Architectural Digest Design Show 2016 Preview

If anyone doubts how artful design infuses aesthetic, lifestyle -- and the economy - look no further than the Architectural Digest Design Show. Thursday was "frothy/buzzy" press preview (and trade day); we were given an impressive overview of trends and technologies that are influencing home decor, cooking, lighting and refrigeration, and more. There are incredibly exciting products and processes that bring professional techniques and practices to the home -- and to add precision and pleasure to food prep, dining, barbecuing, and of course, sleeping, sitting, wall art, storage, bathroom vanities, garden containers, tables, and food and wine “preservation systems.” Whew!

The DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS Dining In Design showcased more than 40 tablescapes produced to integrate the DIFFA hope theme with entertaining glamour and style. These dining tableaus are a visual sensation inspired by flowers, plants, and organic elements including wood, metal, marble, water, and light. The designers create magic by blending the organics with texture, color, and -- love. You need to not only see the tablescapes but be sure to bid on the products - -all the monies go to fighting HIV/AIDS - http://www.501auctions.com/dbdny to buy.


The show is now open to the public, running through Sunday.  Design enthusiasts, home cooks, and artisans will be inspired by the talent and brands at the Architectural Show, located at Piers 92 and 94 in New York City. Where else can you experience a range of more than 400 brands and dealers encompassing food, drink, gardens, home design, and tablescapes for just $40. Consumer Tickets are available.

I’ll do a few reports/posts on the show but for now, here are more than a few images to highlight the show-stoppers and trends.

The main areas to visit are:

MADE: handcrafted, one-of-a-kind furnishings, art, and accessories

reFresh: Luxury brands, including Sub-Zero and Wolf, and Jenn-Air and Gaggenenau (they've been in business since 1683!), and Baldwin, that share their space with up and coming kitchen, bath, and hardware brands.

Furnish: international furniture brands, including DwellStudio, Boca do Lobo, and The Future Perfect

Shops: Curated retail section of decor, gifts, tabletop accessories - don’t miss Golden Door - loved their marmalade and cookies, and Rifle Paper Co. - had to buy their iPhone cover -- I’m sooo into peacocks at the moment. I find these birds mysterious and elegant -- and perfect decor accessory.

The DIFFA Dining In Design:

  

Captivating tableau! Plant ceiling, Scully & Scully accessories, 1930 Murano chandelier 

A "wall" of vapor (water) by The Rockwell Group water theme is stunning

Designer Darrin Vardin created this thoughtful tablescape for the NY Times & Lladro starting with, "What's black & white and read/"red" all over?" adage; brilliant & creative. Love the Lladro black equine pieces

Kate Spade's design for Kravet was fitted dress chairs, preppy colors & a fun series of garden party table settings & umbrellas

Benjamin & Moore's tablescape celebrated their more than 200 shades of  white.  Cool elegance. Crate & Barrel did white too.

Spellbinding Atlantis-theme tables cape with seashells, black table, shimmery wall coverings,  & squid-looking lights

Trends and New Products:

Thermador under-counter refrigerators, dishwasher with timed - 23 entertainment washes - steam cooking - the fastest growing cooking category






Koket Love Happens, designer, Janet Morais shows her acid-stain leather chairs, new line of bedding, wall treatments (don’t miss the feathers), textiles - the hides and the incredibly soft, luxe velvets.



And chairs and seating Koket provided for the set of the fabulous and favorite, hit TV show: Empire. Love this!

Sexy Koket chairs used on the Empire TV show set. The color screams glamour - and the legs whisper "Jimmy Choo!"

Zephyr - kitchen ventilation hoods wowed with sleek angles, LED lights and quiet …




Ronbow - bathroom vanities - featuring double-sided mirrors, floating corners, LED lights, drawers with USB ports

Dacor - luxury kitchen appliances from a family-owned company, with lots of innovation technology: first 30” wall oven, first in wine preservation, and others. Dacor featured an IQ Range Dacor Discovery with a built-in tablet that can be operated from a smart phone -- think about pre-heating before you get home.

Pennoyer Newman - lightweight, architectural, custom, garden containers cast from estate originals. I’ve added these wonderful, durable, beautiful pots to my Duchess Designs clients’ gardens. Love the look and pedigree. Today I met Dinny Pennoyer, daughter of the founder. Dinny shared the delightful story about how the planters came about: the story started with her grandmother who was JP Morgan’s daughter, and her husband’s friend: Clay Frick. With such friends and family pedigree, it’s not a surprise she had great interest in many of the garden structures: containers, and fountains and other objects of art. She then developed the “through and through” crushed marble and stone and color that made the pots so unique.



