[.uk] Fast Flower Arranging (ISBN 0789423944)

Book Description:
Bright posies of freesias, bunches of daffodils bound with raffia, rustic bowls overflowing with roses ---- Fast Flower Arranging makes stunning arrangements from one of the world's leading floral designers accessible to anyone. In no more than three easy--to--follow steps, Jane Packer demonstrates how to make a simple bunch of flowers and create more than 120 striking displays in next to no time. Lavish photographs highlight her ingenious instant ideas: vibrant carnations in sherbet--colored pots, glass tanks of spring bulbs, sophisticated lilies for an urban setting. Without using complicated techniques or special equipment, Jane Packer presents ideas for Valentine's Day, weddings, and birthdays, plus dramatic large--scale effects for tables and mantelpieces, showing how to create maximum impact in minimum time. Flower shopping is easy with a glorious visual guide profiling more than 130 popular flowers, from parrot tulips to mini--sunflowers, offering advice on availability and life span. With its wealth of inspiring and practical projects, Fast Flower Arranging is the ultimate guide to stylish displays in minutes.

Unbelievably simple and beautiful:
Jane Packer could not have made this book any easier nor user friendly!! Our sorority cancelled the florist we hired for rush when we found this book. We did all the flowers ourselves and they were stunning!! Great for a coffee table book as well.

a promising book that keeps its promises:
I have just discovered this book and I really appreciate its presentation. The arrangements are really fast, simple and beautiful through their simplicity. This books clashes with the traditional books on the subject which aim sophistication or grand effects at a high expense. The introduction about the most used flowers is short but clever. Skimming through the book is very inspiring. I don't think it as a coffee table book, but as a resource for inspiration for daily arrangements. And I like the fact that most arrangements presented here are not made with 6 dozen of flowers. I have just made the first arrangement with daffodils (4 USD worth), a small terracotta pot and moss. The result is gorgeous.

Exceeded My Expectations:
I once flipped through Jane Packer's Complete Guide to Flower Arranging while in a bookstore. It was a nice book, but it didn't inspire me enough to purchase it. This book, however, seemed to be getting rave reviews so although I couldn't find it in the store, I took the chance to order it. What a surprise! A beautiful book that exceeded my expectations. Much better than the Complete Guide to Flower Arranging, this has some very modern and all easy-to-create arrangements. As a floral designer, I sometimes pick up books here and there for inspiration to use in my business. However, lately I haven't found much to inspire me. This little book is superb. Some fresh ideas to get me restarted (and to get all those budding and would-be designers started). Kudos to Jane and her photographers.

Very disappointed:
I purchased this book based on the other reviews and am sorry I did. The seller I bought it from provided excellent service and fast shipping. The book itself is a huge disappointment. Based on the other reviews, I expected the book to contain great ideas and stunning arrangements. It has neither. I do not recommend this book.

Easy Flower Arranging:
I absolutely love this book! The arrangings are very easy to recreate. They are modern, unfussy and colorful. They show the difference between putting flowers in a vase and decorating with flowers. It just takes a few minutes to go from the former to the latter, as Ms. Packer demonstrates in this book.