Love Isn’t a Fairy Tale. It’s a Riot. 🖤🥀 – Claudia Tararache’s Valentine’s Show

Top 10 designer Claudia Tararache joined us with something truly special. This wasn’t your typical Valentine’s Day show. Claudia showed us that love can be romantic, but also wild, dark, and dramatic.

A Different Kind of Valentine’s

“When I contacted Claudia, I said I want to do something special,” shared John, our Flower Circus Director. “And we got something very special today!” Claudia did the show from her home in Romania. She prepared eight amazing designs. Each design told a different story about love. She took inspiration from Joker and Harley Quinn - a famous couple with a complicated love story.

“Valentine’s Day is not just about romantic love,” Claudia explained. “You can love your family. You can love yourself. You can love your friends. Valentine’s Day is for celebrating all the people we love.”

Eight Beautiful Love Flower Designs

Claudia worked for more than two hours. She created eight designs. Each one was different. Each one was special. People from all over the world watched and loved them!

Design 1: Bats & Roses

Claudia started big! She used deep red Porta Nova Red Naomi roses with Cymbidium orchids from Cymbidium.info. She added dramatic bat decorations and Hedera berries from her neighbour’s garden. The base was made from a plate, cement, and floral foam. Claudia showed us how to reuse materials and be creative at the same time.

Design 2: Light and Dark Together

This design used Scabiosa and Helleborus Mammoth Red from Marginpar. Dark red flowers on one side. Lighter flowers on the other side. But they were connected - like two people in love. Claudia added Clematis to make the design flow beautifully.

Design 3: The Standing Bouquet

Something new! This design works as both a hand-tied bouquet AND an arrangement. Claudia used different varieties of Lisianthus from Lugt Lisianthus. It showed that we can create new forms from traditional ideas.

Design 4: The Waxed Heart

This was dramatic! A heart shape covered in wax with candles. Sharp cactus spikes around it. Soft white Lisianthus and mini Cymbidium orchids to balance the design. “Sometimes the purest thing can look dangerous, but maybe it isn’t,” Claudia said. Just like a real heart!

Design 5: The Tall Sculpture

Claudia built this design using dried Vanda roots, wire, and plaster. She added red Anthuriums from Anthura (including the beautiful Calisto variety), Red Naomi roses, and flowing Clematis. This design was like art in a gallery!

Design 6: Love in the Mist

Everyone loved this one! Claudia used dry ice to create fog around the flowers. It looked magical and mysterious. Viewers gave it beautiful names like “Foggy Spring Morning” and “Love in the Mist.”

Design 7: The Dark Dance

Black painted branches formed a frame. Inside: red Anthuriums, Porta Nova roses, Clematis, and small Bupleurum berries from Marginpar. One viewer said: “This is my favorite. The color is stunning.”

Design 8: Chains of Love

The final design! Claudia created a body decoration piece with chains and wire. She added Cymbidium orchids and dark Astrantia from Marginpar. It was fashion, art, and flowers together.

Thank You to Our Growers

These beautiful flowers came from amazing growers:

🌹 Porta Nova – Red Naomi roses (the most sustainable red rose in Europe!) 

🌺 Marginpar – So many varieties: Gloriosa, Astilbe, Echinacea, Jatropha, Scabiosa, Clematis, Astrantia, Bupleurum 

🌸 Lugt Lisianthus – Beautiful lisianthus in many colors (they grow almost 30 different varieties!) 

🌿 Summerflowers – Hellebore Mammoth 

🌺 Anthura – Stunning Anthuriums 

🌸 Cymbidium.info – Standard and mini Cymbidiums that smell sweet and last a long time

What We Learned from Claudia

Claudia shared many professional tips:

• ♻️ Reuse materials – Save left over pieces of floral foam. Don’t throw them away! You will use them later. This helps the environment and saves money.

• 🌿 Prepare Clematis properly – Remove most leaves. Hit the bottom of the stem with a hammer. This helps the flower drink water better and live longer.

• 👥 Group your flowers – Put flowers together in groups. This makes your design stronger and more beautiful.

• 🔄 Turn your design – Look at your work from all sides. Make sure it looks good from every angle.

• ❄️ Store Cymbidiums correctly – They can be in cool temperatures (8°C is perfect). When you get them, take them out of the tubes immediately. Cut the stems and put them in water.

• 📸 Take photos – Take pictures of your designs. Sometimes the camera sees things your eyes don’t see. This helps you make better designs.

About Claudia Tararache

Claudia is a Top 10 World Cup competitor. She learned from famous masters like Gregor Lersch and Hanneke Frankema. But what makes Claudia special is not just her skills. It’s how she thinks about flowers and design. “When I finish a design, I take photos,” she explained. “Then I look at the photos carefully. This helps me learn and improve.”

She also has advice for people who want to compete: “Don’t worry too much about the competition. Just enjoy learning. Be yourself. Give your best. That’s what matters most.”

What Happens Next?

We won’t have a show in March. Everyone needs time to rest after this amazing marathon! But we’ll be back in April with Arti Lyra for another beautiful Magical Flower Show.

Want to see more details? Go to flowercircus.nl and register. You will get:

• A lookbook with beautiful photos of all eight designs

• Lookbooks from other shows too

• Updates about future shows

Want to learn flower photography? We’re making a new online course! John Koopman will teach you how to take great photos of your flowers using just your phone. Email info@flowercircus.nl if you’re interested.

Thank You, Claudia!

“Thank you all of you. I’m very grateful for watching this,” Claudia said at the end. “I’m very glad that you liked it.” We’re grateful to Claudia too! She showed us that Valentine’s Day can be different. It doesn’t have to be just red roses and hearts. Love can be dark, dramatic, mysterious, and personal. Love can be wild. And that’s beautiful.

Love isn’t a fairy tale. Sometimes it’s a riot. And that makes it real.

Watch the full show here: Claudia Tararache: Love isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a riot.