SLOW FLOWERS Podcast: Floral design with living plants & Baylor Chapman of Lila B. Design (Episode 125)

Summary:   I'm so pleased to introduce listeners to Baylor Chapman, creator and owner of Lila B. Design, a San Francisco-based floral and plant studio. Baylor's story is well documented in The 50 Mile Bouquet and in many newspaper, magazine and blog articles. I first met Baylor in the fall of 2010, on a trip to SF where I was scheduled to give a lecture for the Garden Conservancy. Serendipitously, Susan Morrison, a friend who I'd known through the Garden Writers Association, learned I was coming to her backyard and called to say, "You need to meet my friend Baylor when you're in town. She's into locally-grown flowers just like you are." That led to a wonderful visit to tour Baylor's former "loading dock" studio in San Francisco's Mission District. Susan and Rebecca Sweet, another fellow garden designer and blogger, met me at Baylor's. The three of us had lots of fun drooling over Baylor's floral creations and learning more about her design philosophy based on seasonal and locally-grown floral elements. Here's a blog post about that adventure.  Today you can find Baylor and her team working in the welcoming open-air courtyard that's part of Stable Cafe, the community-minded restaurant owned by her friend Thomas Lackey. Thomas and Baylor have both been operating businesses on Folsom Street, and when Baylor lost her loading-dock studio this past June, it was Thomas who said: "Move over to our courtyard." He "gets" the idea of creating connections with neighbors, artists, fellow small-business owners and others who want to keep jobs and culture alive and well in San Francisco's vibrant neighborhoods. Plus, Stable Cafe's kitchen makes delicious, healthy, seasonal & organic food! Now if you're in SF, you can visit Lila B. Design, shop for flowers, plants and beautiful garden products, while also eating scrumptious food at the Stable Cafe! What's not to love? Baylor graciously shared these photos of her recent work for you to enjoy. Please notice the specific photo credit with each.                      Baylor has so many good things going on in her career, but the newest is The Plant Recipe Book: 100 Living Arrangements for Any Home in Any Season (Artisan Books, 2014), which will be published on April 8, 2014. This idea-filled book was photographed by Paige Green.  It contains detailed planting instructions for centerpieces and arrangements that give living plants a "starring role" in all sorts of creative vessels. A follow up to last year's title by Jill Rizzo and Alethea Harampolis, "The Flower Recpie Book," this new inspiring book offers more than 100 projects will blow your mind and prompt you to bring more living plants into your own design work.  If you live in or will be visiting the Bay Area, you can get a sneak peek and first dibs on a signed copy of this lovely tome. Come and hear Baylor speak at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, where she will demonstrate some of the book's fun projects using living plants as floral design elements. Details here. As I mentioned above, as soon as we met, I knew that Baylor needed to be featured in The 50 Mile Bouquet. Please enjoy the entire story: The Accidental Flower Farmer A patch of urban asphalt surrounded by chain link fencing and loops of barbed wire may seem unwelcoming. That is, until you peer inside to discover a designer’s bountiful cutting garden in San Francisco’s Dog Patch District.   Increasingly, there are designers who, by necessity, harvest floral ingredients from their own gardens. As well, there are growers who assume the role of floral designer, satisfying a bridal customer’s request for unique, straight-from-the-farm bouquets. That these two worlds are happily intersecting is due to curiosity, innovation and experimentation on the part of designer and grower alike.    San Francisco-based Baylor Chapman, owner of Lila B. Design, is both designer and flower farmer. She is