It might have rained on Debby O’Bryan’s parade this year, but that’s ok. She had trophies to cheer her up.

O’Bryan, a Jasper resident and the former owner of Elysion Flowers, has travelled to Pasedena, California every December to take part in one of the most prestigious and challenging events in the world of professional flower arranging – the Parade of Roses. The annual parade is part of the celebrations surrounding the Rose Bowl, a collegiate football game with a long history of pomp and circumstance.

“The Rose Bowl is a really unique opportunity for a florist,” said O’Bryan. It’s easy to see why. Floats that participate in the parade must be completely covered in plant material, and O’Bryan and others are in charge of coordinating the diverse and imaginative arrangements. This often goes beyond the items you’d find in your average birthday bouquet.

“We use things like coconut, rice, moss, bark,” O’Bryan said as she recalled the many floats she’s worked on over the years.

“It usually has to look like something — like water, or an African savannah and that’s where we come in. We’re responsible for making sure that it looks like it’s supposed to.”

The parade, which is broadcast on live television in the US, is a serious business. O’Bryan travels south shortly after Christmas every year, and while in California, she has little time to smell the ultra-expensive rare orchids, to coin a phrase.

“I usually work from nine in the morning until nine at night ... but on the last night its not unusual to work 30 to 34 hours straight. We’re up all night finishing things up.”

That is the final, frenetic, flurry of activity on floats that have been in production for almost an entire year. Designers present concepts to sponsor companies in late January and by the time O’Bryan and her ilk arrive, the floats have already been designed and built, complete with complex animation and music.

The floats often cost in the range of $200,000 to $400,000 US, according to O’Bryan.

While she’s not aware what percentage of the overall cost is devoted to flowers, O’Bryan is able to cite some staggering numbers in terms of cost.

“They may use 40,000 to 60,000 roses on a float — it’s not an unusal amount to use,” she said. “They bring in cases of catalea orchids, which for us to buy in Canada are $25 each. It’s kind of expensive for us to even think about.”

O’Bryan was the head floral designer on three floats this year, two of which captured major trophies. She’s the first Canadian to fill such a role at the Parade of Roses, but when she first started out she was doing pro bono support work for her colleagues.

“It’s who you know,” O’Bryan said. “Other florists that I had worked with in other areas of the country invited me down.”

Now, she’s returning the favour, having brought her daughter, Jennifer Mercer, along for the trip the past two years.

O’Bryan’s mountain home sometimes comes in handy in her line of work.

“It’s often me who says things like ‘you know the moose doesn’t really have antlers like that,’ they rely on me when they have a mountain with a goat on it or something like that.”

Once all was said, done and designed this year, O’Bryan sat back and enjoyed the parade, which ran on January 2, despite the damp conditions. Asked if she stuck around to take in the football game, this year a classic battle between the University of Southern California and Texas, O’Bryan laughed.

“Are you kidding? By that point I’m tired, really tired.”

She’ll keep coming back though, and boasts a solid record of success.

“Every year I’ve brought in a trophy,” she said. “I’ve been very lucky.”

What could possibly be bigger than the Rose Bowl? Well, O’Bryan has conquered Pasedena and has set her sights on Hollywood. In the near future, she hopes to be working on the floral arrangements for the Academy Awards.