When Nature Is Invited In
Some rooms don’t die instantly; they dwindle. They lose their sense of purpose and gradually, their warmth – along with the signs of life that make a room feel human. Even an office can be one of those types of rooms: Too quiet. Too industrial. Functional, perhaps, but dead.
And yet – life finds a way.
This was the creative intent behind Wine & Blooms creating an installation for The City Magazine in one of the company’s vacant offices. While the goal wasn’t to create a focal point (bouquet) for people to quickly take photos, it was to produce something less loud and less flashy than that. The goal was to produce something quietly bold, somewhat intrusive, somewhat persistent and somewhat untamed. It was meant to suggest that nature doesn’t require a tremendous amount of prodding before returning to reclaim a space that was once built on top of it.
Part of why this installation is so engaging, is that plants don’t come with grand fanfare. They sprout slowly, stealthily, and continue to spread outwards until eventually a room seems completely different. What was previously unremarkable becomes soft and subtle. What was previously cold now breathes.
Wine & Blooms created this tension beautifully. All the components in the installation were organic, consisting of both fresh and dried products to form a piece that felt both very alive and frozen in time. Rather than concealing the flaws in the building’s architecture, Wine & Blooms utilized them. A six inch hole in the wall became an entry point for dry moss to pour through the hole, then trailed down with white Phalaenopsis orchids, hanging amaranthus and curly willow. Craspedia grew upwards from the bottom of the installation almost like antennae, providing the work with an unusual, wise quality – as if the room itself had begun sending signals back.
Tulip petals extended themselves across the windowsill and tied together the two installations while leading the viewer’s eyes throughout the area. Although the overall pallet was mostly monochromatic, there were small bursts of color that continued to move the viewer’s eye through the composition while maintaining interest. In addition to being anchored to large, twisted dry limbs, smaller items hung, swayed and balanced in many non-traditional methods. None of the parts looked over-arranged. Everything seemed discovered.
In addition to using mesquite branches that were collected locally outdoors, Wine & Blooms also included them in the installation as a reminder that some of the best materials available to designers are the ones already present in our surroundings. There is something convincing about choosing materials that are already native to your location. Because when you use plants that are native to your region, they carry a type of visual authenticity with them. You do not have to convince anyone that they belong.
When nature isn’t forced to conform and polish itself into submission, it becomes the most visually stimulating version of itself. This is likely one of the lessons learned here. It does not necessarily mean that allowing nature into a space means making it tidy. It could simply mean permitting it to be slightly disheveled, allow it to grow up walls and encroach upon areas where you would prefer not to see it – allow it to soften the harshness of those locations where we have grown too accustomed to rigidity.
This notion could apply equally well to a house, a studio or an isolated section of a workplace that has lost vitality due to monotony. A living space does not have to remain static solely because it has been planned that way. If we look at things creatively enough, any area that appears dull or stagnant can be transformed into something richer, more unusual and more vibrant.
Sometimes all a space requires is permission to flourish.
To learn more about Wine & Blooms, visit wineandbloomsflowershopelpasotx.com
