Tucked within a 220-plus-acre family estate north of Brussels, the entrance to the Moorish pool house is  framed by lush foliage and climbing David Austin roses.

The property’s owner moved into the estate’s converted orangerie as a young bride in 1962.  At the time, she was preoccupied with the rigors of raising a family.  After twenty years she has created a pleasure garden with calm, simple lines in the English manner.

From the May/June issue of Veranda magazine.  Landscape design by Jaccques Wirtz.  Photographs by Alexandre Bailhache. Written by Jean  Bond Rafferty.

Flora Grubb,  “yes, I’m a real person and that is my real name and gardens are my life”, shares her ideas for letting your green flag fly!

Urban Hedgerow, a collaborative team of instigators, artists, creators, thinkers, conservationists, ecologists and bug lovers,  located internationally yet are all connected through our invertebrate friends. Their intention is to shift perceptions and the world’s ability and desire to integrate, tolerate and interact with our environment by transforming our relationship with the wild around us.

In ”The Nature Principle”, authour Richard Louv  shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds.

Epiphytic plants, which derive nutrients from the air and thus thrive on virtical surfaces with little or no soil.

Mount Davidson,  with an elevation of 928 feet,  is located in the geographical center of San Francisco, CA.   An “unexpected urban escape into a cloud florest”, it is the highest natural point SF.  It is one of SF’s 44 hills, and one of it’s original “Seven Hills“.

Takashi Tomo-oka, a Tokyo-based photographer, updates both botanical  imagery and Japanese traditions in his striking flower portraits.

His minimalistic images of fragile-looking flower blossoms, plants, and branches recall the Japanese Edo-period paintings he studied in art school.

His pictures are often printed on handmade washi paper and mounted on silk to reember the temple scrolls Tomo-oka liked to examine while growing up in Kyoto.

As seen in Elle Decor June 2012.

Every year in late July and early August, the streets and parks of Medellin erupt in a 10-day celebration of flowers.

Antioquia, the department in northwest Colombia that counts Medellin as its capital, is one of the largest cut flower-producing region in Colombia, and the annual festival blends culture and color in an explosion of fresh blooms.

As seen in the summer 2012 issue of Flower Magazine and Joobili.com.

Designer Beverly Farrington of Accents of the South, in Huntsville, AL sets a simple elegant table for the Fourth of July Holiday.  Lush Mounds of white hydrangea are set in rope-adorned glass cylinders and line the center of her party table set on the waterfront.  Bring on the fireworks!