Unexpected Delights: Art in Bloom in San Francisco

For me, spring officially begins in mid-April when I walk through the doors of the de Young Museum in San Francisco and smell a perfume created by thousands of blossoms used in 125 bouquets. For a week every year, the rarified air of the museum is transformed by Bouquets to Art, an event that has been drawing people to the museum for a little more than three decades. Its premise is simple: The top floral designers in the city interpret pieces in the museum’s permanent collection using flowers and plant material. The stunning arrangements that result are often complex and sometimes no less than jaw dropping. Whether or not you plan to attend the happening, from April 13 to 19, 2015, the creative efforts behind it can can prompt you to think about flowers in a more artful way.

For a sense of what happens at this exhibition, here are photographs from years past.

Photos by Greg A. Lato, Latoga Photography


I have volunteered for the event in the past and once worked for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the de Young and the Legion of Honor museums). But I loved the event before and after my involvement, and I can unbiasedly say it’s amazing. This photo of Sean Scully’s “Wall of Light Horizon” shows why.

I’ve walked by this painting many times, and despite my admiration for it, I sometimes take it for granted. But this arrangement by The Tompkison Group caused me to see the red horizontal lines and the the subtle brown, green and black hues with fresh eyes.


The event illustrates one of the points made in the fable about the six blind men and the elephant. In the old story, a group of blind men feel different parts of a pachyderm, and they describe the beast according to their perception of the part they touched. We all see things differently. The floral designers who create the works in Bouquets to Art show us how they see the art — and that can cause viewers to experience the pieces in a new way.

This photo shows how Farmgirl Flowers did a rather literal interpretation of William Joseph McCloskey’s “Oranges in Tissue Paper.” The crumpled white tissue is represented in part by orchids, anemones and lilies, while bunches of just-opening ranunculus mimic the form and color of the painted oranges.


As the chief curator of Fine Arts Museums San Francisco, Julian Cox views art with the eye of a scholar. But he anticipates the blooming of the galleries every year. “It’s a wonderful event that I look forward to; it brings an extra level of excitement to the galleries,” he says. “The floral designers’ creative response to the art is, in it’s own way, thrilling. What they come up with has a passion and a verve, and it’s a fabulous new point of entry for our visitors.”

And make no mistake, there are a lot of visitors during the event. Cox says that, depending on the time of year and the special exhibition on display, there might be 2,000 to 4,000 visitors at the de Young each day. During Bouquets to Art, that number swells to an average of 10,000 per day. “Luckily, we have a large building that can easily accommodate the crowds,” Cox says. “The building hums with people, and they are looking at the art, comparing it to the flower arrangements and talking — the excitement and engagement is palpable. As a museum that belongs to the city, this is what we love to see.”

The spark for those conversations is arrangements like this one, by Orchard Nursery & Florist. Inspired by “Sea Gull Motive (Sea Thunder or The Wave)” by Arthur Dove, the designers used foliage and flowers to re-create the black-purple waves and the frothy whitecaps in the painting.



Dominique Pfahl of Floréal in San Francisco has been creating floral designs for the event for more than 25 years, and she says that visitors can gain more than a new appreciation for art. “Visitors can get new ideas for putting things together or for new containers to try,” she says. “It’s like when, in fashion, you see an interesting skirt paired with a top. It might be a combination you wouldn’t have come up with on your own, but it looks good and you try it out. You can do the same thing with flowers.”

Inspiration could be sparked by things like this two-part arrangement by Judy Cochran Ward, based on George Hitchcock’s “Tulip Culture.” The larger arrangement represents the foreground of the painting and its exuberant rows of spring tulips; the smaller arrangement draws the eye to the cottage in the background.



Pfahl says the challenge keeps her coming back every year with a new entry. It’s a time-consuming process that begins with floral designers reviewing the works and listing the art they’d most like to re-create. Once the Bouquets to Art committee assigns them an artwork, the design process begins. “I look for pieces that attract my eyes and aesthetic. Sometimes it could be shapes, sometimes colors that grab my attention,” Pfahl says.

Clearly, in this photo, the shapes and colors of Charles Green Shaw’s “Geometric Abstraction” are what drew floral designer Gail Emmons’ attention.


Once the painting is assigned, the design work begins. Generally, it takes Pfahl three weeks to plan, gather and craft an arrangement. But when she takes on larger-scale arrangements, such as the year she constructed a life-size gardener in a dress made of flowers, it takes longer — it took her closer to two months to complete that work. The arrangements entail a lot of money and many hours, but she says that the process is worth it. “It’s really exciting to express yourself in this way,” she says. “I think people really see who you are as a designer.”

With this arrangement that re-creates Joseph Raphael’s “Spring Winds,” designer Dianna Vigil’s creativity is as refreshing as a warm breeze on an April morning.


“Viewing art can be quite serious, and it can be somewhat intimidating,” says Cox. “What I appreciate about Bouquets to Art is that the arrangements seem to liberate the art, and make it approachable in a new kind of way. It causes people to take extra time to look at it.” He adds, “Even though I see this art daily, some of the really clever arrangements can still stop me in my tracks as I pass a familiar painting.”

Bouquets to Art launches with an opening gala on April 13 and then runs from April 14 through 19, 2015. The event includes special lunches and floral arranging demonstrations from international designers. Tickets can be purchased online.

More photos from past exhibits follow.


Art: Edward Ruscha, “A Particular Kind of Heaven”
Floral design: Michiko Shimoda


Art: Rockwell Kent, “Afternoon on the Sea”
Floral design: Velaflor


Art: Everett Shinn, “Outdoor Stage”
Floral design: Takako Ikebana Studio


Art: John George Brown, “On the Hudson”
Floral design: Orinda Garden Club


Art: Charles Demuth, “From the Garden of the Château”
Floral design: Steve Adams


Art: David Park, “Couple”
Floral design: Belle Flora


Art: Richard Diebenkorn, “Nude on Black and White Stripes”
Floral design: Plumweed Flowers


Art: Willard Leroy Metcalf, “Winter’s Festival”
Floral design: Dariel Alexander

More: 10 Design Strategies for Art Lovers

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