FLOWER SEPT•OCT 2026
HOUSE l GARDEN l LIFESTYLE
CON TEN TS September • October 2026
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Dream Weaver
Interior designer Lucy Doswell uses her powers of perception to conjure up ethereal elegance and warmth for a new house in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Natural Habitat
A family of outdoor lovers makes memories and lives their dream in a charmingly repurposed log cabin in the mountains of Tennessee.
80
A Ribbon of Stone
In her Charlottesville garden, Charlotte Moss weaves memories of her childhood roots in Virginia with inspiration and ideas gleaned from travels, including a stone rill that threads the landscape.
86
More Than Meets the Eye
ON THE COVER Dallas designer Meredith Ellis has an eye for mixing color, pattern, and furniture periods with artistic flair. Story on page 86. Photographed by Nathan Schroder
“Just living isn’t enough,” said the butterfly. “One must also have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” —HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN 8 FLOWER September•October 2026
PHOTO BY DAVID HILLEGAS
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Architect Wilson Fuqua and interior designer Meredith Ellis create a Georgian-style house in Dallas, Texas, that stays true to classical leanings yet lives with a family-friendly attitude.
TIMELE SS DE SIGN. TRUS TED PER FOR M A NCE .
EXPLORE INSPIRATION CRLAINE.COM Custom Upholstery Handcrafted in North Carolina
C ON TE N T S
Departments
17
From the Field
Elevate game night with these winning numbers. Friendly competition has never looked better.
30
Sense of Place
In her first book, Harriet Thistlethwayte offers a window into her world in the English countryside with hands-on ideas for gardening, arranging flowers, decorating, and cooking throughout each season.
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Table Settings
When fall officially kicks off but cool weather is a bit late to the game, our style director creates an elegant setting that celebrates the warmer side of the season.
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Design Q&A
Inspired by her work as a conservation biologist, Dr. Susy Paisley creates detailed biophilic patterns for her textile and wallpaper company, Newton Paisley.
Garden Design
Immersed in a garden where agriculture and horticulture go hand in hand, landscape architecture firm Surfacedesign helps bring a new chapter to life for the Clos du Val vineyard in Napa Valley.
40 34 17 I N EVERY IS SUE 12 Watering Can What’s Online? 58 Sources 102 Floral Moment 104
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PHOTOS BY (TOP) DAVID OXBERRY, (BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT) DAVID HILLEGAS
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WATER I NG CA N A Note from the Editor
“Visuals linger ‘til they find a place in your life.” —CHARLOTTE MOSS
I HAVE THIS PICTURE IN MY MIND of a carousel of my visual
As a child, Roderick Wyllie, the landscape architect tapped for the reimagining of California’s Clos du Val vineyard, visited his grandparents in the Napa Valley where the striated fields with bountiful vegetation and rolling mountains stamped his psyche. He is cradling that image, as well as a fresh philosophy of regenerative agriculture, to compose a property that will sing a new song of welcome to all who visit, as well as those who get to live and work there. I’m hoping for carousels of beautiful visuals to linger and appear in your life, and that all these stories will play a part. Happy Fall. Love and SDG,
Margot Shaw EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Please send your comments, triumphs, challenges & questions to: wateringcan@flowermag.com OR Letters to the Editor I FLOWER Magazine I P.O. Box 530645 I Birmingham, AL 35253 Get the FLOWER email newsletter! Sign up at flowermag.com/news
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PHOTO BY DAVID HILLEGAS
life—treasures suspended from the ceiling by shimmery monofilament at different levels, many rows deep, all the way around. The carousel moves slowly, gently. A madras-patterned smocked dress from my 6-year-old life catches the light and my attention. I haven’t seen that dress since I wore it, but I can describe it explicitly. The plaid was navy, brick, cream, sea green, and butter yellow, and the embroidery floss was a subtle navy. I did wear navy rubber-toed Keds with it, by the way. Fast-forward many decades later to the sitting room at my house—a tiny room that I’ve tried unsuccessfully for years to “enlarge” visually. Finally, I have decided to lean into the little and instead drench the space in a dark pattern. It’s a print that looks like an oriental rug. It will cover the walls and the sectional—and who knows what else? But the colors are of my 6-year-old madras dress. The imprint is real, and now I can’t unsee it. But that’s ok, because I love the memory. This is the sway of color, pattern, movement…seen things. The same theme runs throughout this issue. Charlotte Moss’s story of her fascination with rills in gardens—her own, in particular—was sparked and nurtured by her travels, always with a camera, a phone camera, and a cahier to record notes and remember. She encourages us to look—and to see. Then, somewhere, those impressions may resurface and play a role on our life stage. Charlotte’s rill is living, flowing proof. The visionary behind Newton Paisley prints, Dr. Susy Paisley, a fascinating conservation biologist, sees pattern everywhere in her study of nature. She explores and interprets the intersection of art and science in textiles and wallcoverings—decidedly botanical visuals that find a place in her life and work, delightfully.
