DIY holiday florals with Betty J's

Meribeth Jackson and Imelda Jimenez from Betty J’s Florist in Ocoee gave a demonstration for the Windermere Garden Club last month about holiday floral arrangements. Jimenez is the shop’s main designer for event orders and showed the women of the club how to create beautiful pieces for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Jimenez came to the United States from Mexico when she was a teenager. After high school, she got a job at a flower shop in California, where she started learning the basic principles of design. Within a year, the shop had put her in charge of orders for funerals and weddings. 

“I always liked art,” Jimenez said. “I like playing with color.”

Jimenez and her husband later moved to Ocoee, and she has worked at Betty J’s for nine years. 

“We say she designs from the heart. In every way, she does,” Jackson said about Jimenez. “Everything comes out beautiful.”

Betty J’s is located at 6 S. Bluford Ave., Ocoee, and serves all of West Orange County. For more information, go to myorlandoflorist.com.

Instructions

1. Prepare the container with plastic floral lining, water and a block of floral foam.

2. Place two candles in the center of the foam. You can use floral candle holders, or shave the bottom of the candles to a point with a knife.

3. Insert greenery into the floral foam as the base. Jimenez used magnolia and salal leaves.

4. Form two bows with the ribbon. Twist the bows around wire or small wooden stakes and insert them on opposite sides of the container.

5. Place largest flowers into the arrangement first, then berries and filler flowers, and lastly, baby’s breath or other fine-fillers.