, and many of them revolve around water.

Just as you release water vapor as you breathe, plants and flowers do, as well, although the term "transpire" is more appropriate than "breathe."

Water continually evaporates off the face of the flower.

So, making sure there's always plenty of water available to your arrangements is key.

Let's look at ways to use and enhance water for the best performance of cut flowers.

♪ ♪ One of the essential things I do for maintaining flower arrangements is having water on hand that's ideal for the needs of the flowers.

♪ That means using the little packet of flower food and having it on hand and ready at all times.

♪ So, let's talk about creating water for our flowers.

The first thing that's very important is measuring.

On the back of the little packets, there's instructions.

These packets are for a liter of water.

So, I have a liter of water inside this measuring cup, and I've measured it exactly.

I also like to look for bottles that already have measurements on the side.

So, if I have a bottle like that, I'll repurpose it for my flower food.

So, what we do is, we have a liter of water and a packet that's for a liter.

So, we'll open that up and add it to our water.

Most flower-food packets contain flower food, which is a sugar, a pH controller, and an antibacteria agent.

Food, or sugar, gives nutrients to the flowers and the foliage.

The pH controller maintains the pH level of the water.

4.5 to 5.5 is ideal.

And the bacteria reducer helps to keep bacteria levels in the water down and keeps the water clear.

It also helps keep the vessels in the stem open.

The flower food is a powder.

So, we want to make sure that we mix it in thoroughly.

Now here's another thing.

Many times we've been told that we should use warm water for our flowers, when, in all actuality, research shows us that cold water is better, because cold water doesn't create bacteria faster, and it also doesn't have more air trapped in the water.

That's when you see a cup of water that's warm and a cup of water that's cold?

The warm one will be cloudy.

So, cold water is the ideal water we should use.

♪ That's where a bottle like this comes into play, because I can stick this in the refrigerator once it's mixed.

Again, we just take off that top.

It's a liter of water inside.

♪ And then we add that powder into our water.

♪ ♪ With a sealed bottle like this, we can shake it, and then we can tuck it in the refrigerator.

I also like to put a label on it so that everyone knows it's flower-food water.

I like to check my flowers every day and make sure that I'm topping off those vases.

There's no need for you to empty out the vases unless they're stinky or dirty.

I just like to add more water.

And, again, we're adding that cold water to our flower arrangements.

That way, our flowers are gonna be happy and last a long time.

♪ ♪ ♪ Creating submerged flower arrangements is easy, and there's a few tips and tricks you should know for getting the very best results.

Number one, we need clear, clean water.

Don't add flower nutrient to your water, because it will cause the flowers to degrade quicker.

Using distilled water can sometimes be helpful for extreme clarity.

Because we're putting fresh flowers underwater, they're naturally going to start to degrade.

So, you've got about 18 hours before the water starts to discolor.

One other thing that's a secret to this are the flower frogs.

You need a flower frog to weigh down the flowers.

Flowers naturally float on their own.

So, using a flower frog is going to make sure that the flower stays underwater.

One of the greatest things about submerging flowers is we increase the size of the flower once it's underwater.

It's not really actually that the flowers themselves get bigger but that the water magnifies them.

We've placed this rose in a flower frog, and now we'll add water.

It's the flower frog that holds the rose in place and prevents it from floating to the top of the container.

You'll notice, as I add the water, that the reflective quality makes the rose look bigger through the side of the glass.

The other really cool thing is the fact that the bubbles start to form on the flowers themselves.

Look at how great that starts to look with those bubbles on the center of that rose.

Now, with this one, you can see the flower frog in the bottom.

So, we can also use stones like this to cover up where our flower frog is.

So, in this case, we can add a beautiful sunflower.

♪ Then, we can scoot the rocks around our flower frog to help cover up the mechanics.

The flower frog is actually part of what makes this whole thing work.

So, I really don't mind seeing him.

But if you want to conceal him, that's cool, too.

♪ ♪ Those leaves look great under the water.

And it adds a whole nother dimension to have those stones down there.

Gives it kind of a peaceful, Zen-type look.

Now, maybe you don't have access to a flower frog.

So, let me show you another alternative for using a different mechanic inside our bubble bowl.

We'll use some flat wire.

You can get this at a flower-supply store or a craft store.

Many times, it's used for jewelry.

But in this case, we'll use it as a mechanic inside our bubble bowl.

We'll twist it and just give it some great, little, interesting folds and turns... ♪ ♪ ...and put it down inside our bubble bowl.

