Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2018 i Flower

Flower: The Wall Street Journal called you the “very best host in the world.” That’s high praise! Tell us how you got into entertaining. Alex Hitz: It came from my mother. She was a Francophile who went off to school in Paris and fell in love with food. Nobody else in her family knew how to cook, but she came back to Atlanta (where my family is from) and brought those exacting European standards with her. She joined forces with our family cook, Dorothy, and together they produced the best food in the South. So you learned through osmosis? I’m imagining a little boy sitting on a kitchen stool or peeking through banister rails. My stepfather was the conductor for the Atlanta Symphony, so my parents constantly hosted dinners for…

WHETHER SUN-SPLASHED AND SPARKLING or moody and cloudy, Nantucket’s rolling, heath-carpeted moors, pristine white beaches, and skyline of church steeples present such a harmoniously beguiling setting that it’s almost impossible to resist its embrace. And that’s what happened to Philadelphians Laura and Bill Buck more than 20 years ago. “We sailed into the harbor on a friend’s boat en route to Maine,” Laura recalls. “We had never been there before, and I was captivated by everything, including its whaling history, rose-covered cottages, historic preservation and land conservation ethos, and arts and culture scene.” At the time, the Bucks were perfectly happy with their New Jersey shore house of 26 years—located less than two hours from Bill’s office, it allowed for midweek getaways when the impulse struck—and were not looking for…

WHEN YOU GET TO THE END of the road, keep going.” I scribble the directions on the back of a receipt, cell phone wedged against my shoulder. I am scheduled to visit Stone Hollow Farmstead in Harpersville, Alabama, the next day, and Deborah Stone, the owner, knows that GPS will steer me wrong. Sure enough, when the long country road abruptly ends, I keep driving, barreling over the red dirt. Outside the main barn, four Great Pyrenees lumber out to greet me, like friendly polar bears lost in central Alabama. Deborah and her daughter, Alexandra, come out as well, with a cat trailing behind. We are meeting to discuss Botaniko, the plant-based skin care line that the mother-daughter duo produces on the property. The farm’s 80 raised beds of flowers…

Flower Style Editor Amanda Smith Fowler has fond memories of watching old movies with her grandmother, and she was especially charmed by the vintage bathing caps worn in the films. “I have always been drawn to the over-the-top glamour of that era,” she says. “I started collecting bathing caps and soon discovered that the floral designs are my favorites. I decided they were too beautiful to be in a closet, so I had shadow boxes made to display them. They are enormous fun and a delight to see each day.”…

ASPEN, COLORADO Aspen Antiques and Fine Arts Fair July 7–15 aspenartfairs.com ATLANTA, GEORGIA ADAC in Bloom July 18 flowermag.com/adac HIGHLANDS, NORTH CAROLINA Mountains in Bloom July 20 thebascom.org SEQUIM, WASHINGTON Sequim Lavender Festival July 20–22 lavenderfestival.com FLAT ROCK, NORTH CAROLINA 50th Anniversary Tour of Historic Homes July 21 historicflatrockinc.com NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS Nantucket Summer Antiques Show August 10–13 nantucketsummerantiquesshow.com MACKINAC ISLAND, MICHIGAN The Grand Garden Show August 26–28 grandgardenshow.com BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Art, Antique & Jewelry Show August 30–September 2 baltimoresummershow.com Indicates Flower is sponsoring or attending the event. For more events, visit flowermag.com.…

HE SPOTTED HER across the room at a New York fundraiser. Her wingman (and future maid of honor) noticed and encouraged him to come meet her. She was my niece, Mary Carleton Rafield, and he was Gael Gremaud. He introduced himself by saying, “Hello, I’m Gael from Paris,” but as it was a loud venue, she heard, “Hello, I’m Bill from Paris.” That evening, and also in jest at the rehearsal dinner three years later, he was “Bill from Paris.” Carleton was teed up to respond to the tall, handsome Frenchman, having been raised traveling and studying abroad by parents with a keen appreciation for culture and beauty, a gift that she inherited in abundance. When the two decided to marry, there were some logistical and stylistic musts for the…

