>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... ♪♪ At home.

♪♪ At work.

♪♪ Or anytime.

♪♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... PassionRoses... Suntory Flowers.

♪♪ >> Today we celebrate 100 episodes of "J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom."

I'll review some favorite moments, make a bouquet with 100 flowers, hear from you, the viewers, and celebrate with guests of the show and recap 100 flower crowns, too.

♪♪ ♪♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Welcome to a landmark episode of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," our 100th show.

Can you believe it?

It seems like yesterday when I was preparing to film the very first show.

Although "Life in Bloom" did not happen overnight, there were many years of preparation and challenging times.

But the result has been worth it, as your letters and pictures have told us.

But more on that later in the show.

Let's kick off this special episode with -- what else?

-- flowers.

How about 100 flowers to celebrate?

I'd better get started.

I have guests coming over later to help me celebrate.

Do you think I can get all of these blooms into one arrangement?

Let's find out.

♪♪ ♪♪ Wow, that's quite something, if I do say so myself.

Beautiful flowers will never disappoint.

♪♪ When I think about all the incredible experiences "Life in Bloom" has provided to my life, I sometimes become a bit overwhelmed, as it causes me to realize how fortunate I am to have had these opportunities, for which I am extremely thankful and grateful.

We've traveled to flower farms, not only locally here in Michigan, but also many in California, where I've actually arranged flowers on a mountaintop -- twice, in fact, on visits to both Resendiz Brothers and FBI flowers.

We've also been to flower farms in Oregon, Washington, Colombia, South America, and even in the Hawaiian Islands, where we celebrated Lei Day with friends old and new.

Which reminds me of my passion for crossovers with other public television shows -- Ed Kenney from "Family Ingredients," P. Allen Smith at his garden home, and even the great Bob Ross.

Imagine having the velvet ropes taken down at the Bob Ross Experience so I could interpret a Bob Ross original painting in flowers at the very same spot where Bob Ross actually stood.

A surreal experience in the best way, suggested and made possible by my instant friend Joan.

My own collections, hobbies, and interests have turned into magical moments, too.

Learning about the designer of the mid-century Starburst dinnerware pattern, Mary Chalmers Brown, from her niece.

My favorite animal, the opossum -- Sylvia in this instance -- on camera at Blandford Nature Center.

Inviting Ms.

Margo, The Bone Reader, to "Life in Bloom" to communicate with our dear pets Ellie, Ladybird, and Georgy Girl.

It's very special to have these experiences at my fingertips, to relive special places, precious collections, and favorite friends.

Speaking of favorite friends, with "Life in Bloom," I've entertained many.

Interviewing award-winning children's book illustrator and author Laurie Keller was an honor.

You met the garlic girls, my amazing friends Kim and Val, who grow hardneck garlic at Brickyard Farms right here in Michigan.

We introduced Mary and Jill, regenerative farmers, and met several of the animals at Crane Dance Farm.

I've been so fortunate that my good-luck charm, Jenn Pascua, has always agreed to be part of each season.

I'm one lucky guy.

My passion for flowers runs deep, and sharing my family, both figuratively and literally, with stories, collections, flower cocktails, and Recipes in Bloom is an honor and pleasure.

I know you've been captivated by tales of "Carnation" Joe Green.

And I hope you've tried Mary Lou's Noodle Ring for yourself.

And I'm happy that our favorite culinary kids, our niece Grace and her husband, Nick, drop by to keep me up to date on all things gastronomic, scientific, and entertaining.

They enhance our "Life in Bloom" in countless ways.

Thanks to Ben Scott-Brandt for creating the musical score to "Life in Bloom."

Ben magically translated "Life in Bloom" into music that I love and adore, and I'm so honored to share his talent on each and every episode.

All of these special moments would never get to the screens inside your TV, computer, or mobile phone without the "Life and Bloom" crew, who do it all -- light, film, and record, direct, cut, and edit, format, color-correct, and upload in a year-long-plus process.

They help us bring each season to life, filled to the brim with flowers and fun.

