My First Ladies

Written by Nancy Clarke who lead the team that provided flowers for the White House during the Presidencies of Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush 2 and the beginning of Obama`s Presidency, this is an easy to read, delightful portrait of the people she worked for and the places that she helped to make so special for them and their guests. It is an aspect of the Presidency that is well worth telling although really she only dealt with the First Ladies in any real sense, she is an intuitive and honest lady who tells with an amazing gift for floral design and she obviously had the stamina of a horse as this was no 9-5 job expect on paper. The book is beautifully illustrated and anyone who has the slightest interest in floral design and flower arranging will be captivated and actually even if like me you have no interest at all in how the flowers get to look as they do, it will delight you.It really is an intricate look into the White House and its beautiful rooms and while most of us will never be decorating to quite the same scale, you can pick up plenty of tips and ideas and most of her and her teams designs etc could be downscaled to suit anyones needs, that is the hidden beauty of this book. The Bush family were particularly generous in sharing a daughter and granddaughter's Wedding Table designs, they would work for all.
Available for $45 in hardback from the U.S., this would make an amazing Xmas or Birthday gift, just looking at the pictures lifts your spirits!