Forced Branches, Quarantine Office Images, and a Design Program.

I wrote in a design intent/program that I sent out this morning:

I attempt to create a garden with all season interest as well as a garden to engage with in different ways than just visually. Quince, VanHouttei x Spiraea, Hamamelis, and Flowering Dogwood, are used as part of the "shrubbery structure and form" of the garden, as unique seasonal interests and specimens, which can be pruned from during the late winter and spring for branch forcing indoors. Multiple Ninebark and Arctic Fire Dogwood contribute rhythm and repetition to the mass and shrubbery structure. The Ninebark is a nice summer branch harvest and the Arctic Fire Dogwood is commonly used with early winter and holiday decor.

I am always sharing images, be it on media or here in the blog and journal, of my branches, flowers, and arrangements here in the office. But when I do, it isn't just empty content; it isn't aiming to be one of these fashion 'gram pages that just makes everyone feel their life isn't good enough; it isn't creating "the Buff Hort aesthetic," which is one of the most ridiculous things I hear young business people concerned with.

The point of this all is to show a way of life that interacts with the garden.  Cutting materials gets someone in contact with the garden, it becomes a play space, they become more aware of seasonal flowering sequences, see the importance of branching structures, and so on. While I do buy in some flowers every so often (Madelyn's Floral and Farm in Hamburg, the occasional Aldi Bouquet, Wegman's Tulips, Farmers Markets) for the most part everything comes from my garden, a garden I work on, or an innocent forage somewhere - for the most part, it is a super cheap way to live, get creative, learn, and try to make beautiful things. 

​This weeks images: