No comments about Paris Floral Interiors.

5 comments about Making Herbal Dream Pillows : Secret Blends for Pleasant Dreams (The Spirit of Aromatherapy).

1. The recipes for making herbal pillows are good. However, the book only gives you one instruction for sewing a pillow. I guess I was hoping for more than one style.



2. Wonderful book! Jim Long has done alot of research into the origins of the pillows. Very informative compact book.



3. I give this book four stars because of the beautiful artwork and wonderful recipes. Very beautifully illustrated and simple to follow. However I have one complaint: most of the herbal recipes call for mugwort which I cannot find. I haven't yet tried any of the recipes in here because of that but in my opnion it is very original and definitely a keeper.



4. This was a Christmas gift for my 30 yr old daughter in law. (It was on her wish list). She read me a few 'recipes' from the book over the holidays. The book seemed to hold her attention. The recipes sounded fun and made one want to start on them right away. But a trip to an Herbal Store is definitely needed. There are a lot of herbs required to make the pillows that won't be on your pantry shelf. Overall though, she seemed happy with the book. 5 stars if there weren't so many herbs not commonly on hand. The book is nicely made, not cheap looking.



5. "Making Herbal Dream Pillows : Secret Blends for Pleasant Dreams" is a perfect gift choice for that someone special. If you or a friend like herbal fragrances, arranging flowers or just potpourri in general this has many possibilities and suggestions. Thoughtful in its approach this is very well conceived. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Arranging Flowers ("Best of Martha Stewart Living" Series , No 13).

1. I THINK THIS BOOK WILL BE WONDERFUL BECAUSE ALL THINGS MARTHA IS. AND I LOVED YUOR PAGE TOO. THANKS RUBIA



2. I wouldn't really consider this a how-to book, as most of it is pictures of arrangements with a paragraph or two about the flowers. To paraphrase, "Martha loves spring when the peonies in her garden are blooming. They look stunning massed together." Most of the description is of her garden.

   However, the photographs ARE wonderful and gave me many, many ideas. I checked this book out of the library to get ideas for my wedding, and it's a book that I've renewed several times.

   Most of the arrangements included are simple yet elegant, involving one species of flower or monochromatic color schemes.

   I recommend this book as long as you're looking for arrangement ideas, not step-by-step instructions.




3. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Martha produces a beautiful magazine and her new Best of Weddings book is superb so I thought that this book, although older, would be a nice addition. I was disappointed. Although the book was published in 1999, it seemed even more outdated than that. The flowers used seemed repeated over and over again and the book was centered completely around the varieties in Martha's garden. For a more thorough view, I'd like to recommend 2 books in place of this one. Jane Packer's Fast Flower Arranging is fantastic and shows beautiful arrangements that can be made quickly even by a novice. For actual, technical "how to" steps and design theory, I'd recommend Judith Blacklock's "Flower Arranging" (might be called Teach Yourself Flower Arranging in some indexes). Once you know proper floral design techniques, you can use any kind of flowers (NOT just those from Martha's garden) to create beautiful arrangements.



4. I found the Fine Art of Flower Arranging by Nancy D'Oench, Mick Hales. It is so much better than Martha's book.



5. This book offers lots of well-composed shots of nice arrangements, but provides virtually no information about how to make them. Note that the book dates from 1999, so it's a little out of date as well. Not worth the money.

No comments about Twinkling Christmas: Geert Pattyn.

3 comments about Paula Pryke's Wreaths & Garlands.

1. Super book of ideas. Very colorful. IN great shape and shipping was timely.



2. What can I say I am a big Paula Pryke fan! So far every book I have purchased by her I have adored and this one is no exception! Her expertise in her field is beyond compare and I always find something new and exciting in her work and it gets my creative juices flowing. She is just one of the best in the field of floral design. You just can't make a mistake by purchasing any of her books, so buy with complete confidence that you have just purchased a treasure. I know I do. Thanks Paula for being so skilled in your profession I look forward to each new book and discoveries of older releases.
   Sincerely,
   Deborah Loisel



3. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE BOOK. I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE MORE INFORMATION OR PICTURES. MAINLY THE BOOK IS USING REAL FRUITS TO MAKE THE WREATH. NOT WORTH THE PRICE.

