Celebrating Flowers, London and Life

One of the lovely projects I've just finished photographing and writing is a new guidebook about London, called LONDON SECRETS, which is to be published later this year by my former publisher (and employer, when I was a book editor), Images Publishing. It's designed to be a companion to the bestselling PARIS SECRETS -- details of which are here. London is going through a huge design revival at the moment, and it's always a joy to return to this city, which seems to look beautiful regardless of whether it's drizzling and grisaille grey or shimmering under silvery sunshine. 

I'm now working on a beautiful garden book for a major publisher, which involves writing abut gardens in the UK, France, Italy, the US, the Caribbean and other destinations. So if the blog and Instagram posts are sporadic, that's why, and I hope you'll forgive me. As compensation, here are some glorious garden bits and pieces to celebrate the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. (And a few travel tips for London, too.)

LONDON -- NEW SPACES AND PLACES

(From the new LONDON SECRETS book, published by Images in late 2016)

I love London. It's my second home. But the city is changing so fast at the moment that it feels like there's something new going up every week. Of all the new architecture appearing in London, some of the most exciting buildings are the new hotels, which seem to be sprouting like spring bulbs at the moment. Two of the most talked about are the Hotel Costes on Sloane Square (still to break ground, but not far off), and a new hotel planned by bestselling writer Alain de Botton called The Philosopher's Hotel. The latter project is tucked away in the serene, leafy streets of Hampstead, and is being billed as "the thinking person's hideaway". Spaces include a library (which Botton has dubbed 'Keats' Living Room'), a study (naturally called 'Freud's Study'), and an art studio, named after Constable. (You don't want to turn up with a low-brow book here!)

If you can't wait for these two boutique hideaways to be finished, there is a new, superbly named hotel called Batty Langley's, which is the third hotel from the gentlemen behind the equally quirky Hazlitt’s in Soho and The Rookery in Clerkenwell. The theme was inspired by the eccentric English garden designer and writer Batty Langley, who was famous for producing 'patterns' for Gothic structures, including summerhouses and garden seats, in the mid-18th century. He was particularly fond of cabinets de verdure, but all his garden designs were popular. His book New Principles of Gardening, in 1728, was a surprise bestseller. Even George Washington was a fan. There are likely to be many fans of this new London hotel, which is arguably one of the most charming retreats in the entire city. www.battylangleys.com

There is also a newbie in Notting Hill -- The Laslett Hotel (although I was a bit underwhelmed by it), and another cutie in Marylebone, the Zetter Townhouse in Marylebone, which is sister to the much-loved Zetter in Clerkenwell. The latter is probably the best bet for those who love textiles, antiques, books, and beautiful rooms, although its location -- right in the middle of Marylebone's magnificent shopping quarter -- is pretty irresistible too. Like Batty Langley's Hotel, The Zetter Marylebone is modelled on a character, only this one is fictitious gent called Uncle Seymour. The idea is that it's meant to represent the London townhouse of a well-read but slightly eccentric gentleman, whose books and antiques are all still as they were when he resided here. (It's a tradition: the sister Zetter in Clerkenwell was the townhouse of 'Great Aunt Wilhelmina'). There's an extraordinarily beautiful restaurant / bar called 'Seymour's Parlour', which is cosy and claret colored, and filled with things that look like they should be in the Soane Museum. The best suite is the Rooftop Apartment with its own terrace, outdoor bath and an (indoor) bathroom decorated with an enormous vintage map -- all mad but so fantastic too! www.thezettertownhouse.com/marylebone

As for horticultural havens, there are a few of those in this new book. My favorite new discoveries include the Isabella Gardner Plantation in Richmond (stunning azaleas in spring!), and Duck Island Cottage in St James's Park. (There is a fantastic story behind this cottage; too complicated to include here, but do look it up if you love gardens and history.)

EIGHTY, AND STILL ELEGANT IN WELLIES...

Speaking of London, and gardening, and all things charming and quirky and quintessentially British, it's fantastic to see that Jo Malone's new spokesperson is the eighty-year-old model and gardening cover girl Gitte Lee. (Christopher Lee's widow.) She's so beautiful. Look at her, with her three hats, her silk scarves (she's wearing two, just to be sure!), and her diamond brooch. What glamour! 

She's also the perfect person to spruce the company's new limited edition collection of fragrances, 'Herb Garden' , which are designed to be the best kind of casual scents. The descriptions alone make you want to try them -- 'Lemon thyme crushed in soil-covered hands; cool earth encasing ripening carrots and fennel; the aromatic artistry of herbs -- verdant, crisp, juicy and sweet...' Just the thing for weekend spritzes.

www.jomalone.com

MAIRA KALMAN'S ILLUSTRATIONS

It could be argued that Jo Malone's team has taken inspiration for the above photo shoot with Gitte Lee from Rhoda Birley's famous photo in the fantastic book Garden People: The Photographs of Valerie Finnis  (Thames and Hudson). 

Many gardeners know about this book and the colorful characters in it (Rhoda -- Lady Birley -- was shot in her garden at Charleston, in Sussex), but what's interesting is how it continues to inspire people -- and photo shoots -- years after it was published. 

I recently came across these sublime illustrations by New York illustrator Maira Kalman, who loves to paint gardens and gardeners, and perfectly captured Rhoda (above) in her now-legendary gardening outfit. 

Maira Kalman also painted an exquisite study of Sissinghurst's garden (above).

Maira is now so highly regarded that many people are commissioning her to do books and magazine covers. The New Yorker has been asking her to design their covers for years. (This week's issue of The New Yorker; a pink-hued, petalled study of a green-mustached man to celebrate the advent of spring, is by Maira.)

Here's one of her spring covers here --

For more information on Maira Kalman, there's a TED talk here -- The Illustrated Woman. Or there are lots of articles on various sites around the Net.

BEAUTIFUL BOOKS, NEW AND OLD

There are some gorgeous books being released this year, including an enormous tome of all of Karl Lagerfeld's theatrical catwalk shows for Chanel, published in May (LINK HERE), and a new Thames & Hudson title called Floral Patterns of India -- a must if you love design (and India!). 

However, I've been quietly buying a lot of vintage titles, as much for their charming covers and design as for the stories inside. 

The favorite so far has been Vita Sackville-West's English Country Houses, which she wrote while London was being bombed during the Blitz, and entire areas of southern England were being destroyed. It was her hymn to a way of life that was fast disappearing, not just because of the war but because of the changes that were taking place in society. 

Beverley Nichols' books are well worth reading, too -- although perhaps start with his biography first, to better understand him. Warning: Once you start reading his books, you'll find it difficult to stop!

GARDENS ILLUSTRATED -- AND VITA'S LOST ROSES

One of the best magazines in the world is Gardens Illustrated, the beautifully produced UK publication that's also sold elsewhere in the world. The photography is always superb, and the articles always feature under-the-radar gardens, interesting landscape designers and gardens, and beautiful flowers and plants. 

The latest issue, No 229, is a special edition that features an enthralling story written by Sissinghurst's head gardener, Troy Scott Smith, about Vita Sackville-West's lost roses. (Released Feb/March in UK; March elsewhere, including Australia.) 

Vita Sackville-West was famous for her roses. And when she noticed that many cultivars and species were dying out across England, she made it her mission to save and protect as many as she could. Unfortunately, of the 300 roses that she saved at Sissinghurst, only 100 were still alive in 2013, when head gardener Troy Scott Smith took over the estate. Cognizant of Vita's horticultural legacy, he took it upon himself to find "Vita's lost roses" and reinstate them into the garden. He used Vita's diaries and notebooks to identify where the roses had been in the garden, and what their names were, although head gardener Jack Vass' detailed garden plans were also helpful. Sadly, some of the roses seemed to be lost forever, but Troy tracked down more than 200 of Vita's original plants and brought them back to Vita's beds. 

Gardens Illustrated has a lovely story on the search for the lost roses, as well as four wonderful pages showing 44 of the best roses grown in Vita's garden. (And also specialist suppliers where you can source rare roses.) 

If only Vita were alive to see her rose beds restored to their original glory. She would no doubt be very pleased.

Link to article HERE.

News on the Duchess of Devonshire, Pierre Frey and Belmont House

SOTHEBY'S AUCTION OF THE PERSONAL TREASURES 

OF THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE

One of the most anticipated auctions this year is Sotheby's forthcoming auction of the personal items of one of this century's most remarkable women, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire. It seems strange to think she's gone, after such a long and extraordinary life as one of the legendary Mitford sisters, and even stranger to think that her beloved things are now being auctioned. But she was so adored by the public, and if some of the contents of her final home The Old Vicarage at Edensor on the Chatsworth Estate can be sold to raise money for estate of Chatsworth, why not?

I always regret not meeting her before she passed away. A contact at Heywood Hill bookshop in Mayfair (which the Devonshires bought in recent years, in order to save it) kindly said he would make arrangements for me to visit (it was for a forthcoming book on gardens, one of the Duchess' passions), but in the end she wasn't well enough. A friend of mine in the US dated Elvis for the briefest of periods (she was very young at the time!) and I had some great stories about Elvis to tell her (another of her obsessions). But it was not to be. I probably would have been too shy to converse much anyway. She really was one of the most interesting, most inspirational businesswomen of our time.

The Financial Times (FT) has recently published a wonderful piece about the sale here. And Sotheby's has another, smaller, article about 'Debo' (as she was called) on its website here, as well as a glimpse at a few of the pieces going to auction here.   The sale includes exquisite jewels (some gifted to her by her husband and his parents), a rare copy of Brideshead Revisited personally inscribed by her friend Evelyn Waugh, plus fine and decorative art, and (something I'd love to view) the contents of Duchess of Devonshire’s library.

Here are a few pre-sale photos and pieces from the auction, from Sotheby's website:

The collection mixes high-end and low. There are many personal photos, including the one above of the Mitford family, priced at a reserve of only a few hundred pounds. But there are is the Duchess' jewellery, including a Chanel camellia (£400) and a pair of aquamarine-and-diamond clips (£2,000), and a book of John F Kennedy portraits (£1,500 -- £2,000) signed by the former US president with the sign-off 'L.O', a reference to the sisters’ habit of calling him 'Loved One'. (JFK was a close friend of the family.)

More details of the sale, including the pieces in the photos above, on Sotheby's website.

The auction is at Sotheby's London, March 2, 2016, with pre-sale viewing from February 27 -- March 1.

BEAUTIFUL BELMONT HOUSE: 

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PLACES TO STAY IN ENGLAND

One of the most popular places to stay in England isn't a hotel but a small, relatively unknown Landmark Trust property known simply as 'Belmont House'. It's an exquisite, pale pink, 18th-century, Grade II-listed villa in Dorset that was once owned by businesswoman Eleanor Coade and more recently the author, John Fowles, whose books include The French Lieutenant's Woman. 

The Landmark Trust has spent several years carefully restoring the house, including the Victorian observatory tower, with hatch and revolving roof, and the garden leading down to the beach, and has opened it up for short stays. However, it's proved so popular that the earliest available booking is now mid-2017. (NB: It's incredibly inexpensive; the villa sleeps 

8, and 4 nights is £640, or just £20 per person, per night.)

For those who would love to see it but can't wait until 2017, there is a rare Open Day on the weekend of Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 February 2016 , from 10am to 4pm each day. No booking is required.

More details on Belmont can be found here. It looks beautiful.

MAISON PIERRE FREY EXHIBITION 

AT PARIS' MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS

The first major exhibition of French textile house Maison Pierre Frey since 1935 opens at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris this month. The show features many of the famous fabrics produced by Pierre Frey as well as the stages and techniques involved in creating and producing a textile, from the sketch to the finished product. It's set to be a fascinating show about fabrics, but it also covers wallpapers, and how they're conceived, created and produced.

 Knowing Pierre Frey, there is certain to be awealth of patterns, colours and information on display.

TISSUS INSPIRÉS: PIERRE FREY is  at the

Musée des Arts décoratifs from 21 January until 12 June 2016. 

More details can be found  here.

The New Trend for Flowers, Scents, Floral Books and Other Gardenalia

There is a quiet but highly scented new trend sweeping England, France, the US, Australia and other international destinations. And it's all to do with botanica. In this grey, urban, high-tech world, we're turning to a new kind of therapy to offset it all: Petal Power.

I'm currently working on an ambitious new garden book, but my project is daisies compared to some of the extraordinary floral and garden projects being seen around the globe at the moment. 

Here are a few incredible ones...

As always, follow my Instagram at LINK ,  or at https://www.instagram.com/janellemcculloch_author 

I'm finishing writing two books but will be back to IG next week, once the deadlines are over.

(PS It seems strange to do this in a post about gardens, but RIP David Bowie. He will be greatly missed.)

A GRAND SCANDINAVIAN GARDEN 

(AND A GRAND NEW BOOK)

Do you follow Claus Dalby and his gorgeous garden on Instagram? I've written about him here before, but his photographs are becoming more and more beautiful with each passing season. Claus is a Danish plantsman, publisher, author, florist, photographer and an all-round lovely man man whose Scandinavian garden is arguably one of the best private picking gardens (flower gardens) in the world. 

Unfortunately, the garden isn't open to the public, apart from one or two rare days each year (usually August). But the good news is that Gardens Illustrated magazine is featuring his spring bulbs and other stunning tulips in a forthcoming issue. (Most likely April 2016)

And the even better news is that Mr Dalby is also working on a book, which will detail the whole development of this grand garden over the years.

The image above is the entrance to the garden. Glorious, isn't it?

Here are some further images from his Instagram feed.

It's an astonishing estate.

The room above is his 'vase room' (this is half the space). It's interesting how most of the vessels are green shades. Perhaps they highlight the flowers better than more neutral-colored or glass vases?

More of Claus Dalby's beautiful images can be found here . Many of them are his flower arrangements, which are just as superb as his perennial beds.

Further details can be found HERE.

THE LAND GARDENERS AT WARDINGTON MANOR:

FLORAL WORKSHOPS AND GARDEN GRANDEUR

Another Instagram feed worth following is The Land Gardeners, the business name for two floral entrepreneurs whose skill with arrangements is almost more impressive than the Oxfordshire garden and manor house they do it in. 

Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy established The Land Gardeners in order to grow organic, quintessentially English cut flowers. Each week, they deliver buckets of blooms to London florists, local markets and individual clients. However, they also design gardens -- "wild romantic, productive and joyful gardens", says their wild, romantic, joyful website- - and they've already finished projects in England, France, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. 

But perhaps the one thing they're really becoming noted for are their workshops, in which they explore "healthy gardens". These workshops, held at historic Wardington Hall, are not only a chance to learn about gardening, flowers and other beautiful botanical matters, but to see the Manor and its gracious garden beds up close. (The dahlias are spectacular.) 

Forthcoming workshops include Grow Your Own Cut Flowers (Edwardian cutting gardens are very 'in' again), Planting a Dyers Garden and How To Grow Edible Flowers.

For more details, see http://thelandgardeners.com/learning--events or THIS LINK for details.

CHELSEA AND THE ORIENT EXPRESS 

The Chelsea Flower Show has seen some astounding show gardens over the decades, including one by the house of Chanel. (Still my favourite.) But the masterful, magnificent garden planned by Harrods and Orient Express for this year's show looks set to be one of the best yet.

The grand centerpiece will be a 25-m (80-foott) -long carriage from 1920s Belmond British Pullman (sister train to the legendary Venice-Simplon Orient-Express), which will be 'parked' in a special Chelsea Flower Show train station that will be surrounded by a a 6,000-square-foot garden. There will be two platforms, with Platform 2 featuring rare jungle ferns and other exotic, eye-catching plants. 

It's all designed to represent a 'journey through gardens' over the centuries. Very, very clever, indeed.

There is also a garden called ‘The British Eccentrics Garden’ (above), which looks like being one to watch as well.

More details on Chelsea can be found HERE.

A LOST HOUSE AND GARDEN IN MALAYSIA, REDISCOVERED BY A FILM CREW

Did you catch the period drama Indian Summers on Britain's Channel Four or in the US or Australia last year? (It's now on DVD if you didn't.) It was so successful that a new series has been commissioned and is currently in production. 

It's an epic drama set in the summer of 1932, at a time when India dreamed of independence, but the British were still clinging to power. The series revolves around the events of a summer spent at Simla, in the foothills of the Himalayas, by a group of British socialites at the time of the British Raj. 

The producers looked at filming in Simla, but eventually decided, due to logistics and monsoons, that Georgetown on the island of Penang would be better. (NB Because of this series, I now want to see Georgetown, which has been declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and so do thousands of others, judging by the increase in visitor numbers!) Executive producer Charlie Pattinson found their perfect setting on the VERY LAST DAY of their five-month scouting mission, after many countries and countless sites. It was at the top of Penang Hill, in Malaysia, where the wealthy had built hill stations to avoid the heat. It was a semi-derelict house that was hidden by jungle overgrowth but that clearly showed the remains of a grand floor plan and garden. It took the team some time to hack through the jungle to fully assess it, but when they at last emerged from the overgrowth, they knew it was going to make the whole show.

Woodside Bungalow, as it is known, was always going to take a lot to restore, and so Penang’s chief minister, who knew the colonial property and its architectural neighbours from his childhood, stepped in to assist. He found the funds and became personally invested in the project. After several months,  and great deal of painting and replanting, the house and garden were ready to be filmed. It was renamed 'Chotipool', and can be seen above, serving as the home of  Indian Summers' central character Ralph Whelan and his sister Alice. 

However Woodside wasn't the only hill station to be saved by Indian Summers' team. They also stumbled upon the old Crag Hotel, which was also perched on top of Penang Hill with its spectacular views. (Both houses could only be reached by a water-powered funicular railway, a real relic of empire, which eventually caused problems with production and the transporting of equipment up and down the mountain.) The Crag Hotel was one of several 19th-century hotels, including Singapore’s Raffles, that had been owned by an Armenian family, the Sarkies. After the Second World War the Crag Hotel became a boarding school, and was then used as a set in the 1991 film Indochine, starring Catherine Deneuve.  (I still remember the scene where she steps out onto the verandah, with the old timber shutters visible behind her.)

But after the Indochine film crew left, the jungle re-claimed it. When the Indian Summers team came along and saw its forlorn facade, barely visible through the vegetation, they knew that the Crag would be perfect as the Royal Simla Club, where much of the action happens in the series. (Julie Walters is the club's owner and powerbroker.)

Isn't that a great story of two great houses and gardens, lost to the world and then rediscovered just in time?

More details on Indian Summers' setting can be found HERE.

Let's hope they commission a third and fourth series, and it becomes -- as the media are suggesting -- the next Downton Abbey.

PAULETTE TAVORMINA AND THE ART OF FLORAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Have you heard of the New York photographer Paulette Tavormina? I was first alerted to her by a friend Lee. (We send each other recommendations all the time; aren't they the best kinds of friends to have?) Paulette composes the most beautiful still lives you've ever seen; intricate studies of figs and roses and fruit that look more like 17th-century Old Masters' paintings than something put together on a 21st-century  photography studio. (She admits to being influenced and inspired by the still life art of Dutch, Italian and Spanish painters of the 17th century, including Francesco de Zurbarán, Giovanna Garzoni, Maria Sibylla Merian, and Willem Claesz Heda.)

Well, Paulette Taormina has, not surprisingly, gathered a following and is now producing a limited-edition book on her work, which is available to pre-order. There are also exhibitions and workshops planned for 2016.

Here are a few more extraordinary studies from her website. 

Do go and have a browse, and then make a note to look for the book.

More details can be found HERE or on Wikipedia.

More floral posts shortly! Until then, I hope you're all having a wonderful 2016!

Joyful Things In 2016

This time last year, my partner and I decided to make a Christmas pact. We decided not to waste money on myriad gifts for each other, but to spend the money visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites instead. (Last Christmas was spent at Angkor Wat and Siem Reap; still one of my favorite destinations. This February, it will be the Great Barrier Reef.) 

Writing our UNESCO Wish Lists for 2016 and 2017, which include Luang Prabang, and Praslin Island in the Seychelles (the Vallée de Mai national park was reportedly the original 'Garden of Eden') was a small thing, but it made me stop and think about life, and what makes each of us happy? (Thank goodness I have a partner who loves to travel.) Contemplating the UNESCO lists also made me realize that, no matter how overwhelmed we may become from digesting all the content we're offered in The Information Age, there are still so many things out there to discover in the world. There are still so many things to inspire and delight us; things that are so beautiful they will, like Angkor Wat and the Seychelles, linger in our memories long after we experience them.

2016 is set to be a year of such things. Here are a few lovely things to anticipate in 2016.  

As always, thank you for all the thoughtful and kind emails. I've loved reading every one of them, especially those from the Garden Tour girls, and look forward to staying in touch in 2016! Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and a happy, restful and joyful holiday season.

 (NB New additions to UNESCO's World Heritage List can be found HERE. I love that Singapore's newly restored Botanic Garden has been added to the mix.)

NEW HOTELS TO DREAM ABOUT

The new NOMAD HOTEL LA, THE BEEKMAN in NEW YORK, and BLAKES SINGAPORE are among the coolly glamorous hotels scheduled to open or begin development in 2016, but one of the most anticipated hotel openings is Six Senses' new resort SIX SENSES ZIL PASYON (above two images), in the SEYCHELLES. 

Set on the private island of Felicity (I love the name, plus that of nearby Curieuse Island), it's a short boat journey from La Digue or Praline (more gorgeous names), but miles from the rest of civilization. Six Senses is becoming as well-known as Aman Resorts for its architectural designs and remote destinations, so this will likely be One To Save Up For.

There's a great list of the Hottest Luxury Hotels in the World opening in 2016 HERE. 

(And if, like us, you don't have the budget for Six Senses, there are also lots of cheap guesthouses in the Seychelles too. As there are everywhere. It's difficult to find them, I know, but they're there.)

NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A CERTAIN STORE ON FIFTH AVENUE

If you saw the much-talked-about documentary SCATTER MY ASHES AT BERGDORFS (featuring some of the best quotes ever captured in a doco – LINK TO TRAILER HERE), you're going to love the next in the series by filmmaker Matthew Miele. 

It's about Tiffany & Co., the jewelry store that started as a small stationary and gift shop more than 177 years ago, and eventually, with the help of Audrey Hepburn, a film and some good branding, became an international success. It stars some big names, including Katie Couric, Baz Luhrmann, Rachel Zoe, Jessica Biel, and Jennifer Tilly. Tiffany is on board, so the archive footage will be fascinating. 

No trailer yet. Released in cinemas early 2016.

(Above pix of Tiffany Christmas windows for 2015)

NEW FILM CAUSING A FUSS 

(AND AN OSCAR CONTENDER)

THE DANISH GIRL is a beautiful film. A beautiful film. It's based on the true story of Lili Elbe, a pioneer in transgender history, and the woman torn between her loving marriage and her own needs and desires. It's a timely film, coming out in the wake of Caitlyn Jenner's story (and Vanity Fair cover), and it's well worth seeing, even if artistic films like this are not your thing. 

Eddie Redmayne is superb as Lily, and up for a Golden Globe. He is even more moving in this than My Week With Marilyn, Les Miserables and The Theory of Everything. Alicia Vikander is also up for a Golden Globe. 

If you missed the previews of this film in late 2015, it will undoubtedly be re-released in cinemas in early 2016, as the Oscar buzz about it is loud. (It's released in Australia in early 2016.) 

TRAILER HERE. Released in cinemas early 2016.

NEW (TOURING) CHANEL EXHIBITION

If you missed the CHANEL EXHIBITION, Mademoiselle Privé, at the Saatchi Gallery in London last month, the good news is it will be showing in Hong Kong early 2016 before traveling to other international cities. Billed as an 'enchanted voyage', the exhibition takes a historic look at the design of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and the contemporary direction the brand has taken under Karl Lagerfeld. 

