If you should suddenly become inspired to take a stroll in downtown Dallas today, you’ll be treated to something truly beautiful. I can say this with confidence because the lovely thing in question is Neiman Marcus’ newly decorated windows inspired by the release of Charlotte Moss’ new book, Garden Inspirations.
Filled with beautiful shots of the interior design doyenne’s own personal garden in East Hampton, Garden Inspirations shows the myriad of ways in which gardens provide inspiration both indoors and outdoors. It’s certainly a passion project for Moss, who has spent 25 years cultivating her glorious New York garden. Today, she’ll be at the Neiman Marcus flagship for a book signing from 6 – 8pm, but ahead of the event, she graciously sat down with me to talk all things gardening, traveling, and what she loves most about our fair city.
How would you define your personal style?
Talking about yourself is always hard, so this is the way I would hope people would describe my work: elegant but inviting, personal, and informed.
Tell me about the vision behind Garden Inspirations.
My garden in East Hampton took about 25 years, and I did it with a wonderful landscape artist who I worked with from the very beginning. I think the most important thing for me is to make good design accessible. I wanted the book to appeal to everyone. The “dig in the dirt gardeners” who really do all the work, the “armchair gardeners” who like to read about it, and even the people who just like traveling to see beautiful gardens. I wanted to make gardening something that isn’t only for people with a lot of acreage.
What is one of your favorite benefits of having a home garden?
I like the way they wrap a house. There’s something very soothing about having greenery and flowers close to the house. In creating a garden I think it’s really important to consider what you see from the windows. You want to be able to embrace the garden whether you’re inside or outside.
I know that you love to travel. Do any cities stand out as being rich with gardens?
There are so many gorgeous gardens; it’s really hard to pick one. There are some beautiful gardens in this country in Charleston, Virginia and California, but France and Italy are the two countries that come to mind. Most of the gardens there are ancient but beautiful maintained. There’s just so much to learn from them and take away from them as inspiration.
What have you enjoyed most about seeing your book come to life in Neiman Marcus’ windows?
I just love seeing how other people interpret what you do. The one thing I was element about including was Lady Bird [Johnson], because she is Texas. The whole Highway Beautification Act was Lady Bird. Of all the people in the book, she was very important to me. The designers at Neimans did a wonderful job. I love the way they combined fashion and reinforced the blue and white theme.
What do you love about Dallas?
What I love about Dallas is what I love about the South, but I think Texas has its extra oomph. There’s just so much gaiety and exuberance in the people… so much joy. And they’re funny! They have a wonderful sense of humor about themselves. So I love the people. I think of Dallas as “fun.”
But of course I’m a decorator so I have to shop. I love going over to the Design District and going to The Mews. Two of the most fabulous things I have in my town house came from Betty at East and Orient: two wooden columns painted with big urns on top with agave made out of metal.
