Both have their charms.

midtown lobby flower arrangement. nice.


brooklyn deli flower arrangement. less large.

My current and ongoing narcissus bulb saga, chronicled on Facebook, recounted for you here.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10:31am. narcissus, take 2. no roots yet. what is going on with these bulbs?????

Monday, February 27, 2012 at 10:50am. trying a new bulb.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 2:32pm. florist dude says it takes 5 days to grow roots. I'll be patient. maybe. I have my doubts that these bulbs have life in them...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 2:51pm. got rid of bulb #3 [sic] today. maybe i'll try planting them in actual dirt.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 2:50pm. Okay, so I bought a new narcissus bulb. Let's see how this one goes. 4 bulbs later...

Narcissus #5 from a florist in Midtown. March 9, 2012, 8am

[click image to enlarge]

Can you believe this is a citron? Amazing! Called "Buddha's Hand" -- I guess citrons are kinda sorta spiritually symbolic. Significance #1. Significance #2.

I think I am going to buy more bulbs after these have bloomed and gone. It is such a nice thing to watch things grow. Next time, I want to get a tall glass vase and some rocks and grow the bulbs in water. I read in an old issue of Domino that the walls of the vase act as a support for the fronds. Good idea. The only problem is schlepping a very breakable vase and a bag of rocks home from the Flower District. On the subway. Back to Brooklyn. In rush hour.

'Tis also the season for paper whites. I planted mine on December 30. Excited to watch them grow.

"Cardón" Cactus, $24 on Lama Designs
Handmade on her way to work by Carolina Leal.

Just look at this crochet cactus! Don't you want one? I totally do. Even the dirt is crochet. The pot is actual, by the way. I found it on Decor8. One of her ads. You see, ads on blogs are effective.

Carolina believes "the secret to happiness is to do a little more than what's expected every time you do something." What a nice sentiment, and I totally agree!

A birdcage on Craigslist which someone else bought for $10.

I saw so many amazing arrangements of plants at Sprout Home in Williamsburg last week, that I am now full of ideas. A particularly eye-catching arrangement: succulents in a yellow birdcage! Clever idea. The way I see it, all I have to find is a birdcage on E-bay. And some yellow enamel paint at a hardware store. And make an arrangement of plants. Or I could just get the amazing yellow birdcage at Sprout Home. We'll see how things go.

Do I ever tire of taking these shots of palm trees?

No, I don't.

This tree looks like a Van Gogh painting.

I want this.

Look at this array!


What?? Do you believe how big this aloe plant is?

This barely-there blue-green brush was under this tree:


So beautiful. So sculptural.

Yes, I think that is always my favorite part of going to sunny Southern California. The plants! The trees! In the East, you can only find these things in pots, not growing in the ground. I am continually amazed. Here are some of my favorites. Some good textures too.

A plant grows in a bike basket in Brooklyn.

My handlebars, sans plant.

I never thought of turning my bike into a planter, although I might as well, because it has been sitting in my hallway, unridden and locked to the banister since the movers brought it up the three flights of stairs three years ago. But I am still a bike rider at heart. I always yield to bikes, look both ways in the bike cross walk, never drive a car, and other courteous things, including giving couriers "the nod."

I hope this bike basket windowbox which I spied on Franklin Street in my neighborhood survives Hurricane Hanna today.

...Or does it? I was pleased when I saw that someone was trying to beautify the neighborhood. This tree hole on the corner of Greenpoint Avenue and Franklin Street was in need, and someone filled that need with this plastic palm. I had no objection to it. But someone else did. Why uproot a tree, even if it is plastic?

After having built a bamboo support structure for my Christmas amaryllis, now far past its prime, I cannot part with it. Besides, I could let it go dormant in my Brooklyn hallway, and try to make it bloom again next year. An Amaryllis Grows in Brooklyn, and that sort of stuff.

another happy plant with bamboo support structure

My plants were looking a little more than a little sad this morning. In all honesty, they haven't been looking that great for the month of December, with the sun never shining on them anymore because of that depressing angle of light that never enters the house, and the heat-pumping radiator on which they sit with only a Lac Shelf from IKEA not really protecting them from cooking to death.

