Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2019 i Flower

A RENAISSANCE WOMAN in a modern moment, South African designer Debby Tenquist has as many talents as she has interests. During her studies in decorative arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the South Africa native realized that many decorative artists were also architects and gardeners, so by a scholarly osmosis, she learned about historical gardens and the principles of their design. After a stint working for Sotheby’s auction house and a turn working in antique valuations, Tenquist decided to try her hand at landscape architecture back in Johannesburg. She was fortunate to get commissions that excited her from the start and soon had a bustling business, culminating in her work on The Garden of St Christopher—a private garden open by appointment—in the city’s Hyde Park. “Designing a…

I MAGINE A WHITNEY BIENNIAL for the global floral world, a survey taking the pulse of the contemporary moment from the best and brightest stars wielding a pair of clippers, all captured within the bindings of a book, and you’ll get a sense of Blooms (Phaidon, 2019). Showcasing the work of 86 floral designers, Blooms illustrates the boundary-busting, genre-bending nature of modern floristry and its new, heightened esteem in the artistic firmament. “Not your grandmother’s florist” is how one editor sums it up in the preface. Indeed, the flower arrangements in these pages—though vastly variant from one another—bear out today’s cultural crosscurrents. Readers will see ripple effects of the slow food movement in the use of local, foraged, and sustainable materials; note the intensifying intersection of flowers with fashion and…

Flower: It’s a pleasure to talk to you. We’re big fans of your art [which sells under the name Ron Nicole]. Tell us about your background. Ronni Robinson: I’ve always been obsessed with flowers. Growing up in Philly, I remember noticing the flowers that grew through the cracks of the concrete. I would stop to admire them, then fall behind and usually get into trouble. Later as an adult, I kept working with flowers, trying different things. To make money, I worked in the restaurant industry, working 80-hour weeks, but thought, This can’t be it. I knew I wanted to work with flowers, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do. Was there a clarifying moment? About three years ago, I was visiting the Barnes collection and saw…

The garden has recently seen a $3.5 million restoration that began with bringing back the iconic Blue Steps. These concrete steps, an Art Deco interpretation of an Italian water staircase, cut a swath of high drama down the steep hillside, through a grove of white birch trees. Naumkeag was built in the 1880s by Joseph Choate, an attorney who became US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. His wife, Caroline, an artist, supported the founding of Barnard College. Their 44-room Shingle-style cottage was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. It was Choate’s daughter, Mabel, however, who put her imprint on the gardens, working with Steele on a collaboration that unfolded over 30 years. Upon Mabel’s death, Naumkeag was bequeathed to The Trustees of Reservations, Massachusetts’ largest…

MATERIALS ■ Berried ivy, camellia, and pistache foliage■ Anemone■ ‘Carey’ rose (David Austin)■ Double Frill anemone■ Hellebore■ ‘Kate’ rose (David Austin)■ Ranunculus■ ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peony■ Sweet pea flowers and tendrils■ Florist frog■ Adhesive fix■ Decorative bowl■ Chicken wire■ Florist pot tape THERE IS SOMETHING VERY DECADENT about turning up to a dinner party with a bowl full of blooms. The bowl can be any shape or size, just make sure it’s watertight. I remember when I was little a friend of my mum’s turning up for a “grown up” dinner party with an ornate silver bowl filled with floating waterlilies—it looked magical! I like to make this sort of arrangement very flower-heavy and keep it low to the bowl, as it looks fuller and more luxurious this way. It also…

FOR LONGTIME FANS of Martha Stewart, the extraordinary collection of planters—hefty antique English lead pots, vintage concrete and limestone pieces, and contemporary specimens—used in her gardens from East Hampton to Bedford, New York, and beyond are as familiar a sight as her climbing roses, chartreuse lady’s mantle, and verdant ferns. These containers’ muted gray tones serve as a foil for all the lively colors of the flora she cultivates. But even the keenest observer might be uncertain which vessels are old and which are new because some of Stewart’s planters were crafted by Pennoyer Newman, a New York firm known for casting resilient, lightweight, weather-braving pots based on estate finds. Cecily Pennoyer founded the casting company in 1989, using resin mixed with pummeled marble and rock to create innovative doppelgangers…

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT FLETCHER STEELE’S last major commission, on 6 acres in historic Pittsford, New York, has been in the hands of Melissa McGrain for the last 16 years. Over that time, McGrain has made its conservation her passion and life’s work. “I believe that my garden is ready to hold her canopy high and tell the world that we are a beautiful, ever-changing garden,” she says. “We will always have growing pains and imperfections, and Mother Nature will continue to bring on whatever she wishes, and that’s OK! There is magic at every turn.” To keep guests from becoming delightfully lost, McGrain hands out a map. The central allée is the focal point: Three cascading terraces sweep down to a reflecting pool of midnight blue abloom with white water lilies.…

Prices are subject to change. Any items not listed are unknown. WATERING CAN PAGE 8: Book, Living Floral: Entertaining and Decorating with Flowers by Margot Shaw (Rizzoli New York, 2019), $45, flowermagshop.com. IN BLOOM PAGES 13–16, BOOKS: Garden Wild by Andre Baranowski (Rizzoli New York, 2019), $45, rizzoliusa.com; Blooms: Contemporary Floral Design, Victoria Clarke, commissioning editor (Phaidon Press Limited, 2019), $50, phaidon.com. PAGES 24–26, MEET: Fabric and landscape design by Debby Tenquist of Botanica Trading, botanicatrading.com. FRESH STYLE PAGES 29–32, ART: Art by Ronni Robinson of Ron Nicole, ronnicole.com. PAGES 34–36, ARRANGE: Floral design by Rowan Blossom (Instagram: @rowan _blossom). PAGES 38–40, GARDEN: Dumbarton Oaks, 202.339.6400, ext. 6401, doaks.org. SON OF THE IRISH SOIL PAGES 42–49: Landscape design by Arthur Shackleton, arthur shackleton.com. CASTING A SPELL PAGES 50–57: Pennoyer Newman, 212.839.0500,…