Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2019 i Flower

“I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS,” Bing Crosby promised in his blockbuster 1943 hit. That line reminds me that the word home takes on a deeper, richer meaning at Christmastime. I’m thinking of adult children coming home from college or the big city; young marrieds forging their futures in new places but breathlessly skidding into the family Christmas Eve dinner after juggling a busy schedule; soldiers returning home on leave; and childhood friends who have all long since moved away but come home for the holidays and pick up right where they left off. Right now, I’m imagining an illustration of a Maxfield Parrish country cottage at dusk with warm lights in every window, tucked into drifts of snow, and a big oak tree gently framing and protecting the site. I…

APRIL GARGIULO HAS BEEN IMMERSED IN THE natural world since her childhood in California’s Napa Valley. “When you live and work in a vineyard, you can’t wear any perfume or have any scent in your shampoo or other products,” she says, “so I developed a keen appreciation for outdoor scents, such as the heady fragrance of orange blossoms, in my daily roaming.” Gargiulo also grew up learning about respect for the land, and for the passion and dedication required to make something into an authentic luxury product. She applied these principles in her quest to create a multitasking skin care product with 100 percent active botanical ingredients—no fillers, fragrances, or chemicals. She followed “breadcrumbs,” diving into the ancient world of tinctures, talking to those who worked with essential oils and…

MATERIALS ▪ Magnolia foliage▪ Cedar▪ Green holly▪ Elaeagnus branches▪ Wax flowers▪ Seeded eucalyptus▪ Two glass vases▪ Wired gold-and-white ribbon MATERIALS ▪ Magnolia foliage▪ Green cedar▪ Blue cedar▪ Green holly▪ Wired red ribbon MATERIALS ▪ Grapevine reindeer▪ Wired ribbon▪ Glass vases in various shapes and sizes▪ Red roses▪ Viburnum▪ Dendrobium orchids▪ Manzanita branches▪ Pennycress▪ Ornamental millet▪ Seeded eucalyptus▪ Assorted foliage Canaan’s inspiration I looked to a classic Christmas palette for all the designs. I’m rather an old soul at heart, and tradition always speaks to me, especially during the holidays. For the how-to arrangement, I wanted to create something with a wow factor but low enough to use on a dining room table so as not to compete with the lively conversations that take place during holiday gatherings. It’s also easy…

WE ALL WANT OUR HOMES TO SHINE DURING the holidays as we anticipate visits from family and friends and perhaps some larger-than-usual gatherings. But what if you were expecting throngs of visitors tramping through your house over the course of a weekend? That’s exactly what faces the intrepid and generous souls who open their houses for charitable holiday home tours. Alice and Bob Schleusner know a thing or two about this experience, as they have offered their homes to the Independent Presbyterian Church’s celebrated fundraiser three times (this year is its 70th anniversary). “It’s such a great cause,” says Alice. “It’s hard to say no!” Alice engaged friend and Birmingham floral talent Sybil Sylvester of Wildflower Designs to ease the burden and bring the beauty. “We wanted the overarching look…

USE ORNAMENTS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE ON HAND AS PACKAGE TIEONS, OR TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AFTERCHRISTMAS SALES TO STOCK UP FOR NEXT YEAR’S WRAP SESSION.…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Simply Beautiful Flowers & Gifts November 8 SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA Vine Garden Market November 12 WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA Pioneer Linens November 15 HOUSTON, TEXAS Theta Charity Antiques Show November 22 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA Wolfson Art & Antiques Show December 7 JUPITER, FLORIDA Pineapples, Palms, Etc. December 12 PALM BEACH, FLORIDA Leta Austin Foster Boutique December 14 Order your book at flowermagshop.com 205-970-9775…

NOWING WHERE TO LOOK CAN HELP immensely when trying to make a nascent idea come to life. For Catherine Hall Kirpalani of J. Catma, that assistance was close at hand—namely her husband, Bob Kirpalani, and her sister-in-law Reshma Kirpalani. “Bob would bring me the most exquisite gifts from India, and I was taken with the luxurious textiles, jewelry, and other ancient artisan works,” says Catherine. Then she visited India herself and experienced the wonders of the Silk Road firsthand. Her first foray was scarves; now there’s jewelry, napkins, throws, shawls, and more. Her excursions have yielded treasures like embroidered shawls and block-printed fabric, which she fashioned into pajamas. “I’ve also learned where the birthplace of a craft is, and we now only source from there,” she says, “Chikankari embroidery from…

MEET INTERIOR DESIGNER AMANDA NISBET AFTER 25 YEARS IN NEW YORK, Amanda Nisbet, the interior designer known for her captivating use of color and rooms full of sophisticated comfort, was ready for a change. “I have a long history and fondness for Virginia, and I have a large nexus of friends in Richmond,” she says. “I feel at home here and suspect that I am a Southerner at heart! The city has welcomed me with open arms, and I get to have a garden, at last.” Nisbet is drawn not only to Richmond’s historical charm and art scene, but also to its quirky side, which she says may surprise some people. “Richmond is a great city to explore,” she says. “It continues to charm me in unexpected ways.” “I’ve had…

