[.ca] Jane Packer: Flowers, Design, Philosophy (ISBN 1840914270)

Fresh take on Flower arranging:
Those of you that enjoyed Martha Stewarts book "Arranging Flowers" might want to take a gander at this gem. The ideas are plentiful and exotic. It is a nice break from traditional arrangements, though none are so off the wall that they would clash with your decor. With the use of unique containers and beautifully chosen plants, "Flowers Design Philosophy" is a wonderful buy. A+

A modern flower arranging book:
This book has lots of colour (and some black and white) photographs and is divided into 4 main parts. First, a 32 page section on philosophy which discusses the colour, texture and shape of flowers and foliage and how to combine these elements. Next, a 32 page section on materials and techniques including cutting and caring for flowers. There is an 80 page section on designing with flowers. This section includes instructions for making a party headdress (written in five steps with 4 small black and white photos for steps 1-4, and a full page photograph of a close up section of the finished product). There are about 11 other design projects (including a candle garland and a bride's posy) set out in a similar way to the party headdress instructions. There are also a number of other design ideas without the step by step instructions. Finally, there is a 20 page section on the different types of flowers, foliage and plants (some, but not all, descriptions are accompanied by photographs). I may have preferred if this book had a little more information or step by step instructions for arrangements instead of so many large photographs. However, it is a pretty book and has lovely modern ideas for flowers.