Flora they’ll fawn over

Forgive the authors the forward -- it’s practically an ad for their employer, 1-800-flowers.com -- because the easy-to-understand how-to that follows could turn almost anyone into a masterful amateur florist. Almost 40 projects are organized by season, with recipe-like presentation of “what you need” and step-by-step photos.

Each arrangement is awarded a “level of difficulty” (easy, moderate or difficult), so if the mantel garland looks too hard (and it does), turn to the country Christmas winter window box and reassuring “easy.” Or challenge yourself and astonish guests with a “moderate” chair corsage of lilies and roses.

The brother-sister florist team encourages you to “think outside the vase.” With this giant cheat sheet -- complete with a primer covering the basics -- you won’t have to think, just create.

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-- Valerie J. Nelson