Florals : Seeds of Imagination

(CBS)  The official start of summer is a few days away and some homes may still have the feel of a winter habitat.

Artist and party planner David Stark visited The Early Show Tuesday to discuss his book, "Wild Flowers," which he says has some easy ideas to spruce up homes.

Stark says the book has creative floral ideas that any reader could make at home. It also shows basic ways to showcase flower arrangements in containers other than vases.

Stark says his book has detailed explanation on how to construct the floral ideas, as well as lists of the tools and materials needed to complete any of its projects.

Stark says a decade ago, he and Avi Adler were asked to lend their artists' eyes to create the décor for a charity event. Since then, the two artists have been responsible for creating some memorable event environments in New York.

Read an excerpt:

Imagine...

We fell into the floral realm by accident- two struggling artists looking for a way to support their painting. Ten years and countless roses (and thorns) later, we've found ourselves with a foot in both worlds - event planners who approach floral design like an art installation, and painters whose pigments are flowers and plants.

If we had to name the one quality that has allowed our design firm to flourish, it's the delight we take in finding inspiration in the most unlikely places, and creating beauty with what others might deem ordinary or even tacky. Take the lowly carnation, for instance. This inexpensive, sturdy flower comes in lots of colors, has gorgeous, ruffled petals, and makes a dense, vibrant arrangement. Yet despite these virtues, until recently, if a florist even suggested using carnations, a little gasp of horror would follow.

We, too, were once flower snobs, until we imagined a world where large, buoyant orbs of carnations, adorned with bright happy polka dots could float in an azure swimming pool like rubber duckies or roll across a summer lawn. All flowers are intrinsically beautiful - it's only how certain flowers are used that gives them a bad rap.

Wild Flowers is about making cool stuff with flowers and looking at the regular world around you to find the inspiration and the materials to make these cool things. It may not be easy (and you may even want to resist!), but in the pages of our book, we intend to help you un-learn all your flowers prejudices. From transforming a common drinking glass into the most glam vase to creating a happy snowman out of, yes, carnations, we hope Wild Flowers will plant the notion that flowers can create many amazing things beyond bouquets. Feather boas, children's toys, a walk through the hardware store, a trip to the greengrocer, a rummage through the attic, even gazing at the sky - inspiration and materials for making something fabulous are everywhere.

The foregoing is excerpted from Wild Flowers. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission.