SHOWHOUSE FLOWERS
If youever thumb through the varlet of a “ shelter magazine ” such as House Beautifulor House & Garden , you will see photographs that contain very few humanbeings and lots of prime and plants . This centering on greenery is notrestricted to the one or two feature film articles that such publications generallydevote to gardening . Growing things are everywhere in magazines thesedays . In Grosse Pointe , Swedish Ivy drapes itself langorously over the topshelf a glass etager , while in Boston an arrangement of Gerbera daisies in anArt Deco vase sits perch on a tufted ottoman . Meanwhile a standpoint ofornamental bamboo shoots up from an old cop boiler in a quoin of a New Yorkpenthouse patio .
It’sexactly the same in designer showhouses , which after all , are like a sheltermagazine fare to life . To take the air through a showhouse is to be lose in afantasy populace of eclectic piece of furniture , false finishes , and fancy trims , allcombined in a variety show of probable and improbable ways . The most inspiringthing about the whole crusade is that all the nontextual matter and ruse has been combinedfor a good cause . Showhouse visitor , who pay up liberally to see whetherchintz can really coexist with leopard print , are also sustain homelessshelters , soup kitchen and the countless other charitable endeavors supportedby the patronise organizations .
The otherday I break to the Brookwood Showhouse and Garden , a monumental fundraising projectput on by the Junior League of Montclair - Newark . Like everyone else , I wasimpressed by the imaginative ways that various designers and artist hadtransformed the vast phalanx of room in an Edwardian - era sign . Being apassionate gardener , the affair that impressed me the most was the number of waysin which the designers brought the open in . Horticulture collidedheadlong with style , and the resultant was a showhouse full of botanical themes , motifs , arrangement and accents . Trends abounded and it was fun to pickthem out in each room .
With twoorchid - musical theme books recently on the best - vendor tilt , it is no secret thatorchids are hotter than the rim of Mt. Kilauea . They were everywhere atBrookwood , with cattleyas , dendrobiums , cymbidiums and phaleonopsis accentingalmost every invention dodge . The most impressive orchidaceous plant on display was aforty year - sure-enough , royal - flowered specimen that was holding courtroom in a downstairsalcove . digitalis and other bloom with orchidaceous plant - similar blooms tot up to thetotal effect .
Almostmore alien than the orchidaceous plant was an arrangement of mound plant leaves thatfilled a metallic element container in the first storey hall . The heavily veinedleaves looked like marble , a arrant compliment to the imitation stopping point thatappeared throughout the business firm . I suspected it before , but I know itnow – the carnivorous hurler plant life has clear win introduction into the domain ofhigh fashion .
Not sinceOscar Wilde was pictured holding a drooping Zantedeschia aethiopica lily , has that South Africannative been so popular . At Brookwood arum lily lilies usher up in severalarrangements , as well as in the anatomy of two tall wire accent mark piece in one ofthe room .
Decoratorsand crafters have been known to go to smashing extremes with live glue guns , and oneof this year ’s hot - glued interior designer accoutrement of choice is understandably thestyrofoam lump cover with dried botanical textile . These point , wrap in dried magnolia folio or crushed lavender or dehydrated moss aregenerally mounded decoratively in bowls or containers . They madeattractive accents in a couple of different space .
One of thedesigners took the garden motif to a higher grade , sour a narrow second floorbathroom into a favourite potting shed . The only thing that was left out ofthe plan was a food elevator to bring pots , ejaculate trays and other equipment down togarden point . Maybe I just overleap it .
A wholegallery worth of botanical prints beautify staircases , student residence and wall , and ofcourse , there were many botanic motifs on carpeting , drapery and wallcoverings .
Just asdecorators at Brookwood brought the outside in , landscape designers incorporatedindoor elements in the various gardens . One designer make a “ room”complete with a Turkish boxwood sofa , fireplace and a checkerboard radiation pattern floor ofalternating sens and bluestone square .
Otherhorticultural fashion trends on display in the garden areas included the use ofculinary herbs in an decorative setting , and the initiation of a Victorianmosaic - like bedding out scheme at the property ’s carriage entrance .
Spottingthe horticultural fashion movement at a showhouse is a bit like playing“Where ’s Waldo ” . The difference is , you ’re play for a goodcause .
