19 Ways to Decorate With Faux Flowers for Your Wedding and Save *BIG* Time

Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch is 50 acres with millions of vibrant flowers in a rainbow of colors. Head to the fields through May 31 for more than just flowers. There are live music events, creative workshops like Flower Flow Yoga, Charcuterie Workshop, a flower crown-making workshop, a sweet pea maze, tractor rides, picnics, wine tastings, meditation, tea in the garden, food trucks, and more.

Plan to stay the day and bring home beautiful flowers and/or inspo for your own garden. Carlsbad itself is a stunning coastal escape, with seven miles of pristine SoCal beaches, amazing restaurants, and hotels + spas (girls trip, anyone?). Choose your fun of choice: surfing, biking, hiking, sunbathing, or massaging. From a floral-infused spa treatment or sipping on a botanical cocktail, the sleepy town of Carlsbad is actually the perfect year-round getaway.

Where To Stay

It was my daughter’s spring break, so after some fun in LA checking out the Tar Pits, California Science Center, Griffith Park, and more, we headed down to Carlsbad for the Flower Fields, Legoland, and a visit with family. We spent a night at the Westin Carlsbad Resort and Spa, a vast resort with fire pits, a spacious pool and jacuzzi so you’re not piling on top of other guests, ping pong and pool table poolside, and a cozy brunch-friendly restaurant.

Bonus: if you’re traveling with kids, the Westin offers a private entrance right into the Legoland Park. We had stayed at the Legoland Hotel before, which is fun for kids but not my ideal stay. The Westin was fun for me, my partner, my 9 year old daughter, and our dog!

In celebration of flower field season, the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa nearby has a Petals, Candles & Craft Workshop and a Power of Flowers kids program each Sunday; plus floral-inspired bites at the resort’s Test Kitchen Series. The Cape Rey Carlsbad Beach, a Hilton Resort & Spa also offers a seasonal Red Flower Fields Scrub & Massage at its spa and Floral Infusions cocktails at their bar.

The Beach Terrace also offers a Bloom Bliss Package, which includes accommodations, two tickets to The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, farm-to-bakery cookies from a local baker, and a donation to The Flower Fields Foundation.

Where To Eat

Outside of the Flower Fields and resorts, there are some amazing restaurants and cafes in Carlsbad too. We especially enjoyed Harumama Noodles + Buns, which creates adorable animal-themed sticky buns. All of the food was delicious for kids and adults! Other places to try: Jeune et Jolie, a beautiful French spot with SoCal influence, Campfire for comfort food and creative cocktails in an outdoor setting, and Handel's or Jeni's for homemade ice cream.

For Parents

My 9 year old daughter loves Legoland and this was our third time going. Beyond the build sessions and incredible Lego sculptures of our favorite cities, we did a few new things, like saw a fun extreme sports performance, a boat ride in their new dino exhibit, and a submarine ride with an aquarium of sharks, sting rays, and more.

More Flower Fields In The U.S. To See

Purple Haze Lavender Farm

Purple Haze Lavender is a 7-acre farm located in Sequim-Dungeness Valley of the northern Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. The town was rated one of the best small towns in the northwest by Sunset Magazine. The farm has a gift shop, ice cream stand with lavender ice cream and lavender lemonade (yum!), picnic area and you can pick the lavender from mid-June through early August.

PELINDABA LAVENDER FARM on the San Juan Islands is also worth a visit.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Nothing says spring more than the arrival of the tulip. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon, Washington offers four stunning tulip gardens. Find breweries and wineries nearby, museums, tea houses, and more nearby. Here are some recommended stays in the area.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

This family farm in Woodburn, OR has been growing tulips since the 70s. Visit now through the first week of May. Find fresh cut flowers, gift shop items, and all sorts of food and activities on weekends.

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival

This festival celebrates the wildflowers blooming in one of the most picturesque valleys in Colorado. It goes all summer long with hundreds of events and program. The festival takes place July 12-21.

Bluebonnets superbloom

You can find bluebonnets growing all over Texas this season, but one of the best places to spot the state flower is at The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at University of Texas, Austin. Explore nearly 900 different species of plants, including a great view of beautiful bluebonnets.

1. Before starting, ideate about the final floral arrangement.

Before buying flowers, think about what you want the final product to look like. Is your ideal floral arrangement big and luscious, or is it bare and playful? Consider the shape, color, and size of your arrangement to create a plan of what flowers and materials to buy! We love to scroll through our socials and Pinterest for the best ideas!

