MSU Extension Coastal Floral

Happy faces, all around, as four Master Floral Designer students complete Phase II. Our next Phase I session begins August 3.

https://extension.msstate.edu/lawn-and-garden/floral-design/master-floral-designer

Ikebana is more than arranging flowers. See this terrific explanation.

🔻Similar Shapes. Different Thinking.🔻

Recently, somebody remarked that contemporary Sogetsu sometimes looks more like floristry.

Or is it perhaps the other way around? At first glance, the comparison makes sense.

Modern floristry and contemporary ikebana can share dramatic lines, asymmetry, unusual materials, and sculptural forms.

But resemblance in shape does not always mean resemblance in thinking.

In ikebana, the arrangement is not only about the final image.

It is also about the dialogue with the material.
The space around it.
The rhythm of placing one branch after another.

You are not simply arranging flowers.

You are observing:
how a branch bends,
how a leaf catches light,
how empty space changes movement.

Perhaps that is why the borders sometimes blur.

Not because the worlds became identical,
but because they continue to influence one another.

There is, of course, much more that could be said about this relationship between ikebana and floristry — perhaps enough for a future newsletter article.

A good day at MSU Truck Crops Experiment Station!

At a recent international gathering of influential floral design show judges at the Creative Flower Arrangers of the Americas conference, Smilax vines captured the attendees' attention. The defoliated vine was used in several avant-garde designs, including a hands-on workshop. Consider Mississippi-grown Smilax foliage, its vines, and how it can be used as a compostable floral design element and a mechanic! Floral design by Hitomi Gilliam, Bowen Island, BC, Canada.

See you this Thursday in Beaumont, MS, Perry County!

MSU Extension offers the Master Floral Designer Program! Phase I begins August 3.

Learn more: https://extension.msstate.edu/lawn-and-garden/floral-design/master-floral-designer

Master Floral Designer | Mississippi State University Extension Service Floral Design Master Floral Designer  Master Floral Designers learn all the basics of floral design, including proper care and use of fresh flowers, dried flowers, and numerous mechanics and accessories. Discover and understand what makes a floral design beautiful! The MFD program was created to h...

Holiday success doesn’t happen by accident — it happens because smart florists plan early. MSU Extension Floral is launching a half‑day workshop designed specifically for new and micro‑florist businesses who want to level up their Christmas marketing.

You’ll learn how to create a holiday design menu, style and photograph your work, price it for real profit, and build posts that shine on social media. It’s simple, practical, and built to help you grow.

Holiday success doesn’t happen by accident — it happens because smart florists plan early. MSU Extension Floral is launching a half‑day workshop designed specifically for new and micro‑florist businesses that want to level up their Christmas marketing.

Education does not cost; it pays.
This is an in-person class in Biloxi.
Space is highly limited.

Learn more: https://reg.extension.msstate.edu/reg/event_page.aspx?ek=0081-0004-afc65ef67516430abed0617067588efb

A simple manipulation of an Aspidistra leaf can transform a design into something memorable! Tina Foutz shared this effective technique at the Creative Flower Arrangers of the Americas meeting. ASHS floristry teachers/scientists will practice similar techniques to increase student skills and appreciation in floral design at our Ikebana workshop, Friday, August 7, Dallas.

https://ashs.org/event/2026Dallas

A prolific cut flower! Learn more about Celosia: https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/celosia-argentea-var-plumosa-for-the-farmer-florist

Growing flowers, designing flowers! Meet Sandra Carr.

Delivering Flower Joy | Mississippi State University Extension Service Extension Matters Volume 12 Number 2 Delivering Flower Joy Sandra Carr, Raymond Blooms owner and Master Floral Designer Master Floral Designer grows flowers, creates business, finds successStory by Leah Bowers | Photos by Kevin Hudson and Michaela ParkerBy day, she’s a registered dietitian who wor...