But this morning I decided to do something about it. I remembered that succulents are a forgiving variety that you can re-sculpt, and pretty much pretend that nothing ever happened. So after pruning, repotting and raising the leaves off the hot Lac Shelf by nesting them in decorative pots, I think they (and I) can survive the Winter. Remember, December 22 may be the shortest day of the year, but on December 23, the days start getting longer! I cannot wait.

[page print from zoozoom.com]

Published: Zoozoom.com, The Zoo Daily
Read it on Zoozoom: click here
Writing: Elaine Perlov
Photo: courtesy of Patrick Weder



If you have not already discovered the furniture design and sculptural objects of Patrick Weder, please peruse my article on Zoozoom at once. You will be pleased you did.



If you cannot view on Zoozoom: click on the image above
To read more of my articles for Zoozoom: click here

My Spring/Summer Table:
green stripe table cloth, white cafe paper and polkadot placemat overlays

All of my table designs are conceived as 'Modular layers.' Just like my clothing collections!
I think that layering complementary and contrasting
textures, patterns, and colors
creates more interest to your table (and to your ensembles too).
To read more about my concept of Modular Dressing,
click here.

I was browsing my blog the other day, when I came across an old table design which I completely forgot about [pictured above]. I have been using a purple linen tablecloth and brown wrinkled craft paper overlay [pictured below] for so long that I forgot about the summery green stripe table cloth with the white paper and polka-dot placemat overlays.

So I am designing a new table for dinner tonight and making a refreshing and light lemony-feta orzo pasta and mesclun salad. I am also trying to nurse my Lucky Bamboo back to health. I think it got heat stroke over the past 2 weeks. These plants mean a lot to me. I must make a grand gesture to try to save my Lucky Bamboo! I hope I can work some magic. Please send your good thoughts in the direction of my Lucky Bamboo...

The purple linen tablecloth with brown wrinkled craft paper overlay
as set up for a dinner party.


The purple linen table cloth with brown wrinkled craft paper overlay
as set up for Holiday: the same basic idea 'further accessorized' with
seasonal laser-cut plexi snowflakes

Now this is a great idea. Rounded boxwoods of varying sizes. You could do this in a window box with miniature versions, or actual size, as a border around a small yard. For this project, I wish I had a yard.

I will instead go visit this beautiful display just north of Gramercy Park. In fact, these shrubs belong to Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel. It is quite a place inside! I think I must visit the lobby the next time I am in the neighborhood. How about tomorrow?

raku vessels from West Elm [image: westelm.com]

In a little game I might call "Trace the Influence," I like to try to figure out what inspires design products. Flipping through the new West Elm catalogue this morning, I found these raku vessels. There is something about this shape that is so familiar, yet new and striking. To me, they look like amalgams of Chinese ritual bronze vessels. I will keep hunting for a better image comparison. I think I have a book on ritual bronzes somewhere.

In other news, Spring is just around the corner. Really! I always like to rush the season and force cuttings of forsythia. It is a great way to bring Spring into your space. And you may want to treat yourself to a new vase to display your blooms.

In other other news, I scored a perfect 5 out of 5 on my first Chinese quiz yesterday. I learned how to say "thank you" (xie xie) among other things. It was exciting. Onto the next lessons.

Succulents are such well-designed plants. How could I not love them? Particularly the one on the right that looks like elephant ears. I love the red on the edges. And the one below that looks like a tall jade plant. Simply heavenly. I am pleased they are surviving on my Brooklyn windowsill.

If you find yourself in Fullerton, California, have a lovely bite to eat at Hidalgo. Located in this picturesque Spanish style building, Hidalgo is a hidden gem. A few years ago, we outside ate in the courtyard, next to gigantic rosemary bushes, growing right in the ground! (I am continually amazed to see the potted plants of the East Coast growing right in the ground, year-round in the West. That is a constant treat for me.) This time we ate indoors because it was cold, but it was still a lovely meal.

Menu highlights: Seared Ahi Tuna Salad, Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna, Grilled Fish Tacos, Ceviche Andaluz, Mahi Poblano, and more. The restaurant is dressy and is one of the few non-chain restaurants in the Southland. A must-try.

courtyard entry

Fullerton at dusk.
Fullerton is a nice old town.
Still on a walking, human scale, uncorrupted by massive roads,
too many cars and too many strip malls and chains.