Table Flowers: Over 50 Arrangements for Simple, Special and Spectacular Occasions

Gives advice on table setting and flower arrangement for different occasions, from everyday casual meals to business lunches, to wedding anniversaries

Connolly divides his profusely illustrated book into three sections: "Simple," "Entertaining," and "Celebrations." The first section presents uncomplicated ideas for everyday casual meals made special by simple arrangements. Hyacinths, irises, camellias, crocuses, tulips, and lilies of the valley brighten a breakfast for two, a summer lunch, or an afternoon tea. The second section features ideas for small gatherings, such as magnolias for a spring dinner party, clematis for a business lunch, or yellow roses for dinner alfresco. And the third section focuses on entertaining on a large scale: for instance, garden leaves for a silver wedding anniversary, buttercups for a golden wedding anniversary, or blue roses for a gothic ball. Connolly warns readers to select the tablecloth, containers, and tableware carefully to show the flower arrangements off to their best advantage. With 120 full-color photographs by Jan Baldwin. George Cohen

Connolly, a leading British florist, demonstrates his unstructured approach in 50 different flower arrangements for both everyday, casual entertaining and special celebrations. Each illustration is accompanied by a couple of descriptive paragraphs, which cover topics like flower varieties and the significance of light, longevity, and setting on the selected flowers. Connolly offers only one page of "practical points" and acknowledges that he has been "purposefully vague about mechanics," which he considers a reflection of container preference. The author's floral combinations are indeed natural yet elegant, and the exquisite color photographs by Baldwin do them justice. Fiona Barrett's The New Flower Arranger (LJ 12/95) is a more comprehensive work on flower arranging, but Connolly's book has been selected by four book clubs, making it a possible purchase for public libraries.?Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Herndon
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.