2. Have a range of different flowers.

At the most basic level, floral arrangements make use of several different types of florals: focal flowers, line flowers, and filler flowers.

Focal flowers are larger and hold more visual weight. These are the flowers with eye-catching factor, like lilies or roses. Line flowers are a bit thinner, with blooms growing along the stems — think snapdragons or other line-shaped greenery. Finally, filler flowers are smaller stemmed blooms used to balance out your floral arrangement. Zinnias, baby’s breath, or mums are just a few examples.

"Flowers with stronger stems are ideal for beginners. When you're just getting started, work with carnations, mums, roses, spray roses – basically any grocery store blooms," says Malori Maeva, CEO and Founder of Form Floral. "It'll give you an opportunity to experiment without a huge price tag and they're more forgiving than super delicate blooms like dahlia or poppies. Plus, if you can make grocery store flowers look beautiful, you're going to have no problem making more luxe flowers look beautiful."

Depending on your OG arrangement idea, you may need more of one type of flower than others. Big, lush arrangements (more focal flowers) are most suitable for special occasions and celebrations, while thinned out arrangements (more line and filler flowers) give off an artsy, experimental vibe.

Some floral combos to try out:

• Rose + Eucalyptus + Tulips
• Dahlia + Ruscus + Ranunculus
• Chrysanthemum + Fern + Cornflower

3. Use color theory.

Color theory isn’t as daunting as you may think. Essentially, you can use color theory as a tool to guide which color flowers you’re buying for your arrangement, and how to place them together.

Using monochrome colors means your arrangement will be the same color all around. You can add different hues of the same color for variety – say you’re crafting a red arrangement – then you can also incorporate some pink shades!

Analogous color palettes make use of like colors. More technically, analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. So, reds are analogous to oranges, and greens are analogous to blue shades. A good way to think about it for beginners is to either work with a warm or cool color palette.

Complementary colors lie directly opposite from each other on the color wheel. Some pairings include red and green, yellow and purple, and blue and orange.These combos are known for their boldness, so move forward with complimentary colors if you’re looking for a jaw-dropping arrangement!

Considering saturation (strength of the color) and contrast (lightness vs. darkness) is also helpful in building an arrangement.

Though design rules like color theory are helpful in floral arranging, sometimes the best way to learn the art is by getting your hands dirty, says Maeva. "Play around with different heights, shapes, textures, and color palettes. So much of floral design is figuring out your personal style, and the only way to make good work is to make some not-so-good work first."

4. Start small.

Begin filling your arrangement with line and filler flowers, and small greenery you’ve collected before adding bigger focal flowers. This provides a good foundation for where you want the arrangement to go. Remember, nothing is permanent, and you can experiment with different placements before you’re finished making your floral arrangement!

5. Play with layering.

Layering flowers refers to the height each bloom is placed. Instead of having every focal flower stand at the same height, you can layer them by trimming the stems at varying lengths, so they lie closer to the lip of the vase you’re using. This adds visual interest and diversity to your floral arrangement! When layering, aim to get a feel for the natural shape of each stem and flower, and cooperate with that.

6. After you're done, be sure to take care of your floral arrangement.

Now that you’ve assembled quite possibly the best beginner floral arrangement, make sure you’re caring for it so it lasts! Checking the water levels each day and topping your vase off when it’s low helps your flowers live longer. Adding flower food is better supports them, too!

"Those little packets of flower food that come with your blooms? Use them! The directions are easy to follow and you'll want to make sure you get the right ratio of food to water for most longevity," says Maeva. "If you don't have flower food, don't fret. Changing the water in your vase every day, keeping your flowers in a cool spot out of direct sunlight and away from any air vents, and giving your stems a fresh cut when you change the water out will go a really long way in keeping your flowers fresher for longer."

If you catch your flowers looking a bit dull, trimming the ends of their stems every few days with shears allows them to drink up the nutrients and water more effectively. Once your arrangement is on the way out, repurpose the petals to make some gorgeous flower DIY projects!

From the jump, we finally found out why Dr. McKay has an ankle bracelet — she's in a custody battle and was deemed flight risk. This explains so much about the tension with the "Bonus Mom" girlfriend, Dr. McKay's ex-husband, and her son. We don't know why the split and custody battle are so contemptuous, but at least it explains why someone with an ankle monitor is able to work in the medical field. It was always obvious Dr. McKay was a good doctor, but this little detail definitely confused me for the whole season.