At the show, Pennoyer &Newman are introducing four new Grecian-inspired urns with wide openings, and a fabulous, clean-looking container that was inspired by a 20th century industrial concrete mixer! So creative.

Dinny Pennoyer (L) & Virginia Newman at their garden-fresh booth, dripping with spring flowers & serene fountain

RangeCraft - custom range hoods, and a first - some with sparkling, dazzling Swarovski crystals! This is my kind of kitchen design.

Rangecraft's dazzling Swarovski crystal hood - adds glamour to the kitchen! 

Ovando - an incredible floral design, environmental decor, and with Elan Vital, a wallpaper murals inspired by flowers.



Flat Vernacular - the most curious, compelling wallpaper designs from artist Payton Turner.

Wallpaper designer: Payton Turner

The fiver-year old company creates custom wall coverings. There is one entire wall at the show booth with coloring book wallpaper. Scaffolds supported painters in pink Converse - coloring in the details. Fun - and arresting. There’s a companion coloring book, too.

You won't get in trouble coloring on this wall! Coloring-bookWallpaper from Flat Vernacular

dagmara weinberg - creates the most intriguing collection of nature photographs designed in a kind of kaleidoscope way - using cherry blossoms, branches and seashells. I am completely smitten by the sexy, suggestive cherry blossoms. Loved the interpretations for her textiles and side tables, too.

Dagmara Weinberg shows her art - on photographs & on metal. Beautiful & suggestive images… 

Ben Langford - Designs canvas photography flowers wall “sculptures.” The flowers are big - maybe two-feet across. They are colorful and vibrant - and some have what designer Ben describes as “decay.” Using velcro to adhere to a space, I can see these making walls and ceilings very happy.

More floral-inspired designs from Emilio Robba where color exploded with orchids, tropical leaves in vases, on pillows. Dripping with garden glamour.








Brown Jordan showed new six-foot rolling barbeque carts with new Dripped color panels and an outdoor TV cart.

Nice addition to outdoor entertainment lifestyle -- just add your own TV to  piece. Television drops down inside

Echo's Tablescape for DIFFA Dining in Design is a change your spots safari kind of theme.

Lynn Roberts, daughter of Echo's founding couple: Edgar & Dorothy.  You can say that Love gave rise to the company. Lynn shared how her parents went from getting their marriage license to a business license - it was their wedding day! Sweet. And I've always loved their scarves. ..

Register for 4th Annual Green Industry Intern "Hortie Hoopla" at The New York Botanical Garden

THE 4th ANNUAL NYC-AREA GREEN INDUSTRY INTERN FIELD DAY IS JULY 20


The annual Green Industry event designed exclusively for interns has proven to be an overwhelming success. Largely the brainchild of Charles Yurgalevitch, Director, School of Professional Horticulture (SoPH), this year marks the fourth time The New York Botanical Garden’s SoPH will host a day brimming with talks, networking, and fun -- to celebrate and educate the interns about the myriad career options available within the noble field of horticulture.

WHO: For Tri-State area horticulture interns working in the Green industries. The annual “Hortie Hoopla” event provides attendees the opportunity to network and increase awareness of the many professional career opportunities in the diverse field of horticulture.


WHAT: A FREE, fun-filled, inspiring day hosted by New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) School of Professional Horticulture


WHEN: Wednesday, July 20, 2016. Registration: 11 am; Talks: 12:30 pm; Activities till dusk.


WHERE: New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY


SPEAKERS:

Keynote Speaker Kelly D. Norris, Director of Horticulture, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,, nurseryman and award-winning author


Karen Washington,, community activist called “urban farming’s de facto godmother” by The New York Times


Quill Teal-Sullivan, Garden Manager at Meadowburn Farm, a 130-year-old designed landscape in Vernon, NJ - the Garden State.


ACTIVITIES:
Self-Guided Exploration

Garden Tours

Plant ID Contest

Evening BBQ with games and prizes

Tour of NYBG Library 

To register: Contact Eric Lieberman at NYBG: elieberman@nybg.org

Food and drink generously provided by:

Bartlett Tree Experts

Mario Bulfamante & Sons

Floral Landscape Services

Landcraft Environments, Ltd.

NY State Arborists Association

Riverside Park Conservancy

Trees New York

The Bronx Brewery

The New York Botanical Garden 2016 Orchid Show Exhibit Orchidelirium celebrates the enduring spell of orchids.

