The striking home of Italian home wares maker Maurizio Zucchi. The height of the ceilings and plants along with the flooding of natural light make this a very appealing space.
All images from Elle Korea via Plant Propaganda.
Archives for category: Interior Design
Last week we had a visit from floral artist Doctor Cooper. She created unusual structural arrangements of olive branch and persimmon for a party we were throwing at the office. I think they compliment the masculine industrial feel of the space nicely. Check out some of her other creations below.
All images via the Doctor Cooper Instagram.
Two thousand thirteen was a hell of a year and I am so grateful for all the experiences I’ve had. There were some tough moments, some things I reluctantly had to give up, but I also managed to kick a lot of crap to the side and start doing what I really wanted to do, make a career out of my love of plants.
During the past year I travelled to New Zealand, Japan, France, Italy, the US and some places closer to home. To those I travelled with and others that I met along the way, thank you for making it all so incredibly fun. It’s also been a pleasure to return to Sydney after all of this to the birth of my brother’s first child and the sun and glow of family and friends and this amazing city.
I started this blog a little over a year ago and it’s been very gratifying to watch the number of readers grow and to get such nice feedback from you all. Thank you for reading!! Here is the first of a few posts looking back at the year that was.
In January we talked architectural, gardening and design greats Ricardo Bofill, Monty Don, Raf Simons and Stella McCartney, and explored decaying flowers, New York rooftops and some plant based gift ideas.
In February we followed The Little Flower School‘s visit to Australia, enjoyed the beauty of Zippy Seven and Kate Moss, and appreciated and then received a lovely fiddle leaf fig. We explored the Japanese art of kokedama floating gardens, I had my mind blown by nature documentary Microcosmos and happily discovered cabin porn.
In March I commissioned Lucy Allen to create some quirky images, visited the IS./WET exhibition, followed Lisa and Neil’s South African adventures, explored Madison Cox’s Tangiers retreat, took a look into some of Sydney’s kitchen gardens and a peek into the backyard of some friends in Redfern, found some dreamy images from Old Chum, got excited about new Sydney flower delivery business Little Flowers, and last but not least, discovered the incredible floral artist Makoto Azuma.
The rest of the year will follow shortly!
Image 1: Ricardo Bofill, image 2 Billy Kidd, image 3: Tim Walker, image 4: String Gardens, image 5: Beaver Brook, image 6: Lucy Allen, image 7: Neil Francis Dawson, image 8: Shunsuke Shiinoki.
Tania’s taste is always spot on. Check out a few pics from her blog Delectable Daily.
All images via Delectable Daily.
We’ll be back to regular programming tomorrow, but until then please enjoy the final guest post by Liv for the moment (she will be back!).
House & Garden – June 1971 by Olivia Hantken
Carrying on from my last post, here is another House & Garden magazine which I adore. This issue was hard to pull apart, so I have chosen a bit of everything! From garden sitting rooms, to outdoor entertaining, and two amazing forest retreats.
Located in Waccabuc NY, and designed by architect Myron Goldfinger this amazing house still exists today and is actually for sale! Check out the listing here. Sadly it looks as if the house has been redesigned and lost some of its 1970s charm.
This bird watching structure is located on a riverbank in England, and was designed by two British husband and wife architectural teams: Richard & Su Rogers, and Norman & Wendy Foster.
Thank you so much to Liv for her beautiful contributions and enthusiasm for The Secret Garden.
House & Garden – June 1970 by Olivia Hantken
I picked up this treasure whilst shopping with my mum in Brunswick many years ago. There was a big stack and I regret that we only bought two! They float between her bookcase and mine as we not only love the beautiful images, but enjoy the time warp we enter when reading them.
Whilst not strictly gardens, below is a series of images from this issue featuring alfresco living ideas and interior design.
My favourite is without a doubt the bean bag room. This was taken from the penthouse of french actor Francois Perrier (on Boulevard St Germain of course!). He was aided by interior decorator Francois Arnal, who also painted the black and white composition on the far wall.
Along with the Zanuda bean bag chairs, the feature cactus and amazing ash trays make me conjure images of some of the amazing parties Francois must have thrown.
All images from House & Garden – June 1970. British, American, French No. 6 Whole No. 250 Volume 25 The Conde Nast Publication.
After a successful first guest post the other week, Olivia Hantken will be back taking care of the blog this week while I on holiday in Japan.
I will be posting plenty of shots on Instagram, so be sure to follow me @thesecretgardenblog
Hanging Gardens by Olivia Hantken
Vintage gardening magazines seem to be taking over more and more of my bookshelf, so I will be sharing selected images from some of my favourites over the next few weeks.
The first is a little gem I found called Sunset Ideas for Hanging Gardens. It was published in 1974 and features instructions and trends for a variety of suspended gardens. Some of my favourites are the giant boston fern (being watered from a ladder), the donkey tail sedum, the string of beads and the bonsai cedar with moss.
All images from Sunset Ideas for Hanging Gardens, Lane Publishing co. California 1974.
French floral artist Claire Basler’s home and studio in Les Ormes, and hour an a half from Paris, is filled the nature. There is a constant flow of fresh floral displays which inspire her paintings, drawings and textile designs, all of which also blanket the property.
Photographs one and two by Mads Mogensen for Elle Decor South Africa, photographs three to eight and all artworks by Claire Basler.
Westerpark is one of my favourite parks in one of my favourite cities, Amsterdam. I spent an incredibly memorable spring day there with friends Loulou and Jacob back in 2009.
Photos one, two, four & five by Louise Tran, photo three by Jacob Hunt.
While we’re in the city, this Amsterdam restaurant was recently brought to my attention by new work mate and former Dam local Richard.
The greenhouse where De Kas Restaurant is now situated was built in 1928. It was due to be demolished but head chef Gert Jan Hageman bought it from the council (for €1.00) and renovated it into the restaurant and garden it is today. The space is green, sunny and very inviting. In warmer months you can eat amongst the herbs and take tours and workshops in the garden.
Photos by Jet van Fastenhout for De Kas Restaurant.
This growing light fixture is designed by Ryan Taylor of multidisciplinary studio O\I. It usually sets you back $448 (Canadian) but they have 15% off until May 31st. Get it here.
Thanks to Mel for sharing!
The Secret Garden 