OSCARS: Flower Power for Halle Berry

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday February 25, 2002 01:00 AM EST

When Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Will Smith and all the other VIPs stroll into the Governor's Ball immediately following the March 24 Academy Awards ceremony, they will be greeted by orchids and more orchids -- 10,000 to be exact, reports PEOPLE. This year marks the ninth consecutive year that Mark Held, co-owner of Mark's Garden in Sherman Oaks, Calif., will festoon the party with his floral creations. "We try to do something really different every year," says Held, who handled the flowers for Jennifer Lopez's wedding. For the Oscars, "This year we're doing all orchids. People really just love orchids. They're a little bit rare and the colors we're using -- mahogany, gold and acid green -- are very hot right now." At the moment, the blossoms are being forced to grow in greenhouses in Holland before they will be flown to the party facility near Hollywood's new Kodak Theater about five days before the ceremony. Held and his staff will get to work a couple of days later working them into five different centerpieces crafted from specially commissioned metal containers. "It's a new venue and we wanted something that makes a strong statement," explains Held. "The design of the space is clean, somewhat retro, but contemporary at the same time. Using a single flower makes an architectural statement." And if Nicole or Halle or Will get the urge to cart them away after the party, they'll have to think twice. "Some of the arrangements reach eight feet into the air," says Held. "I don't think anybody's going to be taking these home, although I would love them to take the flowers themselves and enjoy them. I'd hate to see them go to waste."