Let’s just stop pretending that anything other than beauty matters when it comes to orchids.... Just like any of us who have ever been hopelessly in love, we all swoon when seeing a truly irresistible romantic. Here, at The New York Botanical Garden's orchid show extravangza, there are rainbows of colors, the (good) fragrances, and the incredibly, intricate forms or shapes of an orchid to capture our hearts desire. Plus there is something so inextricably intimate about the orchid blossoms. They are seductive. They draw you in - not unlike their unwitting pollinators. (More on that later - but according to Marc Hachadourian,  Director of the Nolen Greenhouses and Curator of the Orchid Collection, on a pre-event tour of the Orchid Show,

"Most, if not all of the orchid's pollinators, prefer the flower to the female."  Sexy...

We “lean in” to see and smell and admire these exotic plants. They captivate us like no other plant for any number of reasons. So, I’ll let their elegant beauty tell the story.

I was honored to again have an invitation from New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) - (and disclosure, I once worked at the Garden) to attend the 14th Annual Orchid Show. I remember the initial thinking and strategy behind the Orchid Show exhibit. What a blockbuster the Orchid Show has become. This year all exhibits will be, in some way, an homage to the Garden’s 125th Anniversary.

First up: the beauty. As NYBG noted in their background material: “The 19th-century craze sparked by a single orchid bloom, which came to be known as Orchidelirium, is the inspiration for The New York Botanical Garden’s 14th annual Orchid Show, which opens on February 27 and runs through April 17, 2016. Visitors to the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will be transported on an epic journey that engages all of the senses and underscores the allure and intrigue of these exquisite beauties.

Thousands of orchids in a stunning array of colors, sizes, shapes, and textures will be showcased, highlighting the far-flung adventures of daring explorers who risked life and limb to secure these captivating and exotic flowers from danger-laden jungles around the world for determined collectors. From its origins in England as a symbol of power, wealth, and opulence, the frenzied fascination with orchids underpins the exhibition, which illustrates their transition from the wild to their display and cultivation as well as the Garden’s important role in their conservation today.

And seeing the displays today and with regard to the background information on the Garden’s impressive work to conserve and preserve orchids, I feel there must have been an interloper of sorts listening to a conversation about the upcoming orchid show on a return train trip from the Garden not that long ago with fellow horticulturists. I was detailing how I wished the Garden could could showcase the orchids they’ve respectfully taken care of all these many years - as part of the their abundant role as a designated Plant Rescue Center. So I was thrilled to read this paragraph from NYBG. Maybe in future years we can all view these rescue orchid plants and learn their stories as told from the “bad” plant hunters. There’s a lesson here for all…

"Orchid exploration today is inextricably tied to conservation efforts to preserve species in the wild. Since 1990, The New York Botanical Garden has been a designated Plant Rescue Center, charged with nurturing and bringing back to health orchids that have been collected illegally in the wild and seized at international borders through the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). NYBG’s orchid experts, Matthew Pace, Assistant Curator of the Herbarium, and Marc Hachadourian, Director of the Nolen Greenhouses and Curator of the Orchid Collection, are at the forefront of modern orchidology and conservation. "  Yeah!!

Marc Hachadourian, Director of the Nolen Greenhouses and Curator of the Orchid Collection

Did you know?  

NYBG will tell you, "Orchids belong to the largest family of flowering plants, with more than 30,000 naturally occurring species. NYBG’s celebrated permanent orchid collection represents all of the floristic regions of the world, including Australia, Africa, South America, and Madagascar, and this exhibition will showcase some unusual and rarely seen gems. Specimens of the spectacular Psychopsis papilio, which inspired the Duke of Devonshire’s obsession with orchids that contributed to Orchidelirium in London, will be on view along with Paphiopedilum sanderianum, named for nurseryman Frederick Sander, the self-proclaimed “Orchid King,” renowned for the remarkable length of its petals."

Aesthetic delights in the Haupt Conservatory begin in the Palms of the World Gallery’s Reflecting Pool, which will be festooned with a plethora of bold orchids in pots and delicate orchids perched in trees. Proceeding through the exhibition, visitors will be treated to displays of thousands orchids as they grow in the wild, in much the same way the Victorian-era explorers first encountered them in their travels through tropical habitats around the world— cascading from branches, nestled in crevices, reaching up from under rain forest trees. To create this irresistible world of fragrance and color, NYBG horticulturists assemble thousands of flowers from the Garden’s research collections as well as the finest growers across the country. From the rare and oldest to the unusual and iconic, orchids of seemingly every conceivable color, shape, and provenance will be on display.

Moving on through the Conservatory galleries, you’ll learn about the transition of orchids from growing in the wild to cultivation in the greenhouse. The trendsetting Duke of Devonshire began collecting orchids in 1833 at his Chatsworth House estate. His head gardener, Joseph Paxton, revolutionized the way orchids were cultivated in England by innovating larger and more effective glasshouses, beginning with the Great Conservatory there and culminating in his masterpiece, the Crystal Palace of Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition in London in 1851.

