Ripe N Juicy

On my way back from a week in Florida where I ate a lot of fruit and generally lazed about in the air-conditioned home of my parents, missed the earthquake, missed the hurricane and grateful to not be returning to a national disaster zone. Although sudden swarms of locusts wouldn't surprise me upon my arrival.
I did take a trip to Central Florida which I posted about briefly and will follow with more on that soon. My Nephew announced his engagement to his lovely fiancee who might be choosing that region for their nuptials so I had my designer cap on as we boated through the Spanish moss laden Cypress corridors of the St John's River. This wedding will be "in development" until Oct 2012 so it's very likely this will be the first of many ruminations of how we will do it up!
Back to NY in Autumn and plums and peaches and herbs and warm sexy blood reds and rusty oranges, and Burning Bushes and Crab-Apples, and Acorns and Golden Maples!

These photos were taken last week before I left and I couldn't help but hold my excitement for the approaching season. The plums were so sweet and explosive they splattered my face when I ate them. Seriously, nearly a sexual experience!

An herbal, fruity wedding ahead next week, orders to be placed, preparations to be made- Thankfully, business as usual in NY :)

Glad my little island was spared! And my little hood in the big borough too!

Fall Posy

Here's a small Marigold posy which was featured in this year's Fall /Winter Issue of Bride's Magazine. Each Marigold was hand wired and then assembled and tied with a burgundy gross grain ribbon.

Marigold

Marigold
by Nirvana

She’s there ’case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
She’s there ’case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want

All in all the clock is slow
Sits color pictures all in a row
Of a marigold

She’s there ’case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
He’s there ’case I want it all
He’s there ’cause I want

She’s there case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
She’s there case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want

Garden of Eden

This morning my sister took my mother and I to some little curiosity shops in Deland Florida. Mostly there were junky little bric a brac collectibles. It was oppressively hot and I had a splitting headache so we headed back to her house on the St John's River. As we stopped at a light I saw this beautiful vine covering trees of an overgrown woodsy lot and exclaimed, "STOP!". I ran out with a knife and started hoarding these lovely trendlils that looked similar to sweet pea. Then I got greedy and pulled down some branches laden with Beautyberries and saw a shiny black slithering movement. Holy crap!!!! A big snake!!!!!
I was so spooked I ran back with my stems and jumped in the car while my sister was laughing at me. It was a harmless garden snake and it was actually quite beautiful but it gave me a startle.

When I got back I borrowed one of her Hall vases and my brother in law said, "That's Kudzu."
It's so invasive throughout the south that scientists have been investigating it's uses as a biomass feedstock which can be converted to ethanol except that harvesting it in the wild would be difficult and growing such an invasive plant dangerous to indigenous ecosystems.

The vine works very well as a cut flower and holds up beautifully. I'd love to be able to use it in large quantities on a ceremonial arbor or even in delicate specimen bottles or bouquets. Surely there's an untapped market for the Kudzu flower. We could certainly use it for Summer weddings up north!

Summer Dreamin'

Cut to:
Being whisked off in a Carmen Ghia (surprise gift) to Big Sur for a weekend filled with hikes along the scenic cliff sides, long massages at Esalen proceeded by evening canoodling in a cozy cabin brightened up by Blackeyed Susan's (another gift) after serenades of Van Morrison songs set the mood.

Hey, a girl can dream.

In Florida for Mom's birthday. Hot as a mo-fo here but it's always achingly sweet to be with family who spoil me rotten when I'm around :)

Orange Fudge

Rudbeckias are surprisingly varied in their color sizes and shapes. This variety is called "Orange Fudge" and compliments the rosy/rusty Coleus and Andromeda nicely. Some dried wheat was thrown in for a little added texture and echoes the gold tones of the large brass goblet. Could use a some beautiful Corn Husks but alas, none in the kitchen.
Brace your inner country bumpkin 'cause you'll be served bushels of Rudbeckias this week!

A Match Made in........

I am the proud mother of two sunflowers which I raised from seeds! Shown here in the first photo the delicate Vanilla Ice Sunflower that looks more like a lemon yellow cosmo and the third macro shot of the Mammoth Sunflower which really doesn't measure up to it's name but lovely just the same. Sunflowers are really dramatic on thier tall stalks and hog up all the sun from the neighboring plantings. Not sure I'll plant them from seeds again but there is something a little more delicate about the homegrown varieties and it was nice to use them in this summer mix of Black Eyed Susans (from River Garden at Union Square), Eucalyptus and Dusty Miller.
This vase had been sitting in my studio now unused for a good 5 years. NEVER used! I was so bored with my other vessels and from the back of the shelf it's long crackled teal ceramic with delicate yellow floral patterns begged,
"Me, me! pleeeeeeze.... I'm the right color, and I'm special TOO!"
So I gave it a whirl and low and behold, I find myself in love!

It's true, it happens when you're least expecting it and with the most unusual suspect.

Pick Me Upper

A blogger can't afford to be dull or bored or any of the darker things that one naturally experiences in the ebb and flow of life. Truth be told I find myself completely unmotivated this week. It must be related to my absence at the gym. I find that my desire to make anything is dramatically increased by a good sweat. It's amazing how that works, but I miss a few days and nothing stirs me.

These poor neglected beauties were scavenged from the fridge at the studio today for a little pick me up-visual candy.

When asked this week by an ex who just became a father, "Are you happy?"
I swallowed my complaints and said, "I'm happy to be alive."
JEEZE, I could have spared him the passive drama and just said, "Oh Sure."
There's really nothing serious for me to complain about except my presently self-indulgent ennui and about 800 calories in the Pistachio Gelato which I now need to work off at my hateful spin class!
I spin cause I'm not thin, don't hold it against me.

Heaven Scent

Found this photo while sifting through old files. A close up shot of an arrangement made in 2008 for a client who wanted fragrance to be the dominant quality of the arrangement. The gardenias were water tubed and added to groups of hyacinths, garden roses and tulips, (the only flowers without fragrance of the lot). Silk leaves soaked in geranium oil were sunken into the interior which made for a heavenly secret scent.

Worth the Wait

I finally made it to the McQueen show today at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It took me 4.5 hours beginning to end. I guess I deserved it for waiting till the last week of such a masterful exhibit. The actual show was not as large as I imagined. It was the detail in the work that was staggering and the unharnessed imagination that produced these pieces sprung from the realm of the unconscious, and simultaneously casting you into a melange of present, past and future. These costumes come sculptures come fantasies weave unbelievable tales evoking emotions from the most sublime, delicate and magical to the most grotesque, loathsome and frightening. McQueen flourished through extremes, marginality, the surreal and in delving into the darker aspects of his psyche. He fearlessly provoked his audience to experience both discomfort and transcendental epiphanies.

No one can know the real reason behind his choice to end his life or even if the choice was clearly made. In order to have produced the shows in the high art manner that he did he had to have "Given" more than is humanly possible for the average person. The year he died, the two people he aimed to impress most in his life and his central support system were taken away. My theory is that he hit a wall, which is only natural given the volume of g enius work that he produced. He didn't care to express himself further since their realiza tions would not be shared with neither his mentor nor his mother. The dialogue ceased to be in his mind and therefore he had no desire to continue.

On a brighter note, I saw so many children in the line and thought what an amazing inspiration he will be to these kids! Alexander McQueen left a legacy whose fecundity and influence is yet to be truly measured but I do believe that we are experiencing a creative renaissance with the advent of technology and information and that the artists coming up now will take the license he provided them with to carve out their own individual artistic language for expressing themselves in their work.

BRAVO LEE!!!!