No news of venues or Hong Kong dates yet, but keep an eye on Chanel's website for details.

NEW GARDENS-IN-ART EXHIBITION

There's been a spate of books and exhibitions about the beautiful symbiosis between gardens and art. Even Buckingham Palace held an exhibition on the subject last year. The newest show to display the inspiration that gardens have had on art over the years is at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, from January to April 2016. PAINTING THE MODERN GARDEN: MONET TO MATISSE will feature the usual players, including ol' Claude, but it will also highlight the works of artists and gardeners like Pierre Bonnard, Camille Pissarro and Wassily Kandinsky. It will also tour afterwards, so keep an eye out for cities and dates.

Set to be a blockbuster exhibition of paint, petals and pure joy. 

(There will no doubt be a book to accompany it, so look for it on Amazon.)

Royal Academy of Arts, Mayfair.  January 30—April 20, 2016.

Note: There's a great article about artists and gardening HERE, and another one HERE. I loved hearing about Monet's horticultural expertise. His library was filled with gardening books and  journals. Instructions sent to his chief gardener Félix Brueil in February 1900 included: From the 15th to the 25th, lay the dahlias down to root, plant out those with shoots before I get back. In March sow the grass seeds, plant out the little nasturtiums, keep a close eye on the gloxinia, orchids etc., in the greenhouse, as well as the plants under frames. Oh, if we only all had our own little Felix to do our weeding!

NEW (OLD) TV SERIES TO BUY FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Finally, while this isn't new for 2016, it's something to put on your Must-Watch Lists for the new year. A lovely reader told me about it, and I just loved the trailer! She says it's well worth watching. 

It's a period drama called THE TIME IN BETWEEN (or type it's Spanish name—EL TIEMPO ENTRE COSTURAS into Google for best results), and it's about a young seamstress who rises to become an elite couturier and then a spy during the Spanish Civil War. 

The film sets are as beautiful as the fashion and the dressmaking. With the success of the Australian film The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet, and Dior and I, I predict there will be more movies about fashion, seamstresses and behind-the-scenes in ateliers and studios. Let's hope so.

TRAILER IS HERE. (It's wonderful!)

Available via Amazon and other outlets.

Gorgeous Design Books for your Christmas Wish List

PARIS IN STYLE: THE NEW PETIT GUIDE TO PARIS

I didn't want to write about Paris during the recent coverage of the terrorist attacks, because I was so heartbroken for the city. (And I'm still a little heartbroken over my own father, too.) But I thought the best way to remember Paris was to celebrate her. Paris needs to be visited; it needs to be loved and embraced and remembered. If you haven't yet visited this sublime place, consider doing so in 2016. Because Paris needs you!

PARIS IN STYLE (LINK) was a wonderful book to write because it took me back to Paris, and to those places that will always remain in my heart. The gorgeous Parisian gardens and parks, the beautiful little independent boutiques and stores (including secret fashion and design bookshops), all the fantastic places to buy new and vintage designer labels, handbags and scarves (some of the vintage Hermès scarves are more beautiful than the modern versions), plus hundreds of other design secrets. (And lest you think it's all about high-end labels, there are guides to the flea markets and other affordable destinations, too. Since I can't afford Chanel either!)

However, it also features many Paris destinations that I've only just discovered these past few years, ranging from textile stores to enchanting and often tucked-away neighborhoods -- including a great neighborhood for architecture lovers that feels like a piece of pastoral France, with mini-chateaux and villas.

It's my little tribute to a city that still sparkles, even after all this horror.

A few page spreads are collaged here...

PARIS IN STYLE.  PUBLISHED BY MUP (Melbourne University Publishers). 

SEPT 2015.

LINK HERE or on AMAZON

GRACE: A NEW EDITION OF THE BESTSELLING MONOGRAPH

One of the most popular fashion books ever published was Grace; Grace Coddington's beautiful book about her life and fashion shoots at US Vogue. It was so popular that editions have been selling on Abe Books and eBay for up to $1000. Well now Phaidon publishers, in all their wisdom, have decided to buy the rights and re-publish it. And the new copies are being snapped up just as quickly as the old ones! It's come out just in time for Christmas, and Grace has been doing book signings in New York this past week. (I believe The Strand still has signed copies available?)