A series of vignettes will evoke the dazzling glasshouse displays that the Duke and other obsessed collectors went to great lengths to create with their newly acquired prized specimens brought back by hired hunters, who often endured shipwrecks, animal attacks, and even fatal competition among other hunters.

Antiqued, staged potting benches with specimen orchids of strange and rare species will be featured. Hanging pots, baskets, and Victorian walls containing a diverse selection of orchids from around the world combine formal features with less formal plantings to achieve a lush and enveloping glasshouse environment. A small stone patio will accommodate a stunning Wardian Cases (an early type of protective terrarium for plants that was used as a method of transporting and displaying the orchids) housing a selection of miniature orchids.

Also highlighted throughout the exhibition will be fellow British horticulturists and collectors such as James Bateman, whose beautifully illustrated manuscripts contained detailed renderings of orchids and vignettes depicting New World Spanish colonies. Oakes Ames, the great American botanist and NYBG Patron, traveled the globe with his wife, Blanche, who illustrated their finds. Ames donated his important collection to NYBG in 1906, and several rare plants will be on display.

The Orchid Show: Orchidelirium is designed by Christian Primeau, who oversees the extensive tropical/subtropical plant collections housed in 11 unique environments in the Conservatory. Marc Hachadourian curates the exhibition’s orchid selection and NYBG’s extensive groupings of living plants from around the world housed in the Nolen Greenhouses, the behind-the- scenes glasshouses where plants for the Garden’s indoor and outdoor displays and science program are grown and maintained.

Don't miss this enchanting orchid display.  In the meantime, enjoy this magical orchid hillock display in the video I shot at the preview:

Event Details:
The Orchid Show: Orchidelirium will be on display as NYBG marks its 125th Anniversary from February 27 to March 17th.

Plus: 

§ Orchid Evenings on Saturdays (March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9,16), Friday (April 15), and Thursday (March 24, LGBT night) bring a nighttime cocktail experience to The Orchid Show: Orchidelirium.

One of New York City’s most romantic date night activities, Orchid Evenings start at 6:30 pm and include a complimentary cocktail. On select evenings, visitors can also upgrade to V.I.P. status and enjoy an Orchid Lounge.

Non-Member $35/Member $25 (Adults 21 and over) Advance tickets recommended.

§ In partnership with the Poetry Society of America, Poetry for Every Season: Ada Limon features poems in the landscape celebrating spring, flowers, and beauty.

§ World Beat: Music and Dance Around the World of Orchids brings live performances from cultures around the world on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the exhibition.

§ On weekends during the exhibition, orchid care demonstrations with topics such as “Easy Orchid Care,” “Fantastically Fragrant Orchids,” and “Orchid Tips for Amateurs” show visitors how to care for their own orchids.

§ Cell phone/Mobile or Smart Phone tour stops at NYBG Shop will be available to provide answers to frequently asked orchid questions and allow visitors to dial up care tips on watering and feeding, reblooming, and repotting for several specific types of orchids. Thousands of top-quality orchids, from exotic, hard-to-find specimens for connoisseurs to elegant yet easy-to-grow varieties for beginners, are available for purchase at NYBG Shop, along with orchid products and books.

The Next Renaissance of Horticulture - Planting in a Post-Wild World lecture at NYBG

Anticipation was amped-up for the Thomas Rainer talk at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). He and co-author, Claudia West recently headlined at Metro Hort’s annual trade show and symposium: Plant-O-Rama. And frankly, I hadn’t heard this kind of frothy excitement for a speaker in I can’t remember when. Well, really I can. It was when Tracy DiSabato Aust launched her series of planting guide books, including or especially, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden

Rainer, landscape architect, teacher, and writer didn’t disappoint. He is authentic, experienced - as in he’s done this - not just come up with some ideas. And he is, understandably, more than inspiring. In a soft-spoken way. Not like the image of a firebrand "revolutionary." But make no mistake - Rainer is at the vanguard of a revolution: a "renaissance of horticulture."

I was lucky to have ridden the train back to Manhattan with Thomas so we got to chat a bit about the business vagaries of today’s horticulture, gardens, deer - they are destroying our understory and our gardens.. and why do we need to import New Zealand lamb when we are being overrun with bloody deer?! And tax credits for maintaining edible gardens (those last two, I confess, are my hot topics!)  Not a surprise Thomas is just as delightfully professional one-on-one as he is in the lecture hall. I can more readily appreciate how he is a leading voice in ecological landscape design. And boy do we need this now.