I've had the pleasure of creating "Life in Bloom" and many more flower videos, documentaries, and online series with Chris Randall and Keith Golinski, the talented team that is Fulvew Films.

They are essential in bringing "Life in Bloom" to the screen, and it's a big job.

100 episodes is a milestone accomplishment for us all.

Some of my favorite "Life in Bloom" moments happen on location.

New Year's Eve in a Mexican restaurant in Pasadena at 6:00 p.m.

Dinner at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

Watching the World Cup in Bogotá.

Not to mention visiting a special greenhouse in Nebraska.

And I've had the privilege of welcoming their kids as charming "Life in Bloom" guests.

Zoe, Doc, and Millie teaching me about monarch butterflies.

Emily enjoying flower crafts with me.

Plus, Keith kindly offered his mom Kathy's beautiful kitchen, in which we film -- with her blessing, of course.

What a wonderful partnership that continues to flourish.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Finally, at the end of every day, I'm thankful I am not alone.

I am so incredibly fortunate to have Kelly and Ladybird and Georgy Girl along for the ride.

They are the best flowers in my "Life in Bloom" bouquet, and I couldn't do this without you.

I love you dearly.

You plant the seed, you water it, you give it sunshine, and you weed and prune and tend to it daily.

With just the right amount of sweat, fertilizer, sunshine, and rain, it grows and buds and blossoms.

"Life in Bloom" is a wonderful combination of flowers, friendship, kindness, and love.

Thank you for sharing it with me.

♪♪ When one thinks about creating their own TV show, viewers are of course important, and you strive to produce something you believe will be of interest to them.

But what I never imagined was the responses I would get spontaneously and unsolicited from you, the viewers.

From the start, there have been many kind comments on social media and directly to my inbox and mailbox, too.

Many are handwritten notes, which are so touching to receive and read and cherish.

We have many remarks on the meditative quality of the show.

Next came the very, very kind and humbling comparisons to other public television show hosts, such as Carmen Sneed's comment, "You are the Mr.

Rogers of the flower world," and then, "J Schwanke is the Bob Ross of flowers," from Jill Lackey.

Whoa!

It really boggled my mind to be mentioned in the same breath as these two public television legends of kindness and comfort.

Even the following comment from E.C.

-- "Please take this as a compliment.

Your work to me is like being in a Dr.

Seuss book."

Just wow.

Mentioned in a sentence with Dr.

Seuss.

Then came the pictures of arrangements you, the viewers, were inspired to create.

I just love to see these.

And while we do encourage you to send them along and feature them on the show, it was not something we did until the fourth season.

In fact, it was inspired by all the spontaneous images that had been sent to me.

There's too many to mention.

However, Jan Clark, Claudia Dinwiddie, Virginia Kerwin, Jackie Buys, and Kelly and Brad Gomez were among the first sharers and multiple times.

I am also touched by the many florists who share their stories, past and present, of the joys of working with flowers.

And there are also many who correspond regularly, especially Richard Buie, who shares my affinity for cocker spaniels.

And here's the kind of very personal feedback I truly did not expect.

Given the intensely personal nature of these messages, as well as their emotional impact, I know you will appreciate that I'm presenting them anonymously.

One viewer wrote, "Hello, I am currently taking care of an older brother, and after watching the 'Life in Bloom' show a few times, I decided to try a creation for my brother's table so that he can have something to look at while I feed him.

He loved it.

You've inspired me in my very difficult situation, and I knew flowers in this dark house would bring light, happiness, and even joy."

Another shared, "I have been in crisis with my mental health.

I was not a happy camper.

I couldn't stop crying.

I slept all the time.

I couldn't eat.

But the whole entire time I watched your show, I was smiling, learning new things, and had a calm feeling after your show was over.

It just put me in a restful calm that I hadn't had for a week."

And, "I've always been drawn to flowers thanks to my mother, the beauty, fragrance, and sometimes the taste.

I've been fighting cancer for the last two years and wanted to thank you for your show.

I look forward to every episode.

It really helps me mentally.

Once again, thank you."

