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R E A D O N L I N E
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FloraLife® Clear Crowning Glory®
(best for botanical materials and
designs that have little or no water
source, such as wreaths, garlands,
door swags, wearable flowers, etc.)
or a cellular-level finishing spray such
as FloraLife® Finishing Touch (best
for designs that have a water source).
Finishing sprays slow dehydration in
flowers due to transpiration.
Timing is also key. Be sure to have
enough staff on site so that floral
designs can be placed, and outdoor
installations can be made, at the
latest possible time. en, before
leaving a venue, have everyone
do a last-minute walk-through,
to look for and replace any water-
stressed blooms.
Rodrigo "Varito" Vásquez, AIFD,
CFD, FSMD, FPCF, floral director at
e Special Event Resource & Design
Group and owner of R .Varito Designs
& Institute, both in West Palm Beach,
Fla., specializes in large events for a
demanding high-end clientele, and,
like all florists, he needs to make sure
his designs for outdoor events are
going to perform well. Following is
his advice for planning and designing
an outdoor event.
"e process of maintaining flowers
in excellent condition begins with the
choice of suppliers," Vásquez says. "I
like to buy directly from 'local' farms
because the vase life of the flowers
is often greater than with flowers
that have to be transported many
miles and that pass through various
distribution channels. Regardless of
supplier, make sure that the product
is fresh—no more than three days
from the cut—and schedule arrival
no more than three days prior to the
event, if possible. en, process the
Patience Pickner AIFD, Photography Amy Oden