Rainer and West’s book, Planting in a Post-Wild World has aroused garden designers and landscape professionals to a reverential state. The book claims no less than to be the “future of planting design.” By the end of the lecture, it was with a respectful awe that I rather came round to agree with this assertion. Like a force of nature, it took some time to understand it all. And while I haven’t read the entire book yet, my notes from the lecture and looking through my autographed Post-Wild book (lucky me!), I’ll share the top-line revelations as to why you must get this book and become a Wild advocate.

First, there is the concept of Plant Communities and their “relationships with the environment” not as types or categories but as a series of layers that are sequentially added to the site.” The book notes, “Understanding the distinction between design and functional layers is crucial to balancing beauty with function.”

Like any disciple of fashion knows, it’s all about the layering.

So too, Post-Wild’s planting model utilizes the concept of vertical layering with planting designs. The First Layer or Structural Layer  “describes the tallest, most visually dominant species within a (plant) community.” These are the glamour plants that the book says, “draw your attention with their distinct architecture, tall height, and bold colors and textures.”

Think trees, shrubs, tall perennials and grasses. This layer, the authors assert, is the “design layer because its goal is to create visually pleasing horticultural effects.”

The next layer is the Functional Layer.  Hey, not all plants are divas. This layer, the authors describe, as “the mix of low, ground-covering species.” They claim that “almost no one sees it.” I may not be totally on-board with this suggestion as I’m a meticulous, ie. obsessive garden designer and enthusiast. For me and my clients. But I understand the concept. Which is, according to Wild, “to hold the ground and fill any gaps to prevent weed invasion.” I Love this layer “nook and cranny” planting design.  Plus, let’s not continue to think of mulch as the filler, Rainer suggests.

There is one more element to fostering the true plant community and that is the “Seasonal Theme Layer.” These are the companion plants or "friends" to the Structural Plants. This plant category represents from 25 to 40 percent of the planting and is dominated by the plants’ “filler” performances in terms of structure, and color balance.

What kind of Plants are in the Look-Book Layers?

As the backbone of the planting, Layer 1 or the Structural plants include: Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, or Miscanthus sinensis, as well as perennials such as Asclepias incarnata, in addition to the trees and shrubs. Key notes Wild is the structural frame species must be “long-lived.”

Layer 2 or the Seasonal Theme Plants include : Salvia nemorosa, Calamintha nepeta nepeta, or Mertensia virginica.

Layer 3 or the Ground-Covering Plants include those with “aggressive, clonal-spreading behavior (yikes!) such as ferns, sedges, (ahhh) and woody plants such as Vaccinium or Heath, Calluna vulgaris, or Origanum, Tiarella or Geum.

Rainer lamented the decline of natural wild spaces. There is no doubt that increasingly we live in urban-esque environments. He cites the “enchanting power” of wildness.

Planting is a Post-Wild World is truly a doable, revolutionary approach to landscape design.

Later, in line for the book signing, I overheard the woman two after me gush, “You changed my life." This kind of worship is most often reserved for spiritual leaders or life coaches. But then, hearing Rainer’s garden landscape manifesto, there is no doubt that surely, he is indeed a kind of spiritual leader.

Please get this book and come to a new place of garden design…

Plants naturally interact. Wild offers a place and mind-set to reflect on the marriage or intersection of horticulture and ecology. Oh, and one more design and fashion point here, Rainer admonishes a point so close to my garden design ethos: “Abandon the lawn.” Not entirely, mind you. He explains, it’s better as an “area rug vs. a carpet - a terrace when surrounded by plants.”

Published by Timber Press - every plant lover’s favorite - Post-Wild’s blurbs capture the celebrities of the horticulture world, including the cover page’s quote from Doug Tallamy and back-of-book quote from landscape architect, Larry Weaner.  High praise from the best. We can all learn and enjoy the journey. 

Post-Wild suggests that wild is no longer “nature lost” as in we could just leave the city or move to a less-developed area.  Now, the “front lines of the battle for nature are in our own backyard” … parking lots, and public spaces….

Let’s embrace this garden design “revolution.” No need to barricade the gates. After all, they are happy, garden gates - the entry to understanding a sustainable, ecological, landscape.

Rainer’s blog, grounded design by Thomas Rainer offers a potent credo. One of the more salient points is: "Nature should be interpreted not imitated in designed landscapes." Furthermore, the feedback from readers on Amazon delivers plenty of four-star accolades you’ll find inspiring, thought-provoking and well, revolutionary. A glamorous - and sustainable - road map to the future of garden design.