♪ I always test it out first to make sure that it's gonna fit in there, and everything's gonna be okay.

With this one, we'll use some clematis.

So, I'm cutting it short, and we're gonna weave it into the apparatus we just made with the flat wire.

What's going to happen is the wire's gonna help hold those flowers in place.

The great, little tendrils on the clematis blossoms are gonna catch on that wire.

And that's gonna help hold the flowers in place.

Then, we pick up the whole piece... and place it inside our bubble bowl.

♪ ♪ ♪ The wire helps hold the clematis in place and keeps it submerged.

So, it's interesting from all angles.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'd like you to meet the folks at Kendall Farms, a southern-California flower farm that takes water conservation very seriously, for many good reasons.

♪ And what do you grow on your flower farm?

>> Grow wax flower.

I got protea, grow myrtle, leucadendrons, sunflowers, and many other items.

♪ ♪ >> So, Jason, you had a huge challenge with a fire.

>> Yes.

>> Do you want to explain that to us a little bit?

>> Yeah, in October of 2007, I got a phone call from my cousin, who's the general manager, Troy, saying the farm is on fire.

And so, I came down to the farm early in the morning, and the fire was blazing up on the canyon on the northeast end, and we had 15-knot Santa Ana winds blowing towards the farm.

So, we raced down and got everybody out, got everything out of our office, and we started fighting the fire.

And we fought the fire for two days, but after two days, we lost a considerable amount of the farm.

This was on a Monday and a Tuesday, and on Thursday, we kept going.

We started shipping on Thursday.

We had a cooler full of product that we had harvested before the fire had started.

And on Saturday, Troy and I met, and we said, you know, kind of going, "What are we gonna do?"

And we both knew it.

We said, "Well, we're gonna replant.

We're gonna put this thing back together."

So, it was really a deciding crossroads moment that Saturday morning.

Troy and I remember it well.

And we did that.

And we've done that.

And we got kind of a clean slate.

A lot of the things that we wanted to do over time, we had to do right away.

But everything that we learned from the past, we got to put this farm back together and in a better way.

And now the farm is in great shape and producing again.

And it just -- it ended up being a blessing.

It was really interesting.

It was a trial that turned out to be a triumph, and now it brought a lot of us together, and it really has given us confidence going forward that we're gonna be around for a long time.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> Because of Kendall Farms' location, water is where it all starts.

>> Yeah, it's critical.

We're in southern California, and there's always a water shortage in southern California.

So, for us to be around for the future, we have to make sure that we secure our water source.

And we're standing over 2 million gallons of water right now.

It was a new reservoir that we just built this past year to make sure that we have the water that we need to make it into the future.

>> So, now, what happens with this water?

>> Well, this water is reclaimed from both runoff and our processing area that we recycle from... >> Okay.

>> ...and our propagation house, the sprinkler system.

We gather all that water and then pump it into this reservoir here, and then we'll treat it and make sure it's purified and filter it and then send it back out throughout the whole rest of the ranch for our flowers.

>> That's amazing.

>> The ranch is so large.

It's grown to over 500 acres now.

We literally have our own, you know, our whole new water system.

We have a road system.

We have a power system.

We're almost like our own little community.

>> Absolutely.

>> And so, we have, you know, we have probably over 50 miles of roads within the ranch that have to be maintained.

The amount of plumbing that we have throughout the ranch is incredible.

We have -- the system is so large that, you know, we'll go through 5 to 6 million gallons of water every week in the middle of the summer.

And there's... >> That's staggering.

>> So, yeah, it's... >> It's a staggering amount of water.

>> And so, there's five -- on this ranch alone, there's five reservoirs that we have to continually pump to and ship the water around.

So -- and they're all tied, the whole, entire system is tied together.

♪ ♪ >> Whether it's conservation, reclamation, or fighting wildfires, the importance of water can't be overstated on a flower farm.

[ Water gurgling ] ♪ ♪ I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone watching that I love flowers -- obviously, at home -- but I also love flowers on the go.

♪ ♪ Whenever I'm traveling, I try to pick up a bouquet to enjoy in my hotel room.

And no, I don't travel with a vase in my luggage.

An easy way to enjoy your bouquet is just to trim off the top of a water bottle.

If you've picked up a larger bouquet, a hotel-room ice bucket is also a great container to hold flowers, offering plenty of water to keep them hydrated and looking pretty for when you return to your room.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ It makes a perfect vase for our flowers, and the little top can be set by our bed stand.

