London: Bloomin' Lovely

Some people dismiss SW7. South Kensington, they say, is "a dull enclave of white stucco, pretentious residents and rich Russians driving tasteless cars". (As a London friend of mine put it.) Neighbouring Chelsea, SW3, often fares just as bad, with many nobos (northern bohemian types: usually those who live in 'cool' areas like Notting Hill, Marylebone, Bloomsbury, Primrose Hill, et al) ignoring anything south of Hyde Park. When I confess that I not only love South Ken and Chelsea but choose to live in this area on three different occasions, my London friends give me a withering and/or pitiful look, as if I've just announced that my favourite colour is puce. 

Chelsea and South Ken are quiet, understated and sometimes boring places, which are better known for their museums and quiet, understated, boring shopping strips than their sense of creativity. British eccentricity isn't apparent here, that's for sure. Bloomsbury it's not. But if there's one thing that distinguishes the SW girls apart from the rest of London it's their fondness for flowers. And nothing illustrates this more than than Chelsea Flower Show week.

(NB I am still sorting through photos so will add to this post.)

 For a few short days in May, this quiet pocket of the world becomes a kind of Mecca for gardeners. Streets bloom into a spectacular profusion of colour, petals, scent, starling bouquets and splendid window displays. It's astonishing to watch. One minute the area is bathed in cold, grey May rain. The next it's a glorious portrait of Mother Nature.

So I thought I'd show you a a few snapshots from my old stomping ground this week. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pix from Chelsea itself, as it was thundery and rainy for much of Saturday and not good photographic weather. (And I need to keep the camera pristine and water-free for some important shoots in Paris this week!) Saturday also isn't much fun, as I discovered, as most of the gardens are seemingly disassembled and sold by the time most of the majority of people get there. Overall it wasn't a bad show but I hope—like many I spoke to–that flowers make a comeback in the show gardens soon. I think we're all becoming a little weary of modern minimalism.

Here are a few images from a day in my favourite part of London.

A pop-up florist by Tricia Guild and Juliet Gaves. 

The photo doesn't capture how joyful this stall was. It was so uplifting. 

Purple was a big colour in horticulture this year.

Even the chairs were flower-themed.

These parrot tulips were the size of serving platters.

This was an entire wall of pink petals that covered the front of a King's Road boutique.

Wooden crates are still very' in' in merchandising. Lots of Chelsea stalls had them.

New purchases from Designer's Guild. 

Sadly could only afford offcuts, but still tickled pink by these fabrics. (Sorry, couldn't help the pun.)

New handbag, bought on sale in Singapore this week. I just love vintage-looking canvas bags. This is my third now.

 I heard that Sibella Court was murmuring about designing a range of canvas travel bags. Let's hope she finds the time to do it. 

Kate Spade's garden on Sloane Square.

One window...

An entire wall of the store.

And a few Kate Spade-inspired cocktails hanging in another window.

Favourite new hotel. The Pelham. 

Lovely staff, luscious rooms and utterly sublime interior design.

The Pelham was actually one of Kit Kemp's first projects, when it was under Firmdale's umbrella. But the Kemps sold it to finance their New York hotel, Crosby Street. However, the staff stayed on and the mood and design is just the same. It's very Kit Kemp, and just as charming as Number Sixteen.

Cabbages and Roses' delightful new store on Sydney Street, adjoining The Chelsea Gardener (another gorgeous place).

So pleased Marylyn Abbott won a medal for her Topiarist's Garden, after all the difficulties she and her team experienced when the sponsors pulled out.

House of Fraser Garden.

J Crew's floral display.

Sorry this post is short. I'm in Paris tonight. The fourth country in five days. 

I'll be here for a week for work, and hope to post some of the loveliness of this always-pretty city. Then it's back to England on the weekend for a tour of country gardens, to research some destinations for the future garden tours that two friends want to do. I'll try and post pix of those too.

Hope your weeks have been just as colourful. Jx

Gardens, the Chelsea Flower Show, and Remembering Stuart Rattle

I'm in Asia at the moment for a brief stopover en route to Europe. More and more I'm realising how fascinating this part of the world is. There are so many lush, green, untouched-by-time corners to south-east Asia, and I'm ashamed I've never taken the time to explore the region in depth before now. In a few weeks time I'll be back here again and hope to show you some more of the secret places I've found.

In the meantime, another lush, green space that's making media headlines this week is the Chelsea Flower Show, which is once again illustrating just how many of us love our gardens. It was the second-fastest-selling show in Chelsea's history, partly in response to Alan Titchmarsh, although a relatively unknown 27-year-old, Hugo Bugg (great name) became the youngest ever gold medal winner when he took out the coveted prize. I'm hoping to catch the last day of the show this Saturday, so will post pix. 

Of all the gardens, the small but glamorous Gucci garden (top two images) has been a clear favourite, showing that fashion and flowers really do go beautifully together. 

Gucci has even brought out a whimsical series of handbags to match. 

Fashion-focused gardens are very on-trend this year. The Fashion and Gardens Exhibition at the Garden Museum earlier this year was a huge success (perhaps not surprisingly considering it was curated by Nicola Shulman, sister of UK Vogue editor Alexandra). There's also a Vogue garden at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park, July 23–27.

