Home Life recently posted these photographs of a beautiful property in the Adelaide Hills. The owners have cultivated an incredible collection of roses, and I love seeing the countryside and cows peek out from behind the flowers.
All photographs by Claire Takacs for Home Life.
Also on their website is a glimpse into a beautiful French Lot valley countryside home. It has been tastefully updated from its original 19th century state.
Photography by Richard Power for Home Life.
Kokedama is a type of Japanese bonsai that sees the plant roots and soil held together with moss and string rather than a traditional pot. These guys are taking it a step further and hanging the gardens up in the air.
These floating gardens are a great idea for those living in smaller spaces, but they would bring a sweet quirkiness to any space.
Dutch botanist Fedor Van der Valk is the leader of the floating garden pack.
Photographs String Gardens.
Some of Van der Valk’s designs were exhibited in 2010 as part of the Salon exhibition in Amsterdam.
Photograph from Design Boom.
Good.Is have a great guide to making your own hanging garden, as demonstrated by Wilder Quarterly’s Taylor Patterson. Check it out here.
And to finish here is a super cute illustration of how to water your floating garden by Elsa Dray Farges.
I picked up the latest issue of Love Magazine to find this incredible Tim Walker shoot starring Kate Moss. The photographs were inspired by Angela Carter’s novel The Magic Toy Shop and feature a scantily clad Moss with little gardens growing from her body. It’s kind of intoxicating.
Walker did a little interview with Love Magazine about the shoot. Check it out here. To subscribe to the magazine head here.
All photographs by Tim Walker.
I am currently on the lookout for a large fiddle leaf fig to add to my indoor plant collection.
Aren’t they beautiful?
Photographs one & four: Elle Decor, photograph two: Emma at Marion House Book, photograph three: Lonny Magazine.
Ricardo Bofill is an acclaimed Spanish architect, with an incredible postmodern sensibility. He founded the Taller de Arquitectura, a studio of around 40 architects, engineers, sociologists and philosophers who have undertaken a vast array of projects from private homes and interior design to airports, public gardens, hotels and retail spaces.
One of his most incredible projects is the ongoing transformation of an abandoned cement factory in Barcelona.
This former industrial complex has become an incredibly inviting world, with huge cathedral like rooms and surrealist features. The surrounding grounds have also been transformed from a dusty scrap yard to an oasis of palms, olive trees, eucalyptus and cypresses. The vines growing up the walls and the big splashes of green that can be seen from inside the building add to its charm.
This old factory is now his family home along with the headquarters for the Taller de Arquitectura, and a venue for exhibitions, concerts and lectures.
All photographs from Ricardo Bofill.
He may be a little old for me, but I’ve always had a bit of a crush on sweet Monty Don. He’s an English horticulturalist, TV presenter and author. I’ve watched ‘Around the World in 80 Gardens’ and ‘Italian Gardens’ but he has a pretty long list of shows he has been apart of.
Monty has my absolute dream job – to explore private and open gardens and introduce them to others. So sit back, relax and enjoy a bit of Monty Don guiding us through some incredible ancient Italian estates.
Villa d’Este, Tivoli
The Garden of Ninfa, Latina
Villa di Castello and Boboli Gardens
Photographs by Marsha Arnold.
Alex MacLean learnt to fly while studying architecture at Harvard University. His latest book gives a pretty spectacular glimpse into the rooftop gardens of some of New York’s luckiest residents. Imagine.
The book is available from The Book Depository.
For christmas this year I gave my uncles and aunties and family friends a pot of chilli. It’s a simple, pretty, inexpensive gift that I like to think most people would enjoy receiving.
For my brother I bought a truffle inoculated holly oak sapling. I potted it in a wine barrel. When it gets a little bigger he can plant it in his newly purchased house and then in six to seven years they should be able to dig up some truffles!
I was given a terrarium couriered up from bosky in Melbourne which is an incredible little world unto itself and some great books, including a beautiful one by Grandiflora with photography of Saskia Havekes’s amazing floral creations by Andrew Lehmann (available here).
AnOther Mag have recently posted a small list of their favourite gardens, including the gardens of Marqueyssac in Vézac, France and Keukenhof in Lisse, Holland.
It’s worth spending some time exploring their website, as AnOther has a keenly curated collection of fashion, art and culture pieces, including these great photographs of the beautiful Rachel Weisz by Craig McDean.
I promise to create my own list of favourite gardens soon.
One of my all time favourites – whether it’s bare, with fruit, or flowering as it is here in spring at the old farm.
The Secret Garden 