I'm glad the police decided to let her go after tampering with the monitor — ya know, so she could save lives after a literal mass shooting.

This Dr. Langdon situation continues to get murky. He chose to confide in Dana which wasn’t necessarily unexpected, but it was interesting. It's clear he was desperately searching for allies to confirm that he's not actually an addict...whether he's looking to confirm that to himself or to Dr. Robbie is another story.

It seems like Dr. Langdon really believes he was just "weening" himself off of the pain medication like a doctor would, but it doesn't seem like anyone else is really buying that. When Dana tells him that Dr. Robbie will do what's best, it really shows how much the entire staff trusts his leadership, but also how questionable Dr. Langdon's choices really may be.

While we already know David isn’t the shooter from the festival, it's clear that Dr. McKay still finds him a bigger threat than just a depressed high schooler. He may not have deserved the intensity from the police at first, but I think the subsequent persistence for preventative mental health treatment is brilliant. This all feels especially timely given the “manosphere” and the rise of toxic masculinity in young men right now.

Totally love how they approached this, and I hope season 2 gives us a glimpse into a follow-up here.

When Dr. Langdon and Dr. Robbie finally had their confrontation about the drug use, I was genuinely shocked by Langdon's behavior. Dr. Robbie offered an out that made sense — NA meetings, random drug testing, etc — without requiring Dr. Langon to lose his job (or medical license). Instead of taking that graciously, Dr. Langdon acted out and used Dr. Robbie's panic attack very obviously caused by PTSD against him. This low blow was incredibly addict behavior-coded, and he really only proved that he's not fit to practice.

After a pretty tumultuous season for her, Dr. Santos definitely proved her bedside manner is so much better by the end! Her cutthroat mentality, rash decision-making, and blunt demeanor clearly wasn't serving her — or her patients — at the beginning of her first shift. Not only did it upset everyone around her, but it lead to some patient complications that honestly could have been avoided.

Now, by the end of her first 15 hours of her Emergency Medicine rotation, it's clear that Santos embraced a thoroughness and thoughtfulness that ultimately lead her to save a man from future self-harm. So proud of her growth!

(And I can't wait to see what roommate Santos and Whittaker are like in season 2!)

Throughout the episode, the residual blood prints on the floor highlighted the ever-present tragedy the ER just faced in only a few hours. It's such a good, small, specific detail that shows how the doctors, nurses, and overall hospital staff have to continue on in the face of their own trauma, saving more and more lives as the clock ticks on.

These details make Dr. Robbie’s speech all the more poignant. He said, “None of us are gonna forget today — even if we really, really want to.” And while that's exemplary of how people experience trauma in real life, but it also clearly exhibits his character’s direct experience with the trauma of COVID and the loss of his friend and mentor.

With that in mind, it's fitting that Dr. Robbie and Dr. Abbott share an emotional moment the roof after meeting each other there in the first episode. The men discuss the hardship of this role, questioning why they keep coming back day after day to such a heavy job.

Meanwhile, the ER waiting room starts quickly filling up all over again, further highlighting the continuous fatigue and mental health hardships each doctor and medical professional faces throughout their shifts – and their entire careers.

At the end of the day, when all the doctors cheers to the work, the patients saved, and the patients lost, it felt like Nick Caraway's last quote from The Great Gatsby:

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Remaining Takeaways:

• Dr. Whitaker not being able to afford a place to live or a car as a literal doctor shows how messed up it is that we can’t pay a livable wage to the people literally saving lives day in and day out — even when they’re students, interns, or otherwise.
• Poor Dr. King's caregiver fatigue. I hope she’s okay because she's definitely gonna burnout operating at the level she is — high metabolism or not.
• The rats coming back is honestly hilarious.
• Dr. Abbott worked so hard all day with that prosthetic and didn't let a single person or patient feel bad about it. A consummate caregiver.
• Dana won’t come back — she’ll be the medical professional to break the cycle of putting themselves in this day-in and day-out.
• We still don't know what's going on with Dr. Collins — I hope she's okay!

Is episode 15 of 'The Pitt' the season finale?

Yes, episode 15 of The Pitt is the season 1 finale!

How long is the last episode of 'The Pitt'?

The last episode of The Pitt (episode 15) is 60 minutes long.

Is there a season 2 for 'The Pitt'?

Thankfully, Max confirmed that The Pitt season 2 is definitely coming! And the best part? We're supposed to get the second season by January 2026 — Yay!

Is 'The Pitt' based on a real hospital?

No, The Pitt isn't based on a real hospital.