Table of contents for September/October 2021 in Flower

“Nothing like a farm. Nothing like being around animals, fixing things. There’s nothing like being in the field with the corn and the winter wheat. The greenest stuff you ever saw.”—Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) in The Natural ALMOST EVERY SATURDAY MORNING of my early adolescence, I would go with my mother to pay a call on her namesake, my great-grandmother Carrie. She lived in a rambling, unpretentious but graceful fieldstone farmhouse on the crest of a country mountain outside Birmingham, Alabama. I use the phrase “pay a call” intentionally. As a young girl, my greatest passion was horseback riding. And of course, school-year Saturdays were the best of days since I would be dropped at the barn in the morning and picked up late afternoon. But not before the “call”…

New Ravenna, maker of custom tile mosaics, has partnered with bespoke hand-painted wallpaper company Gracie to bring even more magic to walls with imaginative glass mosaics. The designs represent international historical themes, from Roman and Chinese antiquity to Japan’s late Edo period and French Art Deco. As Jennifer Gracie explains, “We admired the work of New Ravenna long before we connected about a collaboration. I lost count of their many gorgeous designs I saved on Instagram. Wallpaper and showers do not generally mix well, so New Ravenna’s mosaic interpretations expand Gracie into the bathroom and kitchen!” newravenna.com…

The field team at Edgewater Farm has already been working for several hours when the farmstand staff arrives at 8 a.m. The river might buffer the farm from early frosts, but still, Plainfield, New Hampshire, is downright chilly from September onward. Bundled in wool from their snug hats down to their wool socks, with plenty of sweater layers in between, Allie Boeri and her farmstand coworkers can see their breath come out in cloudy puffs as they face bushels of freshly picked produce waiting to be transformed into displays that tantalize customers. Sacks spill with ears of corn, ripe heirloom tomatoes blush from their boxes, homegrown pumpkins overflow from heavy crates, and ripe succulent figs from the greenhouse are gingerly lined up to prevent bruising. It’s all poised to be…

“After we all spent more time at home over the past year, furniture manufacturers are responding to the immediate demands in the home office for both form and function without sacrificing beauty.”—AMANDA SMITH FOWLER…

Flower Flash by Lewis Miller (Monacelli Press, 2021), $55 Everything we’ve ever wanted to know about esteemed New York florist Lewis Miller and his famous Flower Flashes that bring beauty to the urban landscape and joy and comfort to all who pass by them Collected Interiors: Rooms That Tell a Story by Philip Mitchell (Rizzoli, 2021), $55 In his first book, which features nine homes ranging from New York’s Upper East Side to Nova Scotia, Philip’s signature “modern maximalism” is on full display, as is his talent for layering different styles and eras. His passion for engaging art, collections, and gallery walls encourages us to go bold. The Well-Loved House by Ashley Whittaker (Rizzoli, 2021), $50 Botanical custom murals, exuberant and quiet floral fabrics, and walls done in aubergine and…

Boston-area interior designer Mally Skok debuts a lively new line of four woven performance fabrics to join her existing collections. Although she was grounded during the pandemic, Mally looked to her past adventures for inspiration. “I designed my woven collection after a trip to Morocco with my sister. I loved the different designs and weaves of the rugs and textiles we saw in the marketplace,” she says. “In addition to thinking about the places I love to travel the most, for this collection I drew on the colors from the nature around me, playing with the colors of flowers, leaves, sea, earth, and sky.” Those inspirations are naturally some of our favorites. Each pattern comes in four colorways. mallyskokdesign.com…

ONLY AN HOUR FROM THE BUZZ OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, off a nondescript bumpy road, sits the idyllic farm property of Flower magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, Margot Shaw, and her husband, Gates. When Gates was a youth, his businessman father liked to go out every Sunday “riding and looking” for a piece of land in the countryside not too far from town. And finally, one day, he found an ideal parcel. Over the decades, adjoining properties were purchased, giving the farm more privacy and expansive vistas. Under Gates’ stewardship, the plantings and topography have been tailored to attract and protect the sensitive quail population. While rustic cabins had been built over the years, Gates and Margot had been dreaming about a farmhouse with more creature comforts, but their busy lives postponed…

Prices are subject to change. Any items not listed are unknown. BRIERFIELD FARM: A FAMILY RETREAT PAGES 50–67: Architecture by Pete Pritchard, Pete Pritchard Architects Inc., petepritchard.com. Landscape design by Ben Page, Page | Duke Landscape Architects, pageduke.com. Interior design by Mary Evelyn McKee, Mary Evelyn Interiors, maryevelyn.com. Builder, Larry Gemmill. Landscaper, Gary A. Webb, Gary A. Webb Horticulturist Inc., garyawebbhorticulturist.com. Floral design by Suzanne Graves of Wildflower Designs, wildflowerdesigns.net; container plantings by Shoppe, shoppebham.com. All wall and trim paint, Devonshire Green and Baffin Island by Benjamin Moore, benjaminmoore.com. FRONT PORCH PAGE 50: Moon Walk light post lantern (with French Quarter lantern on yoke hanger) and Governor pool house lanterns, all by Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights; leather and waxed cotton log carrier by Tom Beckbe, tombeckbe.com; boots by Le Chameau, lechameau.com.…

London-based Floral Street, created by beauty industry veteran Michelle Feeney, is introducing eco-friendly perfumes for the home with a new line of fragrant candles and diffusers in four scents. The company says the new scents are “powered by flowers,” which makes us smile. “When we were developing our clean and conscious home range, I realized what we don’t put in is just as important as what we do put in. Taking out all the harmful elements enables the fine fragrance to shine through,” Michelle says. The collection appeals to those who desire calming scents and those who want to be energized. From $46 for a candle or diffuser. nordstrom.com and floralstreet.com…

MATERIALS ■ 24-gauge floral wire■ 1 or 2 stems ‘Earth’ spray roses■ 2 or 3 stems peach lisianthus■ 1 or 2 stems variegated carnations, petals removed■ 1 or 2 stems rose sumac■ 5 to 7 stems raspberry scabiosa■ 1 (¾-inch) self-adhesive felt pad■ 1 chenille stem■ 3-inch brass cuff with a center swedge hole■ Stem wrap tape■ UGlu tabs or sturdy doublesided tape■ Floral adhesive (optional) Artful Wired Cuff This stylish corsage is currently my favorite to make. Over the last several years, I’ve enjoyed sharing my cuff corsage techniques. Students have overwhelmingly embraced the look of these sleek floral bracelets, and they’ve found that using floral adhesive to attach the floral components is efficient and secure. However, some say that while they love the look of these pieces, they miss the…

TABLE TALK Nothing welcomes guests more than a layered table with a variety of colors and textures. This table setting was created with our Brierfield Farm showhouse partner Replacements, Ltd. Turn to page 50 for a tour of the showhouse.…