Lauren and Joe on Jose Villa's Blog

Just a little taste of Lauren and Joe's wedding today on Jose Villa's blog. Can't wait to share more from this spectacular Napa Valley wedding!

Flora Grubb - DIY Vertical Wall Hangings

Certainly one of San Francisco's little treasures is Flora Grubb Gardens, undoubtedly the coolest garden center in San Francisco filled with treasures for the garden, gorgeous minimalist plantings and even a coffee bar.

I first discovered it when I saw the amazing vertical garden they did at Napa Valley's gorgeous eco hotel Bardessano in Yountville pictured below.





Bardessano is an entirely different post, but since then, I have been absolutely hooked on Flora Grubb's vertical succulent wall hangings . They are so gorgeous and chic and perfect for a minimalist, modern wedding. Look at these amazing gardens below from the Flora Grubb site.





Aren't they gorgeous?? Sadly, a vertical wall hanging created by Flora Grubb is not in everyone's wedding budget. So, today there is good news. Flora Grubb has announced that the trays they use to build their vertical succulent garden are available for purchase. If you are in succulent country, you can tackle the challenge of creating your own! Read about the details more on Flora's blog. And if you do, I'd love to see what you come up with!

"Elemental" by Waterlily Pond Studioat Bouquets to Art

Back in mid-March, I went to the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park for a little floral inspiration at the Bouquets to Art. The Bouquets to Art is an annual celebration of floral design where noted floral designers are invited to create a floral art piece inspired by a particular work of art within the museum. The floral works are displayed next to their inspired art works.

I haven't been before, but I had been looking forward to it since I heard from my friend Natasha Lisitsa of Waterlily Pond Studio that she had been chosen to create the feature installation in Wilsey Court. At that point, she was waiting for that "lightbulb moment" and hadn't completed the final design. She must have had one bright shining moment because her extraordinary installation, "Elemental", a 20 ft x 15 ft, 800 lb masterpiece made of Manzanita Branches, Forsythia, Curly Willow and Anthuriums made my jaw drop as I entered the Wilsey Court... just absolutely breathtaking.

Natasha is a fabulous floral and event designer, a true artist and a lovely person! She has a very interesting background... she originally came to this country to work as an engineer and during the Dot.com bust, found a new direction in life... design. I am completely in awe of her creativity and so happy for her and all the attention she's getting for this creation.

The most exciting part? You can hire her to create your wedding florals or to design your entire event. Check out these photos of her installation below. They were taken by the talented Erin Beach, a wedding documentary style wedding photographer from San Francisco.




Here's the official description from the de Young.

Elemental, by Waterlily Pond Studio
Natasha Lisitsa, Daniel Schultz, Carla D’Agostino

Materials Used:
500 blossoming branches of Forsythia
30 Manzanita trees
200 trunks of Curly Willow
500 stems of Anthuriums
100 feet of copper tubing, inspired by the De Young architecture

Dedicated to the Grand Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Bouquets to Art.

Suspended within the austere, angular space of the Wilsey Court, a vibrant infusion of color and dynamic form initiates a celebration of life and all things Elemental. A radiant central composition of yellow forsythia and red Manzanita branches alludes to the sun and earth, the combined vital energy common to us all. Orbiting this form is an ascending spiral, which presents allusions to the building blocks of nature: the earth orbiting the sun, the atom, DNA, and to the continuous path of life along which we travel.

Rose and Radish - Hayes Valley

Rose and Radish A flower shop and gallery. Yet another gem in our beautiful city by the Bay... just right up my alley. Gorgeous designs, clever presentation, lovely things. I just fell in love with the shop after seeing another post on Housemartin. As a matter of fact, I think I'll stop in on Friday when I go to the City. Something to look forward to .

460 Gough Street in Hayes Valley. 415.864.4988

Event: Bouquets to Art 2009

Wondering what your floral designer does when he/she is not designing your wedding flowers? The Bouquets to Art is an event not to miss... This popular floral art show will be held this year at the de Young Fine Art Museum and features the artistic talents of many of the Bay Area's most creative floral designers as well as lectures by some of the world's big names in floral design. Here's the list of distinguished exhibitors.

March 16th - 21st, 2009. For more information check out the Bouquets to Art website.