• Flower School New York

  5 Tudor City Place, 212-860-0755; flowerschoolny.com

  You can pay $100 or more to have someone crate and deliver a beautiful floral arrangement, or you can spend a comparable amount at the Flower School learning how to do it yourself. Located in the Tudor City shop of Michael George (the Über-arranger who’s a favorite of Calvin Klein and was personal florist to Diana Vreeland), classes meet weekly. Each session begins with a little lecture about the day’s topic (tulips, designing with greens only, etc.), accompanied by tea and cookies; that’s followed by the hands-on lesson. Class size is limited, and students leave with at least one bouquet of their own design. Individual classes are $250; discounted series classes are available, too. Here’s the bonus: Each two-hour session is taught by a different florist, presenting as many different styles as possible. In the months to come, principals from Belle Fleur, Glorimundi, Zezé, and Dutch Flower Line are all scheduled to teach.

From the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine