Tree life
I’d like to give a very warm welcome and introduce a new contributor to Cohabitaire, our very own tree expert – Chris Broers! I hope you enjoy hearing from Chris from time to time as he gives us an insight into the world of our beautiful tall friends…. hello, Chris! Life from a tree’s perspective? [...]
Chelsea Flower Show } edible and ornamental
It’s that time of year again: new David Austin roses (this time the ‘William and Catherine’ was released!), ladies in hats and lots and lots of heavenly gardens. I can only judge by photos, but here are my two favourites…
4 non plant pots… with plants
French artists Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry aren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries when it comes to making homes for plants. I’m in love with the fusion of these ordinary items with the living greenery – aren’t they spesh?!
Tip-toe in the tulips: bulb planting guide
The Keukenhof flower festival in Holland has started again (see my Bloomin’ bulbs story last year?) highly recommend you visit their website or google Keukenhof for guaranteed tulip envy. Growing your own tulips, daffodils and other flowering bulbs in warmer climates is not as hard you might think – all it takes is a little patience [...]
Put a plant on your desk
Today is a special day because it’s the day I start planning which plants to get for the office – yippee!!! You wouldn’t believe how drab work is sometimes, so after a cheese & wine huddle yesterday, one thing we decided on our mission to improve 9-5 life was to add some greenery. Alleluia! So [...]
Zinnias, sunsets & teapots…
Autumn brings with it cool breezes, crisp mornings and smashing sunsets, and this year, it has also bought me a precious crop of Zinnias. I swear on my soul I haven’t pumped up the saturation on these shots, they truly are brightly coloured shades of Autumn. Promise.
The real together garden
Hey there everyone – how was your weekend? Good? Hope so. If Monday is starting to get to you hopefully this quick distraction will help you along… I hear from all sorts of people spruiking their designs, plantwares etc. to feature on Cohabitaire but not many have made me exclaim ‘hold the phone, Jeroen’ more [...]
{wallpaper} Bright Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is my FAVOURITE! well, one of my favourites. I see it and dream of Mediterranean summers, South Pacific soirees and sultry Australian eves. I’m on the hunt for a dwarf bougainvillea, the less climbing type, which would be perfect for my apartment balcony – some papery blossoms of my very own. Do let me [...]
Tending to it } Q&A with Britton Neubacher
I’m so very excited to bring you this Q&A with Britton Neubacher, the founder and creative mind behind Tend Living‘s glass orbs and living walls. Britton is a very, very busy lady so it’s a such thrill to have her here on Cohabitaire….
Li Edelkoort } Bloom Magazine
Lidewij Edelkoort is a trend forecaster. Yep, there’s actually such thing. She paved the way for such a profession to exist. Which seems very appropriate for someone classed as a forecaster. Li announces the concepts, colours and materials which will be in fashion two or more years in advance because, “there is no creation without [...]
Psst… secret to gardening
Ok, so it’s not really a secret, but it will save you from possible gardening failure. Only a few short weeks ago did I plant a stack of seeds in my balcony garden and check out the sprouts I got already! These babies went through a heat wave including a day over 40C, and not [...]
Indoor jungle } estación de Atocha, Spain
Estación de Atocha was Spain’s first railway station, originally named Estación de Mediodia, but sadly burnt to the ground not long after it was built. They got it back up in 1982 – thanks to Alberto de Palacio Elissage and some other dude, Gustave Eiffel somebody – I think he built a tower somewhere else. [...]
Introducing Permaculture
Did you know the term ‘permaculture’ is a short for permanent agriculture? I did not, but now that I do it makes a little more sense (slightly). A definition from the Permaculture research Institute of Australia helps out a little more: “Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the [...]
La Chanh Nguyen } Product design
The texture of grass between one’s toes is oh so delightful – a sensation not lost on Swiss designer, La Chanh Nguyen, the creator of above moss bath mat. Yes! It really is made up of real moss, three kinds and 70 blobs of it as a matter of factly. Set in a special kind [...]
Edna Walling inspiration
We can thank garden designer Edna Walling (1895 – 1973) for the kinds of organic, meandering gardens we know, love (and take for granted) every day. I have just finished reading The Unusual Life of Edna Walling by Peter Watts, and my entire perspective on gardens has been affected! Originally influenced by her English heritage, Walling came [...]
String me along, baby….
I promise I didn’t laugh when you just fell off your chair. I don’t blame you, I did the same thing. Holy be-jesus! Just when I swear people can’t get any more creative, something like these come along and I have to eat my words. String Gardens “or how to torture snails” (ha!) are the [...]
{photo set} Fig lined avenue
I figgin’ love my street. Yeah, you read right: figgin’ fig trees. I loved this street even before I saw the house. It was a drizzly September afternoon when I first walked down this leafy lane to inspect the last apartment on my long list of rentals, or should say ‘ran down’ because I was [...]
Hungry? Eat the house…
I love the Dutch. Partly because I’m partly one; partly because they invented the best mayonnaise and cheese in the world; partly because I loved living in Holland for a year; and partly because of the way they embrace small spaces. Is this genius or what? Run out of land. No problem! Grow stuff on [...]
Balmori’s Bilbao Jardín
Last year, Diana Balmori of Balmori Associates Landscape & Urban design, completed this captivating creation – an 80 square meter garden that spills down (or climbs up) a stair case in Bilbao, Spain. [rss-cut] As a member of the jury for the second edition of Bilbao Jardín 2009, Balmori was invited to create a garden, [...]
Cool or creepy? Ceramics by Michael McDowell
As someone tragically afraid of creepy crawlies, these Hanging Airplant Pods by Michael McDowell startled me at first, but on closer inspection I have to say they really grew on me (cue bad joke sound effect). They’re quite cute really…. [rss-cut] If you’re into ceramics, chances are you’ll dig Michael’s Blog, Mudpuppy. These and other [...]
Chrysanthemums and mauve lillies
Something unabashedly pretty for your morning. Abigail Borg is a surface pattern designer from London – her range of fabrics and wallpapers seem inspired by the bold blooms in an English garden. I love their Art Nouveau graphic, hyper-lucidity. Top image is Mauve Lily fabric, followed by Mr Chrysanth. Which, once again, reminds me of [...]
Pickety pockety plants
Call me abnormal, but I’ve got a bad case of the warm fuzzies just looking at these wonderful plant pockets by the clever folk at the Woolly Pocket Gardening Company. How could anyone resist the[rss-cut] Wally modular planting system for growing vertical gardens? Not to mention the fabulous free- standing Islands and Meadow models for [...]
Bombs away! Weapons for guerrilla gardeners
Guerrilla gardening: the act of beautifying a neglected urban space with greenery. It’s not exactly a new craze, however the combat stakes have been raised for green thumbed battlers with the emergence of a new line of weapons: seed bombs, greenaids and flower guns. You’ll find all sorts online but for obvious reasons to do [...]
Oh my, Californian poppies!
Paaaappies…. Paaaaapppieeeess! All I can imagine is that scene from the Wizard of Oz when the crazy wicked witch of the west casts her opiate spell over old Dot and her unwitting buddies, making them pass out in the poppy field… and you thought Alice in Wonderland was the only story with sinister overtones. Evil [...]
