If you’ve caught any episodes of Bloodline, the thrilling family drama on Netflix starring Kyle Chandler and Sissy Spacek, you’ve likely experienced a little real estate envy. (It’s only natural: in reality, the Rayburn family’s house is The Moorings Village and Spa, a luxury resort that rents rooms for up to $3,000 a night!)
If you’re a fan and a florist, you probably noticed that the Rayburns have a penchant for flowers. We recently stumbled upon the florist behind the designs seen on the screen. Meet Darenda Darnell-Garbarz, AAF, AIFD, FSMD, owner of Designs by Darenda in Homestead, Florida, and read about her fun gig.
F20: How did this job come about?
DD: Bloodline has a lot of sets here in Homestead, which is at the end of the Florida peninsula, about the last stop before you drive onto the Keys. Back in 2014, the set designers were scouting out florists. They did a lot of online research, looking for someone with extensive experience.
They showed up at the shop and said they were shooting a Netflix show in the area and were going to need flowers for different scenes–would I be interested? It was a definite yes.
F20: What direction do they give you?
DD: We do a lot of stuff in the Rayburn house, where Sissy Spacek’s character lives. The floral designs there have to look effortless, as though she put them together herself. Sometimes we deliver a completed design as well as loose stems and Sissy does go through the motions of putting it together.
The show is set in Islamorada, so everything has to have a tropical vibe. We use lots of birds of paradise, gingers, proteas, orchids and tropical leaves. There’s nothing too traditional.
Another time, in season 1, there was a hospital scene and we had to fill an entire room with flowers. It was a challenge, but so cool to see our designs on the screen.
F20: Any quirks of designing for film?
DD: You need to be able to recreate everything exactly. When they reshoot any scenes, the background needs to look identical to the way it did before. We photograph everything before we bring it over for a frame of reference. Directors can also review their stills to double check everything matches.
F20: What have been some thrills of working with Bloodline? Have you mingled with the cast?
DD: I haven’t officially met the actors, though I’ve watched them give interviews. My role really is behind the scenes. It’s been a very interesting experience, so different from our day to day orders.
I’ve loved seeing the backend of the show. It’s fascinating how they can manipulate lighting to make daytime look like night and vice versa, for instance. And the sets are so detailed! If you open the cabinets, they’re filled with stuff–dishes, spices, etc.–just like a real house would be. It really makes you think “how’d they do that?” when you watch t.v.!
It’s also been gratifying to have friends and family see what we’ve done. It tends to take a few episodes for people to get into Bloodline, but then they’re hooked. My dad binge watches when a new season comes out and loves looking for my flowers.