<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  BALENCIAGA BLOSSOMS  CONCEPT: Flout romantic peony clich\u00E9 s as Nicolas Ghesqui\u00E8re&amp;#039;s robo\u2013flower girls do in their sly chintz car-body-mold rompers. THE BLOOMS: A single peony juxtaposed with a button-nose anemone, a dark-undersided alocasia leaf, and a rare, goth bat lily becomes a transfixing sculpture. VESSELS: Guillaume Delvigne&amp;#039;s unglazed porcelain and glass Chapeaux Vase 02 (available for $90 at CITE in NYC; citeny.com) and Michael Kramer&amp;#039;s Populonia (the 13&amp;quot; version is $115 and comes in eight colors at NYC&amp;#039;s Property Furniture; 917-237-0123).  TIPS: Keep peonies as cool as possible; remove most of the foliage, and snip stems daily with a sharp tool. Buyer beware rock-hard buds; they may never open.  DRIES IN THE VASE  CONCEPT: Deconstruct Van Noten&amp;#039;s bouquet-ensemble notion, in which the skirt is the stems and the blouse the flowers.  THE BLOOMS: Two Icelandic poppies, one orange, one yellow; four French tulips (the largest kind), furled; and a daffodil bulb.  VESSELS: Victorian apothecary and foreign soda pop bottles.  TIPS: Unlike most flowers, poppies should not be recut before being put in fresh water. If you must cut for height, seal the end by searing over a flame. Tulips continue to grow in water, so anticipate scale shifts! Strip all but two leaves, and smooth the stalk with a floral knife. An exposed bulb will last about 10 hours out of water. Keep it submerged in a clear container for a longer-lived design element.  STELLA&amp;#039;S WILDFLOWERS  CONCEPT: Create an easy, contemporary country bouquet, reminiscent of McCartney&amp;#039;s jumpsuit, that is not overly fussy nor too French cottage.  THE BLOOMS: Wheat, delphinium, blackberry branches, allium, liriope, and eucharist lilies loosely grouped together, as you would have gathered them.  THE VESSEL: A salvaged glass gin bottle with the label soaked off.  TIPS: Start with fresh flowers. A stale refrigerated blossom might not look bruised, so check the stems for slime.  (Floral design by Livia Cetti; thegreenvase.com) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/art-design/a9312/fresh-cuts-20995/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>