TURTLES ON THE ROCKS
The Other Elizabeth • 17 East Main Street, Boyce, VA Elizabeth Locke Jewels • 968 Madison Avenue, New York City 212-744-7878 Store Locations: 540-837-3088 or www.elizabethlocke.com
PRODUCED AND STYLED BY AMANDA SMITH FOWLER
I PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID HILLEGAS
IT′S ALL FUN AND GAMES
Elevate game night with these winning numbers. Friendly competition has never looked better.
FROM TH E FI ELD | FUN & GA M E S
PREVIOUS PAGE: White House Tiles ($455) from The Mahjong House, themahjonghouse.com • Tatsu fabric in Natural (to the trade) from Clarence House, clarencehouse.com THIS PAGE, LEFT: Como Tic-Tac-Toe Set ($230) from Jonathan Adler, jonathanadler.com ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Mahjong Score Cards ($89 for 12 cards) from The Punctilious Mr. P's Place Card Co., mrpsplacecards.com • Palm Beach Blue Lacquer Backgammon Set ($325) from Addison Ross, usa. addisonross.com • White House Tiles ($455), Tortoise Mahjong Racks ($185 for set of 4), and Deco Olive & Red Double Sided Mahjong Mat ($125) from The Mahjong House, themahjonghouse.com • Tatsu fabric in Natural (to the trade) from Clarence House, clarencehouse.com • Brody Game Table and Castellow Dining Chair (to the trade) from the Barrie Benson Studio Collection for Highland House Furniture, highlandhousefurniture.com 18 F L O W E R S e p t e m b e r • O c t o b e r 2 0 2 6
New Collection
‘In the Garden’ Eight cultivated wallpaper designs inspired by National Trust gardens Scan the QR code for a full list of retailers
Visit our showroom: 9 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Tel: 1-888-516-6130 | getintouch@littlegreene.us Explore paints & wallpapers, request a free colourcard & find your nearest retailer on our website.
littlegreene.us
FROM TH E FI ELD | FUN & GA M E S
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Backgammon Clutch ($698) from Cult Gaia, cultgaia.com on Noto Wallpaper in Clay (to the trade) from Clarence House, clarencehouse.com • Dal Negro Burlwood Poker Set ($670) from Abask, abask.com • Drew Dining Chair ($3,162 as shown) from the Charlotte Lucas Collection for Taylor King, taylorking.com • Hidden Gems Original Lacquer Collection Game Table ($2,250) from Avella Interiors, avellainteriors.com • Prisma Ludo Game ($250) from Taamaa, taamaa.us 20 F L O W E R S e p t e m b e r • O c t o b e r 2 0 2 6
CO LLECTIBLE J EWELRY MADE TO TREASURE A V A I LA B LE A T
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FROM TH E FI ELD | WI NG CH A I R S
W
WINGING IT IN STYLE
e love a wing chair for its familiar profile—furniture’s equivalent to falling into the arms of an old friend. While the earliest examples dating to 17th-century England featured a tall back and side wings (still hallmarks of the form centuries later), they were made entirely of wood, falling well short on comfort until upholstery spread beyond the aristocracy. Originally designed to shield occupants from drafts and retain warmth from a fireplace, these chairs are still beloved for the stateliness and yes, coziness they bring to a room, even when central heating renders their initial intent superfluous. Current makers play with scale, incorporate the right amount of cushion for lingering, and offer a sumptuous range of fabric choices. With details such as welts, nailheads, and tufting, a wing chair’s style soars to an even loftier level. Peruse our favorites and find the perfect spot to land.
“I’ve always been drawn to wing chairs for their shape, shelter, and classic sensibility. For me, they capture a feeling of nostalgia.” —AMANDA SMITH FOWLER, STYLE DIRECTOR
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www . modernhistoryhome . com
@ modernhistoryfurniture