5 comments about Tussie-Mussies: The Victorian Art of Expressing Yourself in the Language of Flowers.

1. I have read this book and use it as a ref guide in our work shop. We manufacture tussies. The only wrong thing about this book is it does not have a glossery of where one can purchase the things they would need to make these wonderful tussies. As in WHERE could you purchase the holders? or who makes holders like this? Also where can you purchase special ribbons. and so on. We make these as our job, but for the home garden person who perhaps would like to dabble into this as a gift making idea will not find much in the way of suppliers. Anyone can use lace and doilies, but the real EYECATCHERS are the hand casted resin containers! Too bad they didnt say or give a list of suppliers. Other Than that.... it is a well photographed book.



2. I have read this book and use it as a ref guide in our work shop. We manufacture tussies. The only wrong thing about this book is it does not have a glossery of where one can purchase the things they would need to make these wonderful tussies. As in WHERE could you purchase the holders? or who makes holders like this? Also where can you purchase special ribbons. and so on. We make these as our job, but for the home garden person who perhaps would like to dabble into this as a gift making idea will not find much in the way of suppliers. Anyone can use lace and doilies, but the real EYECATCHERS are the hand casted resin containers! Too bad they didnt say or give a list of suppliers. Other Than that.... it is a well photographed book. Patricia Anne's Ltd.



3. My friend and I used this book as a source for a program for my garden club. We did this in January when our gardens were bare, or so we thought. After looking, we were able to find lots of things that were useful as well as meaningful. With a few dollars worth of flowers from the grocery store we made several examples from the book (with a few substitutions). We were delighted at how beautifully they turned out. I talked about the language of flowers and then showed everybody our samples. We had assembled a variety of ingredients and then each of our 15 members created her own Tussie Mussie. Each one turned out differently and each was charming. I cannot wait for a reason to make another one. We had a hoot of a time. My only complaint with the book was that there were not enough sources of materials such as holders, etc. Thank you for such a beautiful book.



4. I have used this delightful book for reference and inspiration countless times since buying it several years ago. It's paid for itself and then some! Tussie-mussies never fail to provide a gracious touch to the giving of flowers. Anyone can merely present flowers, but to customize the bouquet to the recipient or occasion? Truly impressive and touching! I once attended a luncheon honoring a well-known philanthropist. The hostess spent a fortune on catering for the event and decorated the banquet table with an enormous [$] floral arrangement of spring flowers. The well-traveled multimillionairess was cordial but a trifle bored (been there/done that)until I presented my tussie-mussie, assembled just for her, with a hand-lettered scroll listing the flowers and their definitions. She was astonished and fascinated. That's all she talked about afterwards--the table arrangement could have been dandilions and crab grass. Even if you don't actually make up a tussie-mussie from real flowers, Laufer's book has other terrific uses. I used it to design a bouquet in watercolors for my aunt's memorial service program. You will relish this book!



5. Got this book to help plan our wedding and the flower arangements to choose the right flowers for the event. Wow, it has a lot of information and is great for making a statment in flowers. It gives you the Victorian meaning and the present day use of each flower a long with some history.
   
   Good choice.

5 comments about The Floral Artist's Guide: A Reference to Cut Flowers and Foliages (Floral Artist's Guide).

1. Overall, this is a good buy, and as others have noted, a great staple for the floral designer. I love the disk - you can run a search for "pink flowers," for example, and all flowers with pink variations fed back to you in list form -- you are then able click on the list for pictures of each flower. I wasn't sure if the CD would be included (although it is mentioned on the cover of the book in the picture shown, it is not referred to in the product description) and was pleased to see it is indeed part of the package. I only wish they showed all the color varieties for each genus--instead, there is just one picture and the color variations are listed. With roses, for example, it would be nice to see the many popular types used in common arrangements --vendelas, cool water, versalia....



