Table of contents for July/August 2022 in Flower

“For how might ever sweetnesse have be knowe to him that never tasted bitternesse?”— “Troilus and Criseyde” by Geoffrey Chaucer AS WE DELVE INTO OUR ARCHIVES to commemorate our 15 years in print (YES, 15!), I am struck by the vicissitudes of life in general—and in the life of FLOWER in particular. A while back, I visited Napa Valley’s Newton Vineyard. I spent the day directing a photo shoot and learning all about the genesis and development of one of the most interesting and exquisite properties I’ve ever had the good fortune to experience. We featured the story in our November/December 2013 issue. Sadly, this Edenic vineyard/garden has since been destroyed during the brutal wildfires of 2020. All the more reason to highlight this special place again, this time on…

Inspiration: Nothings says “summertime” quite like a fistful of wildflowers. To capture that carefree vibe, floral designer Randy McManus filled a hollowed birch log with a rainbow of blooms and branches in various shapes and sizes, creating an organic display that is both elegant and enchanting. Behind the Scenes “I have never met a stick in the woods that I didn’t like,” laughs Greensboro floral designer Randy McManus as he untangles an unruly mass of curly willow. “I am a forager and discoverer, and I love digging so deep into the soil that I can almost feel its nutrients. I actually feel cleansed after getting my hands dirty, whether I am way out in the woods or I’m just working in my own backyard garden.” Randy, who opened his eponymous…

Maria Nation does not think twice when describing the sleeping pavilion experience. “Womb-like” is the word that immediately comes to mind. Her favorite facet? The night music that floats into the unwired, unplumbed, and unheated room. “You can hear the peepers and also the distant coyotes,” she says. Like many of the components at Good Dogs Farm, the pavilion was spontaneously designed, or as Maria says, “totally on the fly.” She wanted a summer bedroom, found some inexpensive windows, called a carpenter, and had an architect friend on speed dial. That architect designed a glass ceiling, and Maria says the idea was nothing short of brilliant. “We love to lie awake looking at the stars.” The antique bed is clothed in fine European linen sheets and draped in gauze for…

Any items not listed are unknown. IN BLOOM PAGES 15–19: ENTERTAIN: Designer: Andrea Houck of A. Houck Designs, ahouckdesigns.com Floral designer: fleursDC, fleursdc.com Landscape designer: Thomas Landscapes, thomaslandscapes.com PAGES 20-22: DECORATE: FLOWERS: Floral designer: Randy McManus Designs Inc., randymcmanusdesigns.com PAGES 24-25: DECORATING: MOOD: Interior designer: Virginia McCary Design, virginiamccarydesign.com ON THE ROCKS PAGES 46-53: Landscape architect: Hoerr Schaudt, hoerrschaudt.com Builder: Kirby Perkins Construction, kirbyperkins.com TO TOWN FROM COUNTRY PAGES 60–67: Interior design: Blaire Murfree, blairedesigns.com Styling: Alexandra Norwood, blairedesigns.com FOYER: Lantern: Scott Antique Markets, scottantiquemarket.com; Ottoman: Billy Baldwin Studio, billybaldwinstudio.com; Ottoman fabric: Jane Shelton Fabrics, janeshelton.com SUNROOM: Floral chairs and pillows: Bennison Fabrics, bennisonfabrics.com; Drapery: Soane Britain, soane.co.uk; Lampshades: Penny Morrison, pennymorrison.com; Accent pillows: Brunschwig & Fils, kravet.com; Side tables: Fabulous Things Ltd., fabulousthingsatlanta.com LIVING ROOM: Pillows: Jasper, michaelsmithinc.com; Lampshades: Edgar-Reeves, edgar-reeves.com; Ottoman fabric: Jasper, michaelsmithinc.com; Painting: Kerry…

