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Florist fills a tall order: Bush's inauguration

It's one more high-profile event for a resume that includes presidents and princesses.

By SHERRI DAY
Published January 14, 2005

PALMA CEIA - Ian Prosser is anticipating every step President Bush and the first lady will take on Inauguration Day. But he's no Secret Service agent, party operative or partisan stalker.

As the inauguration's floral design chairman, he's supposed to make sure that more than 250,000 flowers sit just so atop tables and stages at more than a dozen state dinners, inaugural balls and the star-studded presidential gala.

His biggest challenge? To motivate a 200-person volunteer design team to create more than 3,500 floral arrangements.

"I'm not panicked," Prosser, 47, said last week, just hours before he boarded a plane to Washington, D.C., for a design consultation. "But now you start to realize the magnitude of what's about to take place. It's a nice challenge."

Prosser expects to spend 11 days in Washington, working 18-hour stretches for no pay.

The Society of American Florists, a trade association of florists and growers that has provided Inauguration Day flowers since the Kennedy administration, plucked Prosser in December to lead this year's efforts. First, Prosser bested more than 200,000 florists to earn a spot on the inauguration's floral design team, an honor he earned twice before. In 1993, he worked on President Bill Clinton's inauguration. Eight years later, he helped coordinate President Bush's presidential bashes.

Jennifer Sparks, vice president of marketing for the Society of American Florists, said Prosser stood out when he shepherded floral designs for two of the organization's annual conventions.

"Through those projects he certainly proved his organizational skills and his ability to motivate people," Sparks said. "He's a fabulous designer on top of it. And what makes him unique is he has a great sense of humor. He really brings all of the key ingredients that you look for in someone to be able to take on a project of this magnitude."

Prosser's road to the White House began in his native Wishaw, Scotland, an industrial town southwest of Glasgow. He credits his father, an avid gardener, with planting seeds for his lifelong affair with flowers.

Although he contemplated a career in fashion design, Prosser thought his affinity for color and style could also make him a good florist. He entered Woodburn Horticultural College in 1973, at age 16, simultaneously working as a florist's apprentice for the equivalent of about $13 a week.

Even early in his career, Prosser was answering history's call. He was part of a team of florists who created arrangements for Mao Tse-tung's 1976 funeral. A year later, Prosser was named Scotland's floral designer of the year. He was 19, the youngest person to receive the award.

It wasn't long before Prosser opened three floral shops in and around Glasgow. His clients included event halls that catered to the Scottish and British elite. As such, his flowers graced the tables, wrists and attire of nearly every notable female member of Britain's Royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Princess Anne and Princess Margaret, Prosser said.

Working with high-society types gave Prosser certifiable buzz. But balancing high-profile events with weddings and other floral requests left him little time to spend with his young family. His wife's parents spoke of better living in the United States.

Prosser soon followed their path, bringing his wife and two young daughters to Palma Ceia in the fall of 1985. He indulged his passion for flowers, working for three years at the now-defunct Bachelor Button shop on Bay to Bay Boulevard. In 1989, he opened Botanica International Florist shop and began to solidify his presence as one of the Tampa Bay area's premier florists.

Prosser has earned several certifications and commendations from U.S. floral associations. He is a frequent lecturer at floral design workshops around the country and has also taught in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Always in demand, he repeatedly rejects requests to work at the Rose Bowl Parade. He prefers to spend the holidays with his family. Just last week, he helped the florists at his Boca Grande shop assemble an arrangement for former first lady Barbara Bush.

But Prosser is modest about his accomplishments. His wife created a press release for him when he landed a spot on President Clinton's inauguration design team in 1993. He wasn't sure if he should tell.

"He's actually kind of shy in a lot of ways, but people don't really think he is because he yaps constantly," Fiona Prosser said. "He is definitely not a prima donna. I know when he's up there, he'll probably be helping people out doing things that he's not supposed to be. He's not going to swan around. He'll get in there and get it done."

Although visions of presidential pink and red arrangements of tulips, roses, hydrangeas, orchids and carnations fill Prosser's head, he's also thinking about responsibilities back home. Longtime customers are already bringing in Gasparilla wreaths in need of freshening. And the summer wedding season will soon consume him. (His blue eyes sparkle at the thought of presenting blushing brides with their wedding bouquets.)

Prosser's wife would like him to slow down a bit, to literally smell the roses. But he doesn't plan to end his love affair with flowers any time soon.

"I'll probably die with a flower in my hand and a design knife," Prosser said. "I feel the same passion for what I do today as I did 30 years ago. Every morning is like Christmas morning when you get boxes of fresh flowers. It's an addiction is what it is."

Sherri Day can be reached at 813-226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

AGE: 47

OCCUPATION: Florist; owner of Botanica International Florist, Tampa

CLAIM TO FAME: floral design chairperson for President Bush's inaugural balls and state dinners

BORN: Wishaw, Scotland

LIVES: Palma Ceia

FAMILY: Wife, Fiona; two grown daughters and one teenage son

BIGGEST INDULGENCE: Spoiling his two grandsons

FAVORITE FLOWER: The anemone reminds him of childhood. "I just have to have them," he says.

DREAM JOB: He would love to create floral arrangements for the Academy Awards.

[Last modified January 13, 2005, 10:13:09]