Sharing health challenges is not so uncommon, but this circumstance was unexpected.

"I wanted to thank you for what your show has meant to me personally and my recovery from addiction."

I've been continuously sober since March 2022, and watching 'Life in Bloom' was one of the only remaining bits of joy I had to hold on to when things were very tough in the early going.

The music, the learning, the smiling, the beauty, the joy.

It played a crucial reminder to me that life could still be full of joy, despite the havoc wreaked by my addiction and poor decisions.

So, yeah, thank you."

I am truly astonished to read these reactions to the show.

I am grateful that so many of you find the show not only relaxing for so many reasons, but also inspiring in situations that never, ever occurred to me.

Flowers are the heart of this show.

I know and believe -- and the flowers have proven to me, as always and in so many ways, from life-changing to unassuming -- flowers always, always make a difference.

One more eye-opening message about the power of flowers -- "I'm writing to thank you.

You don't know me.

I'm just one of the many who watch your show.

Over the course of late 2020 through 2021, I became primary caregiver for my other half.

He was bedbound and needed much attention.

Our world was reduced to the great room off our kitchen, where there was a big bay window and a TV and the kitchen right there for me to prepare meals without having to leave him.

I slept in a chair next to his hospital bed.

Very small world indeed.

But one of the brightest spots in it was your show.

I watched them often.

I record them still, enjoying the gentle nudge to look after myself a bit, too.

From the music to your always effervescent approach to the actual things you made and cooked, I loved it all, and I still do.

I lost him in January of 2022 after 43 years together.

My world will never be the same, but one thing that still helps me through is your show."

I am so, so very humbled by your personal stories and filled with gratitude for the flowers and the differences they make in your lives.

Thank you for watching.

♪♪ ♪♪ I love a flower crown, as regular viewers know full well.

It's a favorite part of the show for me, as I watch faces light up for these flower coronations.

There have been more than 100 flower crowns, as most shows contain at least one.

You can count them if you like, although I'm not sure we can squeeze them all in.

Let's enjoy... 100 flower crowns!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I have the flowers for our celebration, of course.

What kinds of treats Ice cream is always a hit at any celebration.

And my nephew-in-law, Nick Boersma, has a fascinating technique for making homemade ice cream.

Nick, thanks so much for coming.

>> Yeah, thanks.

I'm really excited to make some dry-ice ice cream with you.

>> I figured a scientist would be very helpful.

>> Unlike some of our projects we've made before, it's gonna be a little not so measurey and exact, and it's gonna be really fast.

>> Okay.

>> Yeah, so, the first thing we're gonna set up here is our ice cream base.

We've got some heavy cream.

I've got about 2 cups.

I've got about a cup and -- it looks like 1 1/4 cup of whole milk here.

Also, we're gonna add some sugar for this because, you know, ice cream, we want it to be sweet.

That's probably more like 1/2 cup or so.

We'll start with that.

A little bit of vanilla extract.

We're just gonna add that much.

That's how much vanilla extract... >> I am always about more.

>> And very scientific instrument -- our fork.

>> [ Laughing ] Okay.

>> We're just trying to mix it up so that that cream gets mixed up to the sugar.

This next step, J, is where we're gonna start getting a little scientific.

>> Okay.

>> And we're using some dry ice, so I want to make sure -- It's extremely cold, so we're gonna put on some eye protection to make sure that -- Both of us are wearing glasses, but this is going to keep us safe on the sides.

It's covering a lot more of your eyes.

We don't want to get anything that cold in your eyes 'cause it will do some damage.

The dry ice we've got -- if you didn't have a food processor or something, you could break this up by hand.

Just hit it with something nice and hard, a mallet or, you know, a rolling pin or something.

>> Okay.

>> But this is going to get it much more fine.

And you don't want big chunks because that could really hurt you as you're eating.

>> Okay.

Gotcha.

So we need to be careful.

>> Yes, absolutely.

So this will break down.

What we're looking for now really is we want to kind of see that there aren't any big chunks.

I was listening for those kind of harder hits in there.

