Portfolio

Hi! I'm Alexis and I'm a corporate burnout learning floristry. I've always loved flowers and working with my hands. After twenty years of sitting at a desk, I'm ready for a more active, creative professional life. Below is my photo journey of learning this craft and all the obstacles and opportunities that have crossed my path.

I am currently looking for freelance florist work and internship to complete my NYBG Florist Certificate program. Please reach out with any opportunities I could help with!

Alexis@cherrybombflorals.com

Personals

August 15, 2026

Boutonniere

Deceptively difficult is how I describe making a boutonniere. I love that I don't need tons of material but the mechanics must be strong to hold everything together and create a wearable that lasts.
I included a vendela white rose, mini carnation, ruscus leaves, and bear grass. I was focused on mechanics here so the aesthetics are basic but pretty. I should have wrapped the ribbon all the way to the bottom of the stem but somehow didn't notice it when making it.
Can't wait to practice more of these!
Stems: Bear Grass, Israeli Ruscus, Mini Carnation, Vendela Rose
Mechanics: Florist Tape, Satin Ribbon, Pearl Pins

Bouquet

This is my first attempt at hand-tying a bouquet. I found it difficult at first but understand that the more I do it the easier it will get.
I started with crossing the ruscus then adding one stem at a time alternating sides. The bouquet turned out nicely and I liked that once you have a fistfull of stems you can really manipulate the shape of the arrangement stem by stem. Pulling up the anemones and ranunculus to be showcased and give them some bounce in the hand.
I secured wth arrangement with a rubber band and wrapped the bouquet with paper tied with a satin ribbon.

Stems: Bear Grass, Israeli Ruscus, Snap Dragon, Mini Carnation, Ranunculus, Anemone, Vendela Rose

Mechanics: Rubber Band, Florist Paper, satin ribbon

The Leftovers

August 13, 2026

After creating the petite arrangement for my salon, I had a load of stems leftover. I started playing and was able to create a scaled arrangement as an example of ladder pricing, or the difference between a $100 and $200 arrangement.

I was able to create the same display as my salon arrangment but with more stems and a bigger vase. I essentially multiplied the first recipe by three to come up with the new, bigger arrangement. I am happy that I was able to scale up the display and show a side by side of the two sizes but both are beautiful and are good examples of the value and cost of the arrangement.

My next step would be to add a third size as that seems to be an industry norm and a mid-size seems to be popular with customers looking to splurge without breaking the bank.

I have been working on developing my P&L to get a feel for pricing which seems to be the overwhelimingly most difficult aspect of this job and starting out. Offering value as a start-up small business is important while also remembering that flowers, just like any other agricultural product involves a costly supply chain and a successful business learns pricing structures before anything else.

That said, these are two of my favorite arrangements I've made and they both made their recipients very happy!

Stems: Bear Grass, Israeli Ruscus, Sedum, Snap Dragon, Mini Carnation, Ranunculus, Anemone, Vendela Rose 40cm

Mechanics: Glass Vase

Support Small Businesses

August 11, 2026

My local salon recently expanded, essentially doubling in size through a remodel. I was one of the first clients through the door after their reopening and now that I've been building my little business on my own, I was so impressed by what they had done. What a cool moment for a small business to be able to grow and I wanted to show my appreciation as a client and as a fellow small business owner. When the owners asked for a stack of my business cards to display I knew I was going to have to return to the salon and as any good florist I couldn't show up without flowers!

The key here was creating an arrangement that exhibited my skill but also reflected the salon's style. The salon is monochromatic, contemporary, and minimal. I chose a limited white palette for this design with seasonal blooms that are trendy, gorgeous, and can last in a vase for about a week. I also added a quiet architectural value through looping bear grass as a filler. The vase serves to elevate the design and also leans into the salon's black and white color palette.

I couldn't be more pleased with the design. I was aiming for not too big, not too small and think I nailed the size. There were such a variety of blooms and greens included in the arrangement so texture was interesting and permimeter was bouncy and soft. Using only white stems removed color theory for me which helped me focus on mechanics and construction. I was worried that the vase would create a very vertical arrangement but using the techniques I have learned I was able to create a full circular display. I began with the Sedum and bear grass loops as the armature and layered snapdragons then the roses, carnations, anemones, and ranunculus for shape and bounce.

