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FLOWER SEPT•OCT 2023

HOUSE l GARDEN l LIFESTYLE

Welcome Fall

PHOTO BY ERIK KVALSVIK

SEPTEMBER• OCTOBER 2023

Contents FEATURES

Under the Big Top at Round Top

Known for creating memorable occasions, Rebecca Gardner pulls out all the stops for her own circus-themed soirée at the annual antiques fair.

Countryside Charmer From the ground up, like-minded professionals come together to realize a meticulously designed home nestled into its enviable setting outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.

A Powerful Statement

For Susan and Rob Power, a request for a Donald Pelldesigned landscape results in a garden that overcomes a mountain of obstacles on its way to awe-inspiring beauty.

For the Love of Flowers

Connecticut-based designer Stephanie Woodmansee combines large doses of florals with classic East Coast style as she helps her best friend and former business partner redesign her historic Kansas City home.

PHOTO BY ERIK KVALSVIK

ON THE COVER:

To commemorate Lee Jofa's 200th anniversary, we set our fall table with the company's Leyland Print in “Berry/Forest.” from the 200 Icons collection. Photographed by David Hillegas

“Just living isn’t enough,” said the butterfly. “One must also have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” –HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN f l o w e r m a g .c o m

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Contents DEPARTMENTS

SCENE

IN EVERY ISSUE

Watering Can What’s Online? Sources At the Table

We’ve got our eyes on...

Must-read book releases, eye-catching wall coverings, hand-thrown ceramics, and the latest market trends.

IN BLOOM

10 14 94 96

Entertain

Event designer Blair Laborde teams up with her close friend and client Kelli Haywood to create an unforgettable blue-ribbon birthday bash.

Women in the Garden

Thanks to the stewardship of the Duchess of Devonshire, visitors continue to appreciate her vision of Chatsworth that has stood the test of time.

Instead of relying on the traditional colors associated with the season, Maria Maxit of Houston’s Maxit Flower Design finds inspiration for this floral creation during the transition time between summer and fall.

Market: Shimmer and Shine

Golden hues and glass reflections bring a touch of glamour to fall style.

Shopping: Heirloom Artifacts

Nashville-based interior designer Stephanie Sabbe transforms an unassuming Belle Meade storefront location into an unexpected creative haven.

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September•October 2023

PHOTO (TOP TO BOTTOM) BY AARON INGRAM; BY ELLEN RENEE; BY CHARLOTTE MOSS

Decorate: Flowers

PHOTO (TOP TO BOTTOM) BY AARON INGRAM; BY ELLEN RENEE; BY CHARLOTTE MOSS

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” —Joe from Nora Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail” I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN THIS QUOTE, AND I SAW THE MOVIE 25 YEARS AGO. Now that’s good dialogue.

I don’t live in New York, for better or worse, and I don’t necessarily need a “bouquet of just-sharpened pencils” as I do most of my writing now on a keyboard; but I do well recall and relate to the anticipation, the frisson of a new school year—and a new season, especially fall. Fall, with its fresh palette of golds, deep reds, burnt oranges, charcoal grays, and vibrant grapes; its lingering dahlias; the welcome gentle breezes; a thousand pumpkins lining the walkway in front of Whole Foods (or wherever you buy your groceries); and that first day when we feel the need to grab a pashmina or lightweight jacket. Fall, when we turn our thoughts toward gatherings, because everyone has been scattered to the four winds in summertime. It’s a time of reconvening, and it signals the start of the slow, then quick march to “the holidays.” One of the fall’s must-see gatherings happens in Round Top, Texas, at the Antiques Fair. Folks from across the country respond to the siren call of looking and shopping for furniture, rugs, fashion, books, and that 150-year-old American boot scrape you didn’t know you just had to have. Rebecca Gardner of Houses & Parties put together a retail opportunity and hoedown

in her Round Top space that captured the attention and imagination of all who experienced it. And we’ve captured it for you. I can’t help thinking there may be some wilder home and party décor this season after seeing “Under the Big Top at Round Top.” Set in a more subtle side of fall, the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Charlottesville, Virginia, beckoned a couple of Texans to build a country house and property that offers a quiet, idyllic beauty they can settle into for the next season of life. They put together a team of architect, landscape architect, interior designer, and even floral designer that created a picture-perfect place. And what better season to highlight two dear friends, Henry and Co. designer Stephanie Woodmansee and her former business partner Ellie Clymer, as they collaborate on Ellie’s flower-focused house! These two talents make the perfect pairing, having come up together in the atelier of interior designer Ashley Whittaker. Any season is the time to see beautiful gardens, both brand new and historic, and to learn about the personalities behind their conception, creation, and stewardship. Landscape designer Donald Pell painted a pastoral landscape with wild grasses and other natives for an adventurous and obliging couple in Pennsylvania. And Contributor Charlotte Moss takes the likeness of the Duchess of Devonshire and her legendary life’s stewardship, the house and gardens of Chatsworth. In anticipation of my first pumpkin-spice latte and Alabama football game... SDG,

Margot Shaw EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Please send your comments, triumphs, challenges & questions to: wateringcan@flowermag.com OR: Letters to the Editor Flower magazine I P.O. Box 530645 I Birmingham, AL 35253 Get the Flower email newsletter! Sign up at flowermag.com/news

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September•October 2023

PORTRAIT BY BETH HONTZAS

Watering can

A Note from the Editor

PORTRAIT BY BETH HONTZAS

PHOTO (TOP) BY DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN; (BOTTOM RIGHT) COURTESY OF RIZZOLI

What We’ve Got Our Eyes On

READING LIST

On Our Bookshelves FAVORITE RELEASES

FULL OF DESIGN, GARDEN, AND FLORAL INSPIRATIONS By Julie Gillis

Scene

Defining Chic: Carrier and Company Interiors by Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller (Rizzoli, September 2023), $60

Sit back and enjoy this armchair tour of inspired interiors designed by Carrier and Company. For almost 20 years, firm principals Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller have been creating timeless, uniquely customized homes for their clients. As the talented duo explains, “We care deeply that the spaces we create are comfortable, that they function effortlessly for the lives they support, and that they are never under-decorated or overdesigned.” Readers will delight in the designers’ firsthand accounts of their individualized process for a variety of projects, including a historic, art-filled New York duplex; a refreshed Mediterranean-style California home; and an updated Connecticut lakeside retreat replete with glass expanses to capture the views. f l o w e r m a g .c o m

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Scene WHAT WE’VE GOT OUR EYES ON ... READING LIST (CONTINUED)

City Parks by Christopher Beanland (Batsford, May 2023), $35

The New Classic Home by Paloma Contreras (Abrams, October 2023), $45

Successfully combining traditional and modern elements in a space is a design task that many people—both amateurs and professionals—find challenging. In her newest book, award-winning designer Paloma Contreras offers tips for creating classic yet fresh interiors using her four main techniques—color, scale and proportion, texture and pattern, and tension. She demonstrates how to incorporate timeless pieces while also mixing in a bit of glamour. According to Contreras, this book is “a tangible representation of my evolution as a designer and features some of my best and favorite work to date.” Her text is accompanied by stunning images of her projects in locations ranging from Houston to Palm Beach and New York to Cashiers, North Carolina.

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September•October 2023

PHOTOS (TOP) COURTESY OF BATSFORD; (BOTTOM; LEFT TO RIGHT) COURTESY OF ABRAMS; BY AIMÉE MAZZENGA

Public parks in cities around the world have long been favorite gathering places for those seeking a bit of nature within the confines of concrete jungles. And the pandemic only emphasized the fact that these parks are an essential part of modern life. Journalist and author Christopher Beanland explores famous spots such as London’s Hyde Park and New York’s Central Park while also treating readers to the beauty of lesser-known nature escapes like Tempelhof in Berlin (formerly an airport) and Freeway Park in Seattle, situated over a motorway. With 50 featured parks, this book showcases every genre from the iconic and historic to the newest and most cutting-edge—each one with its own unique take on combining nature and architecture.

PHOTOS (TOP) COURTESY OF BATSFORD; (BOTTOM; LEFT TO RIGHT) COURTESY OF ABRAMS; BY AIMÉE MAZZENGA