For today’s album cover inspiration, I have selected “Chutes Too Narrow,” by the New Mexico foursome, The Shins. The Shins make “charming guitar pop,” according to one Rolling Stone review, which is sonically right up my alley. They are a quirky and fun band (with a dash of melancholy) and the album cover for Chutes…
Welcome to the D.A.I.S.Y. AGE! This week on Sound Garden I am inspired by yet another of my desert island discs called 3 Feet High and Rising, from the “old school” hip-hop group De La Soul. As with many of my selections, this 1989 album made its way onto just about every laudatory list out…
Photographs by Maxwell Tielman OK, here’s the thing: I am a huge Madonna fan. Her music was the soundtrack of my ’80s and ’90s youth, even though the 2000s saw some real gems from Madge. This week on Sound Garden, in honor of spring’s awakening, I am using 1998′s Ray of Light for my floral…
Everything All the Time is the debut album from Band of Horses, and JUST LOOK AT THE COVER. It’s like this album was sitting in my collection absolutely begging me to make something forest-y and inspired. It also happens to be one of my favorite albums from one of my most beloved bands. In 2006,…
Photos by Maxwell Tielman Joni Mitchell’s iconic, revelatory album Blue is the inspiration for today’s edition of Sound Garden. This highly personal, raw album by the Canadian folk singer is considered one of her best by critics the world over and appears on just about every list of “best,” “most important” or “greatest” albums in the…
Welcome back to Sound Garden! For today’s Sound Garden post, I have chosen the deep, dark, heavy rock and roll album Elephant by the White Stripes for our floral creation. Elephant debuted in 2003 and was most of the world’s introduction to the spooky duo of Meg White and Jack White. The White Stripes are…
Above: Cover art for Stevie Wonder’s 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life Hello, Flower Fans! It’s great to be back in action here at Design*Sponge. I am thrilled to present the first installment of my new column: Sound Garden. For each post, I will create a floral design inspired by a different album…
Welcome back, flower fans and alphabet zealots! We have arrived at our final installment of Flowers A–Z, which can only mean that “z” is for zantedeschia (more commonly known as the calla lily). Although there are a few other worthy “z” flowers (zinnia comes to mind), the calla is both in season and the most…
Hello again! We are nearing the end of the alphabet here at Flowers A–Z, but the creativity does not wane. For this week’s post, I selected a regal fan favorite: the tulip. This particular variety of tulip — yellow crown — opens beautifully and is the perfect remedy for any spirit anticipating a long, chilly…
And they said it couldn’t be done. Greetings, flower fans, and welcome back to Flowers A–Z! This week, I was confronted with perhaps the most challenging of all letters, and although I seriously considered something along the lines of “eXcellent dahlia,” I knew I had to dig deeper. While not exactly a flower, the bold…
Well, it really seems official now, with the crisp weather and the pumpkins cropping up everywhere. Welcome to fall! The flowers at the market seem to be changing faster than the leaves on the trees. Along with the great bounty of deep magentas, rich browns and warm oranges, I found this sunny yellow wax flower,…
Hello again, flower fans, and welcome to autumn! To ease the transition from summer to fall (so that we don’t rush headlong into pumpkins and raffia and the like), I have chosen a soft palette and a delicate flower to reference the last, tender days of summer. “V” is for veronica. This particular species is…
Greetings, flower alphabeteers! Admittedly, “u” was a letter that truly tested my creative mettle. I considered all manner of cop-outs (Ursula roses and the like). Ultimately, I realized that a really lovely and special green would fit the bill — that is why “u” is for umbrella fern. The term “fern” applies to over 12,000…
Welcome to another installment of Flowers A–Z! I am back in New York, enjoying the remaining few weeks of summer with an eye toward a busy fall schedule. The mighty sunflower just can’t be denied when it comes to representing all things summer. This week, I thought I would highlight my favorite variety of sunflower….
Greetings from sunny Southern California! I have returned to my hometown of San Diego for a little mini-break and am lucky enough to be posting from my very favorite flower shop, Green Fresh Florals. My dear friend Carlos Franco owns this magical place and (along with his trusted head designer, Travis Rogers) has been creating fabulous…
In the language of flowers, sometimes the most obvious choice is also the most extraordinary. This week, “r” is naturally for rose! Here, I have chosen to highlight the gorgeous garden rose, an even more fragrant and showy variety than your average rose. In the United States, most regular roses that you find at your…
Welcome back, summer flower lovers! As you might imagine, some letters of the floral alphabet are easier than others. Like so many Scrabble players, when faced with a “q,” things can get a little dicey. Lucky for us, the gorgeous Queen Anne’s Lace is right in the pocket of the season and happens to be…
If you know anything about me at this point, it’s that I like to give the people what they want. And typically, what the people want is exactly what I want. That’s why this week, “p” is for peony! I had so many requests to feature this bloom — and clearly it is one of…
Welcome back, readers! Although typically I struggle to decide which beautiful treasure to feature in the “a-z” posts, this week there was simply no dithering. ”O” is for orchid (in this case, the cymbidium orchid). This flower has many wonderful, versatile properties – it can appear feminine or masculine, fragile or sturdy. Designing with orchids…
Welcome back for another adventure in the floral alphabet! This week in A-Z, “N” is for the precious and lovely Nerine. Nerine, sometimes called a “spider lily,” is native to South Africa, although the bulb is now grown throughout the world. Nerine is in the same family as the perhaps more familiar winter-blooming amaryllis bulb….
