Rooftop Afternoon, Navy Yard, Brooklyn

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I brought Begonia and Rich a bottle of Urki from the Basque country via Rockridge.  We put it in the freezer for a half hour and then enjoyed it on the roof with the Euskadi cocktail picks I found in a little store in Hondarribia.  We baked in the sun, waited in anticipation for the occasional breeze, and misted ourselves over the kiddie pool with the hose.  No better way to spend an impossibly hot Augest New York day.

Great Textiles–but they garden too!

The women behind Home and Oats aren’t prissy.  They are the frontier women of Brooklyn–coaxing a little green out of a lot of brown and gray.  It’s not an easy job!  And while I love watching their seedlings grow, I’ve been even more excited by the beauty they’ve brought inside:

This makes me want wallpaper so badly.  Framed or unframed.  I’ll take it!  click here for original post

And this is just perfection:

This last one is designed by Josef Frank.  Who doesn’t love them some good Scandi design??  click here for original post

Makes me want to start a whole blog devoted to textiles.  I’m slightly less covetous since it doesn’t actually exist in the homes of Home and Oats, but exists in the realm of their dreams.  Keep us dreaming H&O!

I’m thinking about:

• building student confidence to improve academic achievement; see NY Times and The Situationist
• how did I forget today was Earth Day?  Jewels of New York in Fort Greene (details on their Twitter) My students are super excited about the film Earth.  “It looks hecka tight!”  Opening today, Earth Day.
• why aren’t there more floral design blogs?  And where did I put all those Parisian florist business cards I collected last spring?
• Summer!
• (in this case still thinking about) how many of my students were stoned on 4/20, how I’m supposed to feel about that, and what I’m supposed to do…NY Times on legalization
• so much trouble in the world; breath in suffering breath out loving kindness
• my latest “ethical dilemma.”  Would you like to read it? 
• Grilled Halibut with Chimichurri—YES! recipe at Epicurious

photo by Romulo Yanes

Flower of the Day: Inspired by Sigh, Pua

Ms. Saipua made a gorgeous arrangement today, including fritillaria like I’d never seen before.  Back in my florist days, we simply called it “speckled hen;” I’d never even heard fritillaria until, sigh, pua enlightened me.  Hence, the F.O.D.:

 “Speckled Hen:”

 by its Latin name: fritillaria meleagris (via Easy to Grow Bulbs.com)

Fritillaria caucasica, davisii and pinardii via the Scottish Rock Garden Club Bulb Log Diary

From Easy To Grow Bulbs:

This is a fun flower to include in an existing garden where it will pop up in mid to late spring with the late daffodils and just before the lily of the valley blooms. This fritillaria has slender, silvery-green foliage that doesn’t require much room and the nodding, bell-shaped, checkered flowers weave well in and amongst fuller spring perennials. These are also called Guinea Hen flowers because the flower markings are much like the feather patterns on some breeds of guinea fowl. Deer and rodent resistant. These bulbs are nursery propagated, not collected from the wild.

Peonies; all the way from Brooklyn

Happy birth-day-week-month Chad!

Oh Mercy, Mercy Me

I was browsing FFFFOUND! and this image caught my eye:

 

Those ranunculus, those lamb’s ears, those mona lisa anemones!  Is that a branch of eucalyptus beads I see in the background?   WHO could have made this GORGEOUS arrangement?  WHO could have combined such unexpected elements yet made such an elegant statement?

It comes from the Saipua blog.  Where had I heard that name before?

Then I realized it’s those soothing soap-makers from Brooklyn who sell at Atomic Garden right here in Rockridge!  But they do floral design?  

After visiting the website, I have to admit I still don’t quite understand how all the pieces fit together.  All I know is that Saipua makes some of the most gorgeous, naturalistic, refined floral arrangements I’VE EVER SEEN.  Here are some more of my favorites:

They’ve mastered everything from the tall statement arrangment,

to the perfect posy;

from the modern, (succulents and sea holly)

to the classic (camelia, protea, lisianthus, veronica, queen anne’s lace, geranium leaves, dogwood, cock’s comb celosia).

I haven’t been this excited about a florist since I discovered Birch in San Francisco.  New Yorkers take note!  Let your loved ones know who to call the next time they’re in the dog house!

Hangover Pictures, Saturday December 6, 2008

For some reason a lot of vintage furniture was being set up in front of the warehouse under my window

The view towards the Navy Yard

The view towards the BQE

All pictures taken from the 4th floor of 10 Grand Avenue, Brooklyn