LIFE AS AN EVENT PLANNER MEANS LATE NIGHTS, WEEKENDS, AND MULTITASKING in a million different directions. But it’s the thrill of those creative aha moments that drives Rick Davis and Christopher Vazquez to spend their hours sketching, planning, and ultimately creating the backdrop for some of the most important events of our lives. Davis, a floral designer, and Vasquez, a set designer, combine their talents, along with a team of artists, seamstresses, carpenters, and upholsterers, to reimage everyday spaces into the stuff of fantasy. They turn drab conference rooms into lush, candlelit gardens brimming with walls of fresh greenery and blankets of moss. They finesse bland ballrooms with bursts of color and whimsical, storybook-inspired wonders. They bring art masterpieces to life with dramatic palettes, swaths of silk, and sweeping floral…

IN BLOOM PAGES 20–24, ART: Fine art photography by Sam Stapleton, samstapletonphotography.com; book, Stilled Life by Sam Stapleton (Bloodroot Mountain Press, 2018), amazon.com. FRESH STYLE PAGES 27–32, ARRANGE: Floral designby Canaan Marshall, 478.335.2484; canaanmarshall.com. PAGES 34–38, ENTERTAIN: Event planning and design by Cloche Designs, 210.802.6339, clochedesigns.com; invitations and paper by Paradise Design Company, 972.234.3722, paradisedesignco.com; calligraphy by Tara Jones Calligraphy, 214.724.0545; tarajones.com; floral design by Botanical No.9, 512.387.1667, botanicalno9.com; catering by The Argyle, 210.824.1496, theargyle.com. PAGES 40–44, DESIGN: Lisa Fine Textiles, lisafinetextiles.com; book, Near & Far: Interiors I Love by Lisa Fine (Vendome, 2019), $60, barnesandnoble.com. TIME TO SHINE PAGES 46–51: Floral design by Sybil Sylvester, Wildflower Designs, 205.322.1311, wildflowerdesigns.net; architecture by James F. Carter, James F. Carter Architect, 205.871.7873, jamesfcarter.com; interior design by Marjorie Johnston, Marjorie Johnston & Co. Interiors…

ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, RYN Miller was pregnant with her son and spent most afternoons strolling her 2-year-old daughter around their neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They would usually end up at a neighbor’s yard where Miller’s daughter played with a beloved cat and Miller would sit and rest under a ginkgo tree. The Selma-born artist was captivated with the tree (apparently ginkgos are in short supply in Selma). She and her daughter often collected leaves to trace and etch. The following year, when Miller’s husband made her a wooden flower press as a birthday surprise, Miller began pressing botanicals in earnest. Though she offers a number of pieces for purchase, she loves helping clients with personal projects like preserving Queen Anne’s lace from a baptism arrangement, a daisy chain of…

AT HIS HOME IN Knoxville, Tennessee, Sam Stapleton reaches into the freezer and pulls out a piece of Pyrex. He bypasses the oven and heads toward a spot near the kitchen’s bay window, where he sets the baking dish atop a photography light box before stepping away to await the first signs of a thaw. This is no casserole intended for the evening’s dinner, but instead several inches of ice that, as it melts, will reveal and unfurl an iris, a morning glory, or whatever flower Stapleton has selected, prepped, and frozen for today’s endeavor. He picks up his camera and starts to shoot, first framing the flower as a portrait before zooming in to find compositions and details of interest. Those could be the curve of a stem, bubbles…

Titanic bread-and-butter plate, salad plate, and dinner plate by Royal Crown Derby ($540/5-piece place setting) through Scully & Scully, scullyandscully.com. Silk Ribbon charger ($300) by Herend, herendusa.com. Arlington Embroidery Monogram napkin by Leontine Linens, leontinelinens.com. Light Green Sisal Tree napkin ring ($2) from Hobby Lobby, hobbylobby.com. Pantheon sterling flatware ($240–$320) by Tuttle through Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers, hudsonpoole.com. Elegante Lattice wineglass (left; $68) by Vietri through Bromberg’s, brombergs.com. Bubbles hock in Chartreuse (center; $310) by Saint-Louis through Scully & Scully, scullyandscully.com. Royal water glass (right; $185) by Moser through Bromberg’s. Moon Glass medium vase ($77) by Vietri, vietri.com. Savannah Gardens tablecloth ($324/120-inch round) by Matouk, matouk.com. Boxwood gift wrap ($9.75/roll) from Caspari, casparionline.com. Bottom charger: Personal collection.…