Growing up, Virginia McCary was introduced to antiques, fine jewelry, and curiosities by her grandmother. She later spent time working in the floral industry and then under designer Iris Thorpe. In 2016, she continued her passion for design by opening her own firm. Virginia’s aesthetic is transitional, collected, timeless, and inviting. She loves introducing antiques into fresh spaces and is always up for the thrill of the hunt!…

INSPIRING INTERIORS OVER THE YEARS TIMELESS TABLESCAPES See more favorites from the past 15 years, plus a new, celebratory arrangement how-to from New Orleans designer Stephen Sonnier and a summer birthday celebration from James Farmer’s new book atowermag.com/15/.…

The Jones family had a running joke. Every time Debby and Bart Jones drove by the imposing house with its massive columns and “look at me” dimensions, they would turn around and say to their three sons, “This is the house we were really meant to live in.” The Joneses were weekending in a modest saltbox just down the street in the Connecticut neighborhood, and they really had no intention of buying the dramatic white house when it came on the market in 1997. But when the “For Sale” sign lingered for three years, they couldn’t figure out why it hadn’t sold. The family decided to satisfy their curiosity by making an appointment to tour the home. They quickly discovered that not only were new roofs needed on all buildings,…

All of the above provided through partnership with Replacements, Ltd., 800.737.5223, replacements.com…

When lifelong Louisianian Bridget Boustany and husband Charles moved to Washington, D.C., they each had their own wishes. Charles wanted to be near the Capitol so he could bike to work, while Bridget was intent on finding a home with enough outdoor space to cultivate an urban oasis for entertaining. Luckily, both requests were fulfilled with a historic townhouse boasting front and rear gardens in a storied Capitol Hill neighborhood. To help her with the interiors, Bridget knew she wanted a fellow Southerner who would understand her love of formality, antiques, and Southern hospitality. Her search led to Washington, D.C., designer Andrea Houck, originally from Morganton, North Carolina. “It was design love at first sight,” says Bridget. “We both like the same things—florals, color, and a welcoming Southern aesthetic. Adds…

Ask Maria Nation about the backstory behind her Berkshires garden, and she’ll launch into the history of its many iterations before coming to its current moment of splendor. She’ll talk about the 20-year evolution that started with the meager foundation plantings in place when she first bought the 8-acre property from Wanda Toscanini Horowitz (Vladimir Horowitz’s widow). The initial incarnations were willy-nilly, fed by the prevalence of perennials purchased from neighborhood garden centers. As Maria became more educated about her plants, the scene began to evolve into what it is today—a cleaner, more architectural configuration of big statements that depends more on large swipes with pruning shears and less on fussing around with weeding tools. But what really drives Maria’s garden could be distilled into a quick explanation: She comes…

Garden and event designer Renny Reynolds affectionately describes his Florida property as a cross section of Marrakesh, San Miguel, and Udaipur. The landscape appears like a tropical tousle of greenery and flowers vying for attention from pedestrians who can’t resist peering over the wall. A closer look reveals an artistic, Indian-inspired entry with intricately carved doors and ornate, mahogany-stained columns. A riot of magenta bougainvillea drapes along a pergola above pots of assorted flowers while three large bronze bells dangle from a wall. And all of this is before you even walk through the home and step into the backyard garden. “When the wind is blowing here, it is so noisy with all varieties of palm fronds and vegetation clacking together. It sounds like a living percussion orchestra.”—RENNY REYNOLDS Here…

WHEN BLAIRE MURFREE got a call from a client asking her to help downsize from a large country estate southwest of Nashville to a townhouse in nearby Belle Meade, the designer knew it would be an exciting challenge. “My client’s previous house was a beautiful Georgian home with a lot of history, old architectural bones, and rooms that were huge in scale,” says Blaire. “She entertained often and had a lot of family pieces she wanted to preserve. My goal was to make this relatively new, smaller home look like it has some history and gravitas while also feeling fresh.” Given that the owner has four sets of china and five sets of silver, the first item on the agenda was maximizing storage. Blaire decided to open up the original…