la granada

I'm crazy for this extraordinary pomegranate by David Wiseman

 and there's a great article about his installation work in T

jungle room

in love with this image-work by the brothers Geoffrey and Bevis Bawa:

via Garden Design

la belle bell

what sweet bells from Mt. Washington Pottery.  They'd make really special gifts.

Design star

Legendary LA-based landscape architect Jay Griffith is one of my heroes.  He is a true artist and philanthropist, as the founder of the annual Venice Garden Tour.

This iron door elevates the architecture and landscape of this space, and the limited palette of plants and materials is so effective.  It looks like a Richard Serra piece just landed from space into the middle of this property!

I love his use of vessels (an obsession of mine) and color-blocking, both in architectural and botanical elements.  The restrained simplicity of his choices makes the play of natural light and shadow almost a design feature.

Images at here, here and here

Brooklyn Garden

One of the places I miss most in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn is GRDN, a lovely little floral/garden/home shop in Boerum Hill.  I didn't have a garden, but I did avail myself of some very pretty pots for my windowsill with some pretty saturated Coleus plants.  What I miss most was how oxygenated I felt upon entering the store! Check it out:

(Images via GRDN's Facebook page)

more treehouse love

To satisfy my childhood Swiss Family Robinson fantasies--these images of Pete Nelson's Saltspring Treehouse (which I believe is in British Columbia) are from the charming Treehouse Book:

get in the kitchen

Although I feel a little itchy at the word "houseplant", I think a bit of green can always make a room feel good.  Finding the perfect thing can be tricky if you don't get direct light, as is the case with my kitchen sink window.  I would've loved a pot or two of mint, but with no sun, herbs are out.   But I think I finally have a winner--Fern Moss--as you see below.  Indirect sun, nice bright (happy!) green foliage, and non-toxic to pets (my cats often feel the need to taste plants or flowers I bring home).   What do you think?

treehouse hotels

For the adventurous traveler who never grew out of wanting a treehouse:

Option 1 (treehouse lite): Wandawega Lake Resort, Wisconsin-built around a tree! I love this.

Option 2 (hardcore treehouse): Hang Nga Guesthouse, a.k.a. "Crazyhouse", Dalat, Vietnam-built inside a tree.  A must-see.

I'm a sucker for an olive grove

What great features on le Majorelle and Maryam Montague's Peacock Pavillions in this month's Lonny.   These images (from the PP site) are a sort of airbrushed-to-perfection version of what I saw of Marrakesh when I was there years ago.  I would love to go back and stay here; so much cooler than that other fancy hotel that gets so much coverage.

trade tricks

Latest version of perfect potting soil mix:

-native soil (in most of Southern Cal it's decomposed granite)

-concentrated garden soil from a nursery

-worm castings

-Perlite (the tiny white bits of volcanic rock that are like tiny water reserves in the soil) 

Here's a preview shot of my current project (these are drought resistant natives). More pics to come soon!

occupational hazards

On my way to plant some Parrot's Beak today, I almost stepped on a rattlesnake slithering across the concrete.  If I'm counting correctly, he (she?) looks about 12 years old...magnificent, but terrifying!  Wish we'd had the presence of mind to record video with my phone--the sound of the rattles was crazy loud.

porch peace

I'm working on a front porch project and thinking lots about outdoor "rooms".  Wicker furniture has a special place in my heart, and it can really help a space feel cozy...

1 2

3 4

   

567

with air plants on marble dishes on a side table:

8 9

10

1, 4: Pier 1
2, 3: Calypso Home
5, 6, 7: Global Pottery
8, 9: John Robshaw
10: West Elm

sacred space

Two UK artists transformed the inside of this old church with clay and grass seeds.  So gorgeous.

via Inhabitat

Red Garden at the LongHouse

Images of textile designer/arts advocate Jack Lenor Larsen's Red Garden at his wonderful LongHouse Reserve.

Top image from Phaidon's The Garden Book, Bottom image from longhouse.org

a little Klimt-spiration

There are some gorgeous dainty gold pots at Treillage that look so Gustav Klimt.   I'd love to put these on a front porch with a couple of Arcosanti bells and a beautiful dwarf tree in the background.

1

 2 3 

 

4, 5    6

1, 2, 3 at Treillage

4&5 at Cosanti

6 pot at Crate and Barrel