What isn't as well-known is that Grace is working on a follow-up to this illustrated monograph, which will be published mid-2016, and will feature Vogue fashion shoots from 2002 to the present day. Vogue's famous September issue (2016) will carry an extensive interview with Grace to promote the book's publication.

For those who love Grace and her talent and style, there's a lovely interview on Phaidon's website, where Grace reveals her aversion to social media and other humorous insights, including how her book has become a much-thumbed reference at the Vogue offices. "Everybody around is always coming and borrowing it and wanting to look at it again; everybody’s always referencing it. It’s been useful for that, because all of the shoots are dated and there’s an index in the back.”

The Phaidon interviews with Grace are HERE and HERE. (Above images from Phaidon's website.)

GRACE. PUBLISHED BY PHAIDON. 

DECEMBER 2015

LIFE IN SQUARES: CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY OF THE BLOOMSBURY SET

{CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM}

2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the Bloomsbury Group (not sure how, but it's a great marketing tool!), and already there are books and films and TV series being rolled out in anticipation of the Bloomy 'buzz'. Recently, there was the sumptuous and much-talked-about BBC series Life in Squares, which is now available on DVD. But if you can't find that, Amy Licence's book, Living in Squares, is just as compelling. The story is too complex for me to do justice in a few lines, but there's a great synopsis HERE. (There are also other titles about Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West  on the same Amazon page.)

Still as fascinating as ever. (And the sets of the BBC series are as fantastic as the storyline!)

LIVING IN SQUARES. AMBERLEY PUBLISHERS

JULY 2015

GREAT GARDENS OF LONDON: A LUSH LOOK AT THE  HORTICULTURAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

{CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM}

I want this book. Badly. It's beautiful. The images are lavish (many are double-page spreads), the gardens are lovely, and London, well, it has been my home and remains one of my favorite cities.

The best bit about the book is that authors Victoria Summerley, Hugo Rittson Thomas and Marianne Majors have managed to obtain permission to shoot many private gardens in the city, as well as some much-loved public ones. Accompanying the photographs are essays on the design and planting schemes that explain the designers’ inspiration, ideas and designs. 

Just lovely.

GREAT GARDENS OF LONDON. PUBLISHED BY FRANCES LINCOLN.

OCT 2015

JULIA REED'S SOUTH: A SOUTHERN GUIDE TO GRAND ENTERTAINING

I love Julia Reed. Her writing is witty, warm and spiked with funny stories. Her home in the Garden District of New Orleans was magnificent too. And her book on Furlow Gatewood remains an all-time favourite. 

This new book isn't out until 2016, but mark it on your Wish Lists; it's certain to be as riveting as the rest of her writing. Julia and fellow photographer Paul Costello have spent months shooting at various locations in the Deep South, including many gardens, and the images are just lush! 

Look at the cover. Doesn't that make you want to visit the South?

JULIA REED'S SOUTH. PUBLISHED BY RIZZOLI

2016

LEE: A NEW LOOK AT LEE RADZIWILL

I can't say much about this new title as very little has been released, but the images are glorious and Lee Radziwill always makes for a great story. (Her life is one long, enthralling narrative.) What its publisher Assouline has revealed is that it follows on from Lee's best-selling Happy Times, recalling her friendships with the numerous cultural figures, from Rudolf Nureyev to Truman Capote.

Love the collage-style page spreads.

LEE. PUBLISHED BY ASSOULINE

DEC 2015.

MICHELE BONAN: A MONOGRAPH ABOUT THE DESIGN MIND BEHIND JK HOTELS

If you love the look of the JK Hotels in Capri, Rome, Florence and elsewhere (now Instagrammed and blogged to death), this is the book for you. It's a monograph of the talented designer Michele Bonan, the magnificent design mind behind these soothingly serene hideaways, as well as others such as the Marquis Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.

A great one for fussy travelers and discerning design lovers. I can't wait to see a copy.

MICHELE BONAN. PUBLISHED BY ASSOULINE

DECEMBER 2015