2. I bought this book thinking it was another book. I was going to return it, but it does serve its purpose at the moment. I wish the photographs were larger. I thought a bit pricey for what it was and the cd rom is not Mac compatable, so I have no use for it!



3. I'm 21 and I run my own flower shop. I know my way around a design bench, but unfortunately my inexperience has left me with a limited knowledge of cut flowers and foliages. This book has helped me so much! And the CD Rom is amazing. You can search for flowers by species, family, even color and distinguishing characteristics! Definately two thumbs waaay up!



4. As a floral designer myself, I have been searching for a visual guide to fresh cut flowers for years. This book not only features cut flowers, but has a section on foliage as well. The expected life spans and common names are provided. This book is the encyclopedia of flowers that I have been looking for!



5. Having bought this book based (mostly) on the good reviews here, I have to say I was VERY disappointed when it arrived. First, the CD-ROM -- which seems to be most of the value of this product --is for Windows only, so Mac users like me are just SOL. I contacted the publisher to ask if they could provide me w/ a Mac CD -- they never replied to my e-mail. Not the way to win friends.
   
   Beyond that, the book itself is a paperback, much smaller/thinner than I expected (more like a magazine), printed VERY badly on VERY thin, cheap paper -- it really looks like it was run off somebody's color printer at home. The color pictures of flowers and foliage are of terrible quality, the text is really minimal, there's no information on how to treat/work with/preserve the flowers & foliage covered ... all this for the incredible price of $60!! Enough said -- I returned it.

4 comments about Creative Floral Arranging: How to Decorate with Fresh, Dried & Silk Flowers.

1. I loved the books big, colorful illustrations. The instructions were step by step and easy to follow. The materials list for each project made it easy to get organized for the project before I started. I also found the floral arranging tips very useful. I worked at a floral shop for a brief period of time and found the instructions easier to follow than my trainer! A good book for people who love to make crafts for their homes, friends or families.



2. The Book arrived in a timely fashion. The photograply was beautiful. However, I found it to be a coffee-table book rather than a text book which I needed.



3. I bought this book and found it very useful. the photos are beautiful and
   
   the instuctions very helpful . If you are just starting out then this will be very helpful . If you are a pro then you will find many new and creative
   ideas. this is one of the nicest books that i have .



4. The day I received my book in the mail I opened it and began reading as I turned the pages it began to fall apart. All but a few of the pages have come off the binding. The book is in pieces. I would not recommend it to anyone unless you want a book you have to pick up the pieces evey time you want to read it.

No comments about One Colour Bouquets.

5 comments about In the Company of Flowers.

1. Mr. Morgan certainly does!!! Color, creativity, shape, style, and talent all should be associated with Mr. Morgan. His ability in floral design is exquisite and his imagination has no boundaries. He has an uncanny eye for the beautiful and the imaginative. Did I get anything out of this book, a lesson in style and class, and just how beautiful you can make ordinary things. Mr. Morgan taught me there is no end to majestry in floral design and I will look forward to future publications. His artistry is superb and he is truly working in his calling. Congratulations Mr. Morgan for thrilling me to no end with your beautiful work and art.
   Sincerely,
   Deborah Loisel



2. The pictures and arrangements in this book rate 5 stars. What was disappointing was that there were not even hints about how to put some of the arrangements together. In addition, some of the floral material was not identified correctly or completely.



3. Because this book is so beautiful it is truly inspiring. Morgan is a true artist. The photographs are lovely depicting unusual, elegant and even a few quite simple designs. It's a must for floral arrangers.



4. I heard this man speak and HAD to have his book. Well worth it!!!



5. Zen of Watering Your Garden
   
   This is not really the book to start flower photography with. I say this for several reasons. It requires elaborate camera and equipment. It deliberately teaches techniques that have distorted Nature into floral design.
   I am more of a purist and believe that Nature's beauty is everywhere and that it can be captured relatively simply using new and inexpensive digital cameras particularly those with image stability and macro functions built in.
   
   I published an entire collection of photos without any manipulation except cropping to fit the page. Matt Cohen