I also like to include fragrant flowers, like freesia or stock or a gardenia.

The fragrance in a hotel room is a wonderful benefit.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ One of the fun things about flowers and some foliages is that they float.

And we can use those to create an easy centerpiece with a dish filled with water.

Now, some flowers float, and others don't float as well.

Lilies, for example, don't do too well because there's a way for the water to get into the flower.

And so, as it fills up inside that flower, it's gonna sink.

Alstroemeria, like this, have the same effect.

Those petals on the side allow that water to get inside the flower, and when it gets inside the flower, they want to go underwater.

The other thing that's important to remember is, when flowers are underwater, they start to produce bacteria.

And that makes them not last as long, and it also will cloud up the water.

So, if we're working with special flowers that are gonna float nicely on top, that's gonna work well.

Gerber daisies, for example, are great.

I'm trimming the stem short so that they'll float freely in the water.

A rose sometimes can have the same problem that a lily does because water can get in between the petals.

But we have a process called "reflexing" the rose, where I use my thumb and push back the petals of the rose.

What this does is it creates a flat surface that makes it easier to float the rose.

♪ Working with a warm rose is ideal, too -- one that's room temperature -- because then we start to have surface area behind it... and that will let the rose sit up on top of the water.

♪ Some flowers are ideal for floating.

Little cushion pompons like this are perfect.

They're just like little boats.

♪ So, sometimes the lighter the flower, the better off.

Here's a cosmos from the garden.

Look at how it lays down on top of the water.

That's really fun.

There might be lots of things in your garden that could work.

♪ A zinnia floats really well, too.

And sometimes we have leaves.

These begonia leaves are great because they could support a flower inside.

This is a dragon leaf, but I love this one.

♪ The variety is called "escargot" because it forms a conical shape.

♪ Then we can tuck a little flower right through the center.

♪ ♪ ♪ Carnations also do well.

Remember, flowers that are flat on the back are gonna be our best floaters.

♪ A flower that's a little more pyramid-shaped, like this gerber daisy, where the petals go up instead of flat, like this one, may not float as well.

So, try things out and test them first so that you know what's gonna be best for you.

I also love to add floating candles.

It's a great accent to the flowers.

♪ Have fun creating your floating-flower centerpiece.

It's a fast and easy way to enjoy beautiful flowers.

♪ ♪ ♪ Snowball viburnum grows on a bush and works well as a cut flower.

This large shrub grows into an upright dense mound.

The 3-inch clusters of snowball flowers start out apple-green and morph to white, eventually fading to a rosy color, as do some hydrangea shrubs.

Leaves may turn reddish-orange in the fall.

Snowball viburnum prefer evenly moist soil.

Leaves are three-lobed and similar to the look of a maple tree.

This shrub has graced gardens since the 1500s.

Snowball viburnum is also known as the guelder rose.

Viburnums need pruning right after the flower fades.

If you wait too long, you could lose next year's beautiful flush of flowers.

♪ ♪ You may remember seeing beautiful ice cubes on "Life in Bloom" that had flowers inside.

Today, I wanted to show you how we created those.

We're using a silicone ice tray.

And the interesting thing about flowers is, they float.

So, we need to put a little layer of water in our silicone ice tray first and then place our flowers in and freeze them.

Then, we'll bring them out and add a second layer so that the flowers are anchored down by the first piece of ice.

I'm also using organic flowers that I've grown in my garden that I know are safe to consume.

We've got lavender.

We've got snapdragons.

You can just trim them into smaller pieces, and we'll stick them down into the water.

Notice that I'm pushing them down to make sure that they get water inside them, too.

♪ ♪ ♪ So, now, let's take a look at some finished ice cubes.

♪ You'll see how the flowers are layered in there, and they're trapped in between.

♪ ♪ This is a wonderful way to add flowers to any beverage.

♪ ♪ I hope you found our tips for enhancing the water that flower bouquets and arrangements depend on useful and that you'll enjoy cut flowers for longer.

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

♪ ♪ [ Zip-line motor humming ] ♪ ♪ >> Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!

♪ ♪ >> That was awesome.

>> Hey, what are you guys doing?

Starting without me?

>> Yep.

>> We knew you'd catch up.

>> Oh, okay.

>> [ Laughs ] >> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by... Albertsons Companies... with additional support from the following... CalFlowers... Dollar Tree... Sunshine Bouquet.

♪ Closed-caption funding provided by Holland America Flowers.

♪ For everything flowers, recipes, projects, and more information, visit ubloom.com.

♪