Unable to afford the gorgeous new Ham Yard Hotel (Kit Kemp's latest venture), nor Number Sixteen, my usual favourite, I've opted to stay in the sweet Pelham Hotel in South Kensington, which is decorated in irresistibly pretty shades of pea green and peony pink. There are good specials on TabletHotels.com

While in London and Paris I can't wait to pick up some copies of this intriguing new magazine, Cabana, which everyone seems to be talking about. These covers were designed using vintage Pierre Frey fabrics. I love it when magazines do illustrated covers rather than the traditional (and somewhat cliched) model-in-a-frock ones.  

We're still working on the first issues of our new magazine but hope to include a lot of stories about illustrators – particularly garden illustrators. (I'm shooting a few stories for it in England and Paris this week.)

Speaking of gardens, it's incredibly sad to hear that Stuart Rattle's glorious country estate, Musk Farm, has gone up for sale. For those of you outside Australia, Stuart Rattle was one of our most-loved interior designers (an interview featuring him is here), and it was a shock to many of us when he was allegedly murdered by his partner last year. I won't elaborate as the details will undoubtedly come out in court in July, but if you have $1M (a surprisingly modest sum for such a beautiful place), the auction details are here.  Musk Farm is a testament to what can be achieved with a dusty country paddock, an old schoolhouse and a lot of horticultural love. No wonder the BBC decided to include the property in a documentary about outstanding international gardens. [Image is mine.}

Oh Stuart, we will miss you.

New Books, Old Bookstores and a Festival for Book Lovers

RIZZOLI BOOKSTORE'S FINAL 'CLOSED DOOR' SALE

If you happen to be in New York today or tomorrow (May 1 or 2), and you love books, head for the beautiful but recently shuttered storefront of Rizzoli Bookstore on 57th Street for a special final sale.

Although the facade has been boarded up since April 11 following an unsuccessful bid to save the building, the bookstore is holding an all-out sale from 11am to 7pm Thursday, May 1, and Friday, May 2, in which new design, architecture, art, fashion, and photography books will be discounted by 50%. 

It will also be a chance for Rizzoli lovers to say goodbye to this glorious place, the interior of which is the most beautiful bookstore in the world. 

Oh, Rizzoli, we will miss you.

CLUNES BOOKTOWN

Closer to home, the annual Clunes Booktown festival is approaching this weekend, May 3 and 4. Set in the historic old goldmining town where they filmed Max Mad, the festival offers a chance to pick up a huge range of gorgeous books, from vintage and new, for very low prices. I found a few Chanel books here for $10 - $20. And the architecture of this town (a well-kept secret) is worth a wander too. 

Details: clunesbooktown.com.au

DECORATION AND INSPIRATION: LADUREE

Those who love Paris and the tea salons of Maison Ladurée will adore a new book that details the interiors and inspiration behind each of these exquisitely outfitted cafes. 

From Madame Pompadour to the Empress Eugénie and Madeleine Castaing (whose former home is now, fittingly, a Ladurée), the book is a sumptuous look at both the decorating styles and the elegant details. Interior designers will love it. There's even a 3D pop-up/fold-out tea salon to amuse your inner girl. 

Decorating and Inspiration: Ladurée. Published by Chene. $49.

GLASS OF FASHION

If you can't afford a vintage copy of Cecil Beaton's much-loved book The Glass of Fashion (above), which sells for $500, a new version is being being re-released soon by Rizzoli. The cover artwork is lovely – perhaps not quite like the old Beaton covers, but beautiful nonetheless. Cecil loved a splash of red.

The Glass of Fashion: A Personal History of Fifty Years of Changing Tastes and the People Who Have Inspired Them. Written by Cecil Beaton, Foreword by Hugo Vickers. Rizzoli. $29.95.

AND FINALLY...

I have recently finished writing/rewriting a book I've been working on for three years. THREE years! Don't ever become an author. Truly. No one sane would do this job... Especially when, just as soon as you parcel up one manuscript, you have to begin another...

This is the start of a new book. A lovely book, which I've been looking forward to working on for many months. As you can probably guess, it's going to be a fun project. The ribbons are from a previous book but the paints are for this new project. I get to do watercolours for this one!

On the other side of the study, however, is a scary sight. So scary, we have commissioned a builder to build enormous floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to create a formal library, so our house doesn't look like a frightening pile of leaning spines. (There are lots more leaning piles like this one.) The lovely builder, Pete, and I spent an hour recently measuring dozens of book spines, from B-sized novels to architecture tomes, to ascertain the varying shelf heights. 

It will take a while for the cabinet maker to create the library, and then a few days for Pete to install it, along with a new wall and shelves for another (upstairs) study/library area. Not sure how much it's going to cost, so I'm starting to recalculate the budget for this forthcoming business trip. Might be backpacking all the way?!

(PS If you've emailed me, please forgive me for the delay. As you can see there's a lot going on, with builders and books and suitcases/bags (actually the bags are under the eyes), and I'm not even sure what day it is half the time. But I promise to reply.)