Stems: Bear Grass, Israeli Ruscus, Sedum, Snap Dragon, Mini Carnation, Ranunculus, Anemone, Vendela Rose 40cm

Mechanics: Glass Vase

There's No Place Like Foam

July 24, 2026

After my frustrations with a previous arrangement's chicken wire, I wanted to practice with foam and what a difference. To place stems exactly where you want them at the height you want them makes a world of difference. I put this arrangement together with some leftover filler plus new Cool Water roses. I wanted to practice symmetry and flower placement for a 360-degree arrangement. The seeded eucalyptus is not the perfect green for this structure and I would have liked to replace it with some Variegated Pitt for scale, color, and shine. The color palette is simple and the shape is symmetrical.

Stems: Cool Water Roses, Yin Yang Daisies, Monte Casinos, Seeded Eucalyptus, Limonium

Mechanics: Ceramic bowl, Foam, Tape

Pool Party!

July 24, 2026

We were headed to a pool party, and I needed a hostess gift. Luckily, I had some flowers laying around.

I formed these in my hand, cut the stems thenplaced them in the vase. I wanted something colorful and cheerful that could be set on the outdoor table. These roses lasted a long time, even after a hot car ride, and opened quickly with minimal processing.

Stems: Cool Water Roses, Sunflowers, Limonium,

Seeded Eucalyptus

Mechanics: 5" round glass vase

Just Do It...

...Then Do It Over

Evaluation in Practice

July 7, 2026

I received my wholesaler membership recently and went shopping! Overwhelm is an understatement. I tried to pick out a few things that could go into an arrangement while considering color, texture, and shape, not to mention my student budget. As I tried to put a larger arrangement together, I realized this is harder than I expected. Below is the progress of this arrangement as I made it, evaluated it, then edited it.

Stems: Stock, Limonium, Carnations, Button Mums, Mustard Roses, Yin Yang Daisies, Monte Casinos, Seeded Eucalyptus, Alstroemeria, Sunflowers

Mechanics: Silver compote and chicken wire.

First,

I threw all the pink stems into the arrangement along with some fillers and greens. My goal here was to create an asymmetrical, one-sided display for a buffet table or altar piece. My first reaction is wow, working with chicken wire is hard. The flowers don't go exactly where you want them, and the result is clumpy focal flowers. I love the idea of reducing foam use but understand foam's value in large arrangements.

Second thing I noticed is texture. I love the matte leaves of eucalyptus but realize this arrangement could have used some shiny green like Pitt or Ruscus. Also, there is too much 'seedy' texture here between the Limonium and Seeded Eucalyptus. I would have loved to edit the Eucalyptus to right side and add a shiny and less droopy green to the left bottom side.

Third, color. I don't love how the cool toned Carnations clash with the warm toned peach Stock. So, I changed them out.

Then,

Welcome, mustard roses! An improvement but I was still not satisfied with the palette. I played with reflexing some petals to add a bit of sophistication and interest to the perimeter.

After staring at this arrangement for a day, I decided I LOVE these roses! The golden petals could be and excellent addition to fall and holiday arrangements with some deeper green, red, and purples.

Now the wheels are turning, and I decide that it is the peach stock that I'm not liking here so luckily, I had a run to the grocery store planned--off to find red or purple line flowers!

Finally!

Alstroemeria is not a line flower. I know. But Shop Rite's line flower selection was nil AND these were gorgeous! I grabbed some sunflowers too because it's that time of year.

Now I feel good about this palette. It has a sophistication to it though it leans a bit more fall seasonal. Perhaps I plan this for a seasonal offering in the coming months? I also added a deconstructed sunflower because I really wanted to try this trend that has been everywhere. I love it and think it adds a scale that this arrangement was missing. I would have added two more, but I ran out of stems. I am looking forward to including these in more arrangements in the future.

All in all, this exercise has been great for getting my hands on stems and playing and evaluating my work. I'm not a designer yet, but my practical skill is coming along.

Practice Conditioning and Processing

July 7, 2026

I am enrolled in the New York Botanical Gardens Florist Certification Program, BUT my classes haven't started yet, AND I can't wait to get started. Today, at Shop Rite, I picked up a few stems to see if I could process and condition them properly and measure their life span in an arrangement.

I picked out white hydrangeas, pink peonies, and white chrysanthemums and added a sprig of honeysuckle from my backyard. First, I removed all the foliage from the Hydrangeas, gave the stem a fresh 45 degree cut and fed them boiling water before adding them to the arrangement. The peonies were golf balls coming home but after removing the guard petals, a little spritz, a gentle massage, and fresh cut they opened right up. I stripped the foliage the chrysanthemums and gave them a fresh cut. I stripped the honeysuckle of all leaves below the water line.

For mechanicals I used a small four inch round ceramic vessel and chicken wire. I added tepid water and flower food provided by the grocery store and changed the water daily.

The peonies lasted a full seven days before they lost some petals and started to brown while the hydrangeas and mums lasted a full TWO WEEKS!

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