Jump on the bandwagon and dive deep into flowers at this guided floral design workshop in DTLA

Each flower has a personal history. For Abriana Vicioso, the calla lily was her parents’ wedding flower – a symbol of her mother’s beauty. Vicioso says: “She had a big, beautiful white calla lily in her hair. “I love my parents, that’s the reason I’m here, I’ll never forget where I come from.”

The Flower Hour begins with Vicioso announcing, with a warm smile: “Today we’re going to touch the grass.” The florist shows hundreds of flowers behind him contained in buckets – blue marigolds, ivory anemones and a silver-painted calla lily – all twisted and open to the wind. “Tonight is going to be fun and close,” said Vicioso, looking at the beautiful chaos at his feet. A grin is hidden on his face.

Shortly before the workshop, participants sit at candlelit tables exchanging horoscopes and comparing their favorite flowers. Talking about the magnificent flower of the bird of paradise makes women happy and in awe. Izamar Vazquez, originally from Jalisco, Mexico, reveals that he loves roses, which make him feel connected to his Mexican roots.

Vicioso hosts her flower-themed wellness workshop near the Original Flower Market of Los Angeles in downtown LA In January, the first Flower Hour event sold out, making it a monthly series. Vicioso describes the event as a “three-part journey” where participants are invited to drink herbal tea, smoke rose-petal-rolled marijuana joints and make a floral arrangement. “The guide is to connect with the flower tree,” said Vicioso.

Rose petal arrangements, tea and flower arrangements are all part of the Flower Hour event offerings.

The event was hosted by the Art Clubmembership-based co-working space. “Flower Hour is really good. Everyone gets to explore their creativity while meeting new people,” said Lindsay Williams, owner of the Art Club.

The idea for Flower Hour came to Vicioso during a conversation with his mother. She says: “We always joke that flowers were meant to be in my life. She works as a florist and models on the side, and has even appeared in the pages of Vogue. Vicioso grew up in a Caribbean family, where flowers and offerings were part of everyday life. “In my culture and in my religion, most of my family’s practices – Afro-Caribbean religion – we build altars.”

Like many cultures, flowers have emotional significance in his religion. “I come from the Caribbean, so most of my family worships in the Yoruba religion, which comes from Africa.

• Share with Turn off additional sharing options

After a difficult year and a breakup, Vicioso wanted to marry his love of flowers by building a community. Because Vicioso uses marijuana medicinally, the workshop naturally includes a smoking component. “My family has been smoking marijuana for many reasons for a long time. It’s a really healing plant,” he explained.

In the workshop, even marijuana gets the flower treatment. Vicioso presented his rose-petal-wrapped joints on a silver platter to each table. He rolled each one by hand. “If you’ve never smoked a rose-petal-rolled joint, the difference with this one will be roses with less of a tobacco effect,” he announced.

During the workshop, Vicioso stresses the importance of buying marijuana from local sellers. The cannabis provided was purchased from a dealer in Northern California. The health workshop aims to bring back the medicinal practice of smoking marijuana. “This is a plant that has been sold,” said Vicioso. “There are many black and brown people who have been arrested for this plant.”

The resulting workshop is what Vicioso describes as “an immersive life experience at the intersection of life, creativity, community and flower appreciation.” The workshop serves as a reminder to enjoy the beauty of the natural world in the form of flowers — including marijuana. “It is this gift that the universe has given us for free and that I am deeply connected to,” said Vicioso.

Chat cards to create a conversation between participants (top, left). The workshop serves as a “third space” for Angelenos to engage in tactile creativity and community building outside of traditional nightlife settings.

After enjoying lavender chamomile tea and smoking a joint, Vicioso presented flowers to the group before inviting them to pick their own. He emphasizes the individuality of each flower, describing the green dianthus as a “Dr. Seuss” plant. Then there are the calla lilies and their “protagonist moment.” It becomes personal. She says: “Start thinking about a flower in your life that you can find. “If you feel like you need inspiration, you can always remember that these flowers have stories.”

Vicioso infuses wisdom into his flower arrangement instruction: No mistakes. Let the flowers tell you where they want to go, she urges. Intuition will be your guide – the wilder, the better.

“Hecho in Mexico” reads a sticker on a pile of green stems. “Like me,” Vazquez said with a laugh. “They all do their own thing.” Like a family,” he said later, arranging the graduation.

Flower Hour participants and Vicioso, center, chat as they create their own floral arrangements for the sold-out event.

The two participants – Vazquez and Rebeca Alvarado – are friends who run a floral design company together called. Rose is coming. Like Vicioso, friends have a connection to flowers in their Latin American culture. They met Vicioso at the flower factory and were very happy when they found his workshop.

“This is a great way to connect with other people,” said Vazquez.

Alvarado agrees, adding: “You get to know people without going to bars. You can connect in different ways when there’s work.”

Vazquez uses flowers to stay connected to her Mexican heritage, adding that she prefers to support Mexican merchants. In recent months, downtown LA’s flower market has worked hard to recover ongoing ICE raids. “Some are afraid to come back,” said Vazquez.

Hand-rolled cannabis joints wrapped in rose petals are presented on a silver platter at The ArtClub (above, right). The Flower Hour aims to restore the medicinal traditions of cannabis and flowers.

Another participant, Barbara Rios, was drawn to the stress relief workshop. “You can spend time with your friends, but it’s nice to do things with your hands,” he says. “I work hard, and it’s nice to have that third space that we all crave.”

On this February night, the participants were mostly women, except for one man. In the future, Vicioso hopes that more men learn to interact with flowers. “There are numbers of men who receive flowers for the first time at their funerals, and I think we have changed that,” he said.

To conclude the workshop, Vicioso encourages participants to create lasting friendships and incorporate flower arranging into their daily routines – even if it’s just a small, inexpensive bouquet.

He says: “Collect flowers, go to the park, sit with me,” he says. Participants leave with decorated flowers. In the darkness of the night air, it briefly appears as if the women are carrying blooming silver lilies in their palms.