Prices are subject to change. Any items not listed are unknown. IN BLOOM PAGE 24, TRAVEL: Four Seasons Florence, fourseasons.com/florence. Giardino dei Semplici, msn.unifi.it/vp-389-botanical-gardens.html. Giardino Bardini, grandi giardini.it. Boboli Gardens, uffizi.it/en/boboli-garden. PAGE 26–29, BOOKS: Floral design by Garden District, 901.761. 3277, gardendistrictmemphis.com. Florists to the Field book by Christian Owen, primary photography by Sarah Bell-Sélavie Photography (Southerly, 2018), $50, southerlymedia.com. FRESH STYLE PAGES 31–35, ARRANGE: Floral design by Natalie Bowen, Natalie Bowen Designs, 415.948.6035, nataliebowendesigns.com. PAGES 38–40, ENTERTAIN: Event design by Alex Hitz, alexhitz.com. PAGES 40–43, EVENTS: Event design by Jessica Latham, Social Studies, socialstudyme.com. HOSPITALITY BEHIND THE HEDGES PAGES 44–51: Interior design by Richard Keith Langham, 212.759.1212, richardkeith langham.com. Floral design by Michael Grim, The Bridgehampton Florist, 631.537. 7766, thebridgehamptonflorist.com. NANTUCKET NURTURED PAGES 51–61: Garden design by Emily Dutra, Dutra…

MATERIALS: ■ Dahlias■ ‘Distant Drums’ garden roses■ Koko Loko garden roses■ Anthurium■ Ranunculus■ Pieris■ Bunny tail■ Smoke bush■ Heuchera foliage■ Mountain ash■ Various wild grasses MATERIALS: ■ Dahlias■ ‘Distant Drums’ garden roses■ Queen Anne’s lace■ Pieris■ Bunny tail■ Heuchera foliage MATERIALS: ■ Dahlias■ ‘Distant Drums’ garden roses■ Koko Loko garden roses■ Echinacea (coneflower)■ Smoke bush■ Euphorbia■ Leucothoe foliage■ Various wild grasses Natalie’s inspiration I wanted to create an arrangement that can be made for any day of the week. The colors and the shape make this one very “me.” I lean toward neutrals and textures, and I think its overall soft and airy nature makes it fit perfectly anywhere in my home. See opposite page for step-by-step instructions for this arrangement. 1 Use cosmos, dahlias, pieris, ‘Distant Drums’ garden roses,…

IN AN ERA when almost everything, including design, is widely accessible via the internet and social media and trends come and go in the blink of an eye, interior designer Richard Keith Langham is a refreshingly established presence with a rich and timeless style. There is an erudite gravitas to his work, balanced by an adamant refusal to take himself too seriously. His roots are in the Deep South—Brewton, Alabama, to be exact, which he credits in part for his interest in interiors. “I used to say that when you grow up in a small town, there isn’t anywhere to go but your own house, so it better be pretty,” he says. “But there were actually a number of beautifully appointed houses that piqued my early interest.” Langham’s resume includes…

“At this point, I think most people just expect to receive an invitation from me that’s outlandish. Maybe next time, I should consider sending out a normal invitation. That would be a real surprise!”–CATHY GRAHAM WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU lemons, you make lemonade. Or, if you’re Cathy Graham, you toss them in a hand-painted bowl; throw in some glossy, green leaves; and create a stunningly simple centerpiece. After 30 years of marriage, the 60-something artist, fashion illustrator, and consummate entertainer found herself single and starting anew. “When my husband left, I thought that the world as I knew it was over,” says Graham candidly. “But I quickly realized that I was too old to be bitter or resentful and that I had to move forward. Filling my home with flowers…