This month, our guest blogger Jenny Leary helps you update your garden for spring:
Image credit: Jenny Leary (Mirror wall at Potted)
On March 21st, spring officially begins and we’ve already started to experience nature’s ability to regenerate, with flowers and trees budding in our gardens and on the sidewalks. And with the clocks set forward in anticipation of the longer days to come, it’s time we paid attention to our backyards, patios and lawns so we can make the most of this.
Many of us celebrate the return of light and color by tending our gardens. If you’re looking for inspiration for how to design your green spaces, whether indoor or outdoor, why not stroll over to your local nursery? I decided to see what LA has to offer in the way of plant stores, and was pleasantly surprised. My first stop was Orchid Fever in Culver City, whose plant-filled greenhouse could easily double as a botanical garden:
Image credit: www.christopherchoo.com
On the other side of town, I discovered the lush world of Potted – a plant store that carries an eclectic mixture of antique and contemporary garden accessories. This is the place to get those antique stained glass windows, powder-coated steel spheres, or felted green garlands that you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Image credit: Jenny Leary (Entrance to Potted)
Owner Mary Gray explains that the colorful style reflects the taste of her surrounding bohemian customer base. But it’s a style that appeals to more than the Hollywood crowd – the online Potted store is catching the eye of shoppers all around the world.
Image credit: Jenny Leary
Outside, the lovely patio is home to row upon row of charming cacti nestled among stacks of glazed ceramic pots.
Image credit: Jenny Leary
Here and there, little vintage treasures can be spotted. An old rusted toy dump truck gets a new lease on life as a plant pot – and the result is very sweet. It’s also hard to resist the glassy green ceramic elf or the cactus-filled car.
Image credit: Jenny Leary
According to Grey, who opened Potted six years ago with fellow ‘Garden Tart’ Annette Goliti Gutierrez, March tends to be the season when people make bigger investments in their outdoor spaces. It’s warm enough to spend time working on improvements outside, but not too hot. Their firepits have been popular purchases this month, as have recycled polypropylene outdoor rugs:
Image credit: Jenny Leary (Outdoor Oriental-style rugs at Potted)
From my point of view as a textile designer, the rugs capture that rare and beautiful balance between ornamentation and function.
Another source of constant inspiration, particularly when it comes to gardens, is the mydeco store. Below are a couple of examples of the wide range of outdoor lights available here.
On the left is the Mission Hills Landscape Light from Universal Distributing LLC which echoes Frank Lloyd Wright’s graphic style, and would be in perfect harmony with LA’s many craftsman-style houses. On the right is the Portable Landscape Light from Lamps Plus – a perfect solution for garden parties when you might need to rearrange the lighting layout.
Image credits: Universal Distributing LLC, left, and Lamps Plus
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