Richard Swerdlow at KQED in San Francisco on June 12, 2025. (Jennifer Ng/KQED)

Richard Swerdlow shares about his experience learning floral arranging.

I didn’t think one party would change the way I see the world, but it did. My friend is a true San Francisco free spirit and loves to throw fabulously original parties. 

Arriving at his party, I noticed a scary selection of scissors on display. But then I saw why – an enormous supply of fresh flowers in buckets of water and tons of vases. 
 
After mingling and snacking, the guests settled at tables for a presentation by two professional florists. Each guest had a task – to produce their own flower arrangement. Giggling guests selected their flowers. I don’t know anything about floral arranging, but I was game to try and went for a purple theme, with roses, hydrangeas and lisianthus, fussing with a vase and displaying them artfully.

My lopsided arrangement earned a “nice job” from the florists, and I was proud to bring my arrangement home to display. After a week, the gorgeous flowers had wilted, and it was time to toss them. But my floral experience has me suddenly noticing flowers everyplace, elegant arrangements in shops and lobbies and colorful wildflowers blossoming joyfully in vacant lots and along freeways.  
 
Flowers, I realized, are more than nature’s art project. Flowers are used symbolically throughout the world, from birth to death. From weddings to funerals, prom boutonnières to Valentine’s Day bouquets, 60s Vietnam War protestor flower power to World War II Nazi resister Edelweiss Pirates, Hawaiian leis, Swedish flower crowns, Japanese Ikebana, it’s easy to see why flowers are part of the most important events of our lives.  
 
Flowers, as with humans, move from fresh and vital to withered and dying, a metaphor for our own brief time on Earth. I don’t think I’ll be a florist anytime soon. But thanks to that party, my enjoyment of flowers has bloomed and I’m now noticing flowers everywhere with a – yes – budding appreciation.

With a Perspective, I’m Richard Swerdlow.

Richard Swerdlow is a retired San Francisco teacher.