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See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes

The hotel's in-house florists are responsible for the flowers in its lobby, restaurants, and guest rooms

By: THURSD. | 12-08-2021 | 2 min read
Floral Designs Travel
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Unlike most hotels, the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia has an in-house team of florists, led by celebrity floral designer Jeff Leatham.

Extravagant Floral Displays at the Four Seasons Hotel

The team creates new arrangements for the hotel's lobby and restaurants each month, as well as for events and for guest rooms by special order. It's an unusual, behind-the-scenes role — most florists work in retail stores or are hired for events on a freelance basis. In fact, the hotel's team still brings in freelance help for big projects.

See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham
All images by TIM TAI / Four Seasons Staff Photographer

Assistant florist Jeffrey Moore (left) and freelance floral designer Renato Cornacine update the display with Vanda orchids. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham From left, freelance floral designers Kay Ortiz and Renato Cornacine and assistant florist Jeffrey Moore take down the previous month's floral installation in the 60th-floor lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City on Saturday, May 29, 2021. The hotel's floral team brings in additional staff when needed for bigger projects. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham Assistant florist Clifton Cortez cleans the pedestals for vases before the team installs a new floral display in the lobby. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Floral Displays Freelance floral designers Renato Cornacine (left) and Kay Ortiz stand in a service elevator amid several carts of Grammatophyllum orchids for the new lobby installation. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Floral Displays Freelance floral designer Kay Ortiz wheels a cart of flowers from the previous month's lobby installation through a service hallway. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Floral Displays Assistant florist Clifton Cortez removes a plastic protective covering from Grammatophyllum orchids as the team installs them. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Floral Displays Grammatophyllum orchid flowers from Hawaii are part of a new display. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Hotel Room Flowers Floral supervisor Jennifer Torpie (left) and floral director Eduardo Verdi place roses into the bathtub of the suite. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Hotel Room Flowers Floral director Eduardo Verdi places a peony next to roses in the bathtub of the suite. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Hotel Room Flowers Floral director Eduardo Verdi handles a rose while preparing a special "VIP floral experience" ordered by a guest who booked a suite at the hotel. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham Floral director Eduardo Verdi handles a rose while preparing a special arrangement in the suite. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham From left, freelance floral designer Kay Ortiz, floral director Eduardo Verdi, assistant florist Jeffrey Moore, freelance floral designer Renato Cornacine, and assistant florist Clifton Cortez place Grammatophyllum orchids into vases as they update the lobby installation. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Jeff Leatham Assistant florist Jeffrey Moore (top) places a vase of Grammatophyllum orchids atop a pedestal. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Extravagant Floral Arrangements From left, freelance floral designer Kay Ortiz, assistant florist Jeffrey Moore, and freelance floral designer Renato Cornacine work in a storage room to clean vases and prepare Vanda orchids to be brought to the 60th-floor lobby. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Vanda Orchids A Vanda orchid cultivar — named after celebrity floral designer Jeff Leatham, who leads the hotel's floral team — is part of the newly updated lobby installation. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Extravagant Floral Arrangements Freelance floral designer Renato Cornacine places Vanda orchids into a vase. See How the Four Seasons' Floral Team Works Behind the Scenes Extravagant Floral Arrangements Guests walk past part of the newly updated floral installation in the 60th-floor lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel.

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