gift idea

The holidays are around the corner....here is a gift idea for a kind hostess, teacher or girlfriend.

www.vivaterra.com is offering kumquat topiaries in their virtual Christmas boutique.

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Wintour Garden

At the helm of Vogue Magazine, Anna Wintour is renown for her flawless taste. With little surprise, her style at home is equally matched. The World of Interiors flaunts footage of her fabulous indoor garden room. I love the simplicity of the design. The "seasonally independent" room allows the occupier to satiate their connection with nature with relative ease. White walls, potted plants, rustic furniture and sunlight are the main elements that make this garden room so successful. This winter, rely on her palette to create your own glamorous enclave and ditch those winter blues.

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Garden & Gun

Last year, I stumbled upon Garden & Gun Magazine and signed up for it's email newsletters immediatley. It just oozes with Southern charm. The feature stories, recipes and garden highlights are welcome visitors in my inbox. Visit them at www.gardenandgun.com

Field Trip

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA would be my dream field trip for this Thanksgiving weekend. I have never been, but recently read an interesting article in Landscape Architecture Magazine about the planted walls of monkey grass in one of of the pavilions. Check out their website at www.longwoodgardens.org to be equally impressed by their photos and upcoming events. The upcoming Bruce Munro light installation looks fantastic.

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mish

Ages ago, I worked in the sculpture department at Sotheby's in NYC. During my stint, I became familiar with the talented alumni of the company. These were noted graduates that had tested their entrepreneurial skills and started business for themselves. Among them was the now revered jeweler MISH.

Recently, he open a salon in NOHO to display the tentacles of his swelling business. I love the reception room wall, a hand painted wood veneer by Uriu Studios. In the heart of the city, you can be at one with nature.

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exchange of wows

With all the buzz over Miami's Art Basel I began to think of the great architectural jewels in South Beach. My fav is the Herzog & de Meuron parking garage and retail complex. It is just so stunning that many choose to get married on site.
Visit www.1111lincolnroad.com to see it's clever marriage of in and outdoor space.


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Ryoan-jeans

Calypso's new location on New York City's Upper East Side affords the retailer exponentially more square footage than their previous Madison Avenue digs. Silk and denim garments are displayed in a bohemian-style laze that cocoon a lounge area to tame restless male shopping companions. In my opinion, the best feature to this new and generous footprint was the hidden courtyard tucked off the boutique's backside.


Mirrors, a clutch of garden stools and ornamental furnishings were thoughtfully arranged within a room draped with a white blousey shell. Locked behind double glass doors, the courtyard reminded me of Ryoan-ji, a famous Japanese viewing garden that is meant to be enjoyed from points beyond the physical site.
It is such a thumb to Manhattan's economy of space, I think the Calypso courtyard is sheer brilliance.

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Planting

I consider Terence Conran's Planting to be the visual bible of garden design. I’ll bring it to sites and it is swooned over because of the fabulous photo montages and truly original planting concepts. Emanating from Europe, it’s content has been largely unpublished in the United States which makes it just so covetable. In my opinion, this is the most luxurious plant manual, offering fabulous inspiration conveyed through its generous scale and insane photos. It leaves Dirr in the dust.

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Natural Selection

John Houshmand is a fabulous furniture designer who relies on nature to coax his creations. Wood, glass, metal and acrylic are the materials he draws from to create truly interesting household artifacts. My fav is this smooth poured aluminum tabletop supported by rough wood stilts. Visit www.johnhoushmand.com for his full portfolio of perfection.

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Cheap Thrills

The L'Occitane boutique on New York City's Upper East Side is a sweet escape from the stringent big box stockists. Their products bring instant levity to any "Groundhog Day" morning routine.
The Sun Verbena Protective Lotion SPF 15 is perfect for the Fall and Winter months and a great gift idea for the outdoor enthusiast. It has a smudge of protection and scent that not even Egyptian Magic can rival and it's braille inspired packaging can be found with just one eye open.

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timber wave

Amanda Levete Architects has been commissioned to design a temporary installation at the entrance of the V&A Museum in London. "Timber Wave", features a three-dimensional, latticed, oak spiral that stands an awesome three storeys tall. My fav part of the piece is how it was designed to spill down the Museum's front stairs to wrestle with and entice the pedestrian population. Check out her website to see what else she has up her sleeve.

www.amandalevetearchitects.com

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dine and dash

James De Wulf has designed the most sophisticated indoor/outdoor dining table on the market. Poured from concrete, the sleek table offers ample seating for entertaining family and friends. My fav part of the design is that it morphs into a regulation size ping pong table once dessert has been devoured. Now, that's a concrete idea for a party.

www.dwconcrete.com

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Private Gardens of Connecticut

Resplendent residential grounds within hands grasp! I love Private Gardens of Connecticut for our plant zone practicality and high purchasing capability. With a gentle mix of photo and text, Garmey spans multiple genres of gardens to appeal to vast tastes. The splashy expose of Oscar de la Renta’s pristine pool scenes and episodic double pear tree allee is sure to give pause to any green thumb leafing through its pages.

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Regal Grounds

I love the urban sophistication of New York City's Palace Hotel. Similar to noted and nearby Paley Park, both are small pocket parks that serve as welcome mats to the mass of surrounding architecture. The colossal iron gates that protect the site are fabulous and the little lantern hanging above the entrance works well to adjust the scale for the occupier of the space. It's green touches of evergreen urn offerings are welcome additions to the concrete dominated landscape and the simple site furnishings work well to appropriately complement the visitor. An intimate respite from the city beyond, I think it's genius.








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www.glampinggirl.com

If campfires, canoes and kumbaya are quickly displaced by marred memories of mosquito bites, iodine tablets and polar bear dips- its time to rethink camping. Glamping Girl is a website geared toward elevating the camping experience. Check out the properties in Italy and France. Suddenly, you might warm up to the idea of tackling the great outdoors.




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Foundation Plantings

Strong coniferous foundation plantings are an essential element in any garden's successful design. Considered the skeletal system of the proprerty, these plantings are responsible for carrying and accentuating the appearance of deciduous trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals through each season. I found this sketch on www.vulgare.net. It reminded me of this concept. Once a sturdy foundation has been established, the options to build off of it are endless.

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Pamplemousse Design

Pamplemousse Design has a nifty website brimming with truly enviable interiors. Just about every photo features a gorgeous bouquet, arrangement or my personal fav, a fig tree. Peonies, lilies, hydrangea and hyacinth appear with greatest frequency.

Now is the season to plant bulbs, think about what flowers you prefer to display in your home and plant accordingly. www.Pamplemoussedesign.com

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