Those bigger chunks getting broken down.

>> So now we have powder.

>> Yeah, we've kind of got a nice powder here.

We're gonna put maybe a cup or so in.

Okay.

Dry ice here.

I'm just gonna add, you know, one spoonful or so at a time and instantly you do see it gassing up.

We see that.

>> Just like it -- >> Yeah.

yeah.

We're gonna use a -- we're gonna whisk this up.

You know, like any ice cream, you've got to kind of churn it, whisk it.

This is gonna add some air, but also distribute that cold in it everywhere too.

You can definitely use a stand mixer if you like on this.

But I've found in the past I get a little bit more control with using a hand mixer.

And I enjoy that.

You can also see right away we're staring to see bubbles in it, and that's that carbon dioxide being released and getting trapped in there.

We'll notice that in the taste of the ice cream too.

>> Oh, I love it.

>> We're just gonna keep going back and forth here.

>> Okay.

>> Kind of one scoop full at a time until this just gets to be the consistency of ice cream.

>> I like how it smokes and everything.

That's just so great.

>> So we're getting closer to an ice cream consistency here, but it's still -- >> Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Look at it.

Okay.

>> All right.

Here we keep going.

This is getting kind of close, I would say.

And I can definitely tell by the feel of this, it's getting a little bit tougher to push around and move and everything.

>> Okay.

>> How's that look to you?

>> That looks great.

>> I think it looks pretty great too.

>> I think it's fascinating.

>> Let's get ourselves a little sample here, then.

>> Okay.

>> See what we think.

Being a soft serve consistency, we're not going to have, you know, perfect, like, nice ball or anything.

I think we're just going to get a nice big scoop to start with.

>> Do you want a spoon?

>> Absolutely.

>> Okay.

We'll share.

>> Absolutely.

Thank you, J.

>> Thank you.

>> So kind of tell me -- >> It is, it's like bubbly.

>> It's kind of like an ice cream float a little bit.

Like you've got a little -- >> It is like an ice cream float, that's exactly right.

>> So the reason for that is, as we're seeing all that gas, you know, effervescence and kind of come off there and everything, some of it's also getting trapped in the ice cream.

And that's where it kind of feels like a soda in your mouth.

Like you're getting that little bit of carbonation almost.

>> Right.

I made a special chocolate and vanilla flower crown for you.

How about that?

>> Thank you.

>> You're welcome.

a flower crown when you come.

Well, thank you.

Thank you again for doing dry ice ice cream with us.

♪♪ I'd like to personally welcome you all to our celebration for the 100th episode of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom."

We would be remiss if we did not thank our underwriters over the years whose generosity makes the show possible.

However, if nobody came to the party, we couldn't continue to bring flowers into your lives every week.

My deepest and most sincere thanks for watching and enjoying the flowers with me every week.

Flowers make a difference and so do viewers.

So join us as we celebrate 100 shows and look forward to many more.

♪♪ ♪♪ Thank you all for supporting "Life in Bloom."

Thank you all for being here.

You all are friends and whenever I come to see you and have a crazy idea, you always jump on board.

I hope that each and every single one of you have as wonderful life as I have had because of all of you.

You're my friends and it just makes me so happy to be able to share something special like this with you and with this guy.

[ Laughter ] Yeah.

It's good.

Thank you.

Cheers.

>> Cheers.

♪♪ >> Thank you for celebrating 100 episodes of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom."

It's been a beautiful, flower-filled ride.

Here's to the flowers.

For "Life in Bloom," I'm J Schwanke.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> J's flower arranging tips, helpful hints, and arrangement recipes are available in J's two books, "Fun With Flowers" for $25 and "Bloom 365" for $20 plus shipping.

To purchase these books and any of our additional visit uBloom.com/Store.

♪♪ To learn more about flower arranging and J, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at uBloom.com.

Follow J on Facebook and Instagram at @JSchwankesLifeInBloom.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following.

♪♪ >> At home.

At work.

Or anytime.

Cal Flowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following.

Closed caption funding provided by fabulousflorals.com.