term of the day: basal growth

When a plant grows with all it's stems/leaves/flowers from one central point it's said to have a basal growth habit. The design is simple and evolved and very smart, the plant getting all the sun it needs while the roots are running deep below following the vital and limited water source. It stays low to the ground and compact, able to withstand wind and weather and the occasional predator. If they sustain some damage, so be it, they regenerate and grow tougher. You find that many weeds that have adapted to survive in such rough conditions over the eons are often basal growers and form basal rosette's, the perfect example probably being your common dandelion. Even your local unnamed weeds can teach you something very interesting about survival if you open up your thinking a little bit. I love that about adaptation and natural selection, real lessons in tenacity.

a sensational night (for impromptu floral design)

I worked hard today. Hell, I've worked hard all year. But today I woke and thought, "today I'm having fun." And that is what I did. A friend and I were invited to create a few floral designs for The Horticultural Society of New York for their yearly Flowers and Design gala. With a theme of "Garden Party" Kate and I thought up two variations that came pretty naturally to us, namely games and the beach! The concept for the first table, basically the one we were most excited about, came as were talking about lawn games one might play at a garden party. Our favorite option ended up being croquet and we thought, "we can make this happen!" It only took a few hours for me to create after we got out of the Flower District and toy store.


For the other we didn't have such a definite idea but we knew we wanted to try and achieve more of a tropical seaside garden party kind of vibe. We didn't hesitate when it came to strong and bold foliage and accented the table with beach sand and shells from home and various travels.


It was my first real attempt at floral design and it was great fun. It was one hell of an event and donning the tuxedo felt pretty good. I do good work and damnit, I'm allowed to celebrate. I cropped and resized this pic of Maureen (the event coordinator) and I and didn't know what to name it. Then I thought of my cousin Max down in Fort Lauderdale and it came to me. "Ballers"! (lol)(maybe you can't see the black and white wing-tips, but I assure you, they are there! Cheers, aef)

utter nonsense

Apparently not my night at the Scrabble table. But then again, I rarely get the win.

..and then there's Puck. Weighing in at a cool 21 pounds, I wonder if this guy has ever had a rough day in his life. Oh, yeah, sure, look at how he suffers. No, seriously, he and his mom were practicing their tumbling routines during Cheerleader U. For such a big boy you would be surprised, he is very agile.

Time to fold laundry and go to bed. Tomorrow its going to be a long day. I'm going to be masquerading as a floral designer, teaming up with a good friend to create a couple of tables for a big gala event on the Upper East Side. Wing-tips are out of the closet, trying to remember how to tie a bow tie. Tables set by 3, Tux delivered by 4, set up at 5, cocktails at 7, dinner at 8:30. I guess when life throws you lemons, have a garden party.

Or, as I'll probably be saying tomorrow as I'm racing like a crazy person through midtown, "welcome to New York, now get the fuck out of my way!"