Michelle & Desiree Launch Search for New White House Flower Czar

Note 11/3/09: Read also Laura Dowling Brings French Flower Style to the Obama White House

Who knew we have a ‘flower czar’ at the White House. It makes sense, of course.

Susana Raab for The Wall Street JournalThe WSJ shares a feature on Nancy Clarke, the longtime chief florist who plans to retire May 29, but not before she shares fresh insights into First Lady Michelle Obama’s preferences in floral decorating.

We learn in this delightful read:

• flower arranging is more modern and youthful under Michelle’s eye

• FLOTUS likes a lot of dogwood branches and also white orchids

• glass cylinders of hot pink tulips and purple anemones were placed in Sasha’s and Malia’s room upon arrival

• long-lasting ferns, grown in a nearby National Park Service greenhouse, are used to cut expenses

Choosing a New Flower Czar reviews the flower preferences of prior first ladies and presidents, too.

As we might expect, there’s already debate about Michelle’s desire to “shake things up a bit” at the White House. The traditionalists and the modernists both weight in about the future of flowers in FLOTUS house. A