“ F l o w e r s
l i f t t h e s p ir it s , improve your mood,
and bring a touch o f nature to your home.”
JANE PACKER, FLORAL DESIGNER
BACKGROUND
With multiple flower
shops, floral schools,
and a client list that
reads like a who’s who
roster of hotels and
celebrities, London-based
designer Jane Packer
travels the world creating
artful arrangements
bursting with color. This
fall, she distills her
expertise for others to
create elegant flowers at
home in her new book,
Jane Packer's Guide to
Flower Arranging.
STYLE STATEMENT
Inspired by fashion, Jane’s
signature look combines
flowers in varying tones
of a single color. “My
philosophy is to use
flowers in a natural way—
the way they grow,” she
says. “Over-complicating
a design and using too
many varieties or colors
are big stumbling blocks.”
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Always recut stems and
add flower food, Jane
says. And use shorter
vases. “It’s much easier to
produce a good-looking
flower arrangement if the
flowers are cut to rest on
the rim of the vessel and
build up from there.” She
also advises mixing in
unexpected elements
such as apples and poppy
heads. “I like experimenting
with unusual ingredients.”
jane-packer.co.uk
Jane Packer's Guide to
Flower Arranging
(Ryland
Peters & Small; $30;
rylandpeters.com)
IN THE BAG
B R I N G
I T H O M E )
Jane created the arrangement
above as an inventive way to
present flowers as a gift. You
can adapt this idea to fit smaller
containers and totes of similar
size. Make a hand-tied bouquet to
the width of the opening of the
bag and tie with twine. Place
flowers in a container that fills
the inside of the bag.
3 4
NOVEMBER 2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
BY KELLY RYAN KEGANS; PH O TO S: PAUL MASSEY (CO URTESY OF RYLAND PETERS & S M A LL)
