TPP Valentine's Weekend Cut Flowers + Chocolate Pop Up Event!! 2/13 + 2/14

February 06, 2015 in Food + Drink, Inspiration, Plants, Style

|Red Dahlia Bouquet|

In anticipation of the new Plant Provocateur shop opening in March, The Plant Provocateur is having a cut flowers pop up event featuring the heavenly delicious organic chocolate confections of L.A. based Confectionally Yours. The event is taking place next week Friday, Feb. 13th and Saturday, Valentine's Day, Feb. 14th from 12noon to 6pm both days! The event will be held at the NEW location on the patio of the soon to be open shop at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026; in Silver Lake next to Night + Market Song restaurant.

|Confectionally Yours Heart Shaped Box with Organic Chocolate Truffles|

The Plant Provocateur will be offering pre-made cut flower bouquets. And if a super cool, out of the ordinary bouquet for your Valentine is not enough, be sure to get the gourmet feast that awaits you or your Valentine in the form of a Confectionally Yours heart- shaped box! Cut flowers and chocolate couldn't be more perfect for your Valentine.

|PS Citrine Candle|

And if that weren't enough and you really want to make the mood romantic, I'll be having an exclusive batch of the most lusciously aromatic candles on hand by The Potion Shoppe L.A.. These are not just candles...their natural, crackling wooden wick will remind you of a romantic weekend away at that cabin with the fireplace. Also, the candles are made of 100% clean-burning coconut wax and burn up to 60 hours.

This Pop Up Event has all the ingredients to help you and yours celebrate the romance and love of Valentine's Day. So, if you're in the hood, be sure to drop by and check out what we have to offer. Cut flowers, chocolate, and candle light...you can't go wrong!

The Plant Provocateur Shop - Opening March

January 14, 2015 in Food + Drink, Habitat, Inspiration, Plants, Style

|Palm Frond Night Moves Kaleidoscope|

Hello everyone and Happy New Year. 2015 is gonna be a BIG year for The Plant Provocateur! After all the talk, after all the dreaming, I'm finally taking the leap and opening a brick-and-mortar plantasy. In fact, I'm typing, this very post, from the cabinet of curiosities that will be the official Plant Provocateur HQ. I say cabinet because being a first time shop keeper I'm going to keep things a bit intimate. You know me...provocative.

|Coming Soon Doors|

So here's the deal. The Plant Provocateur shop is currently under way with a teeny tiny build out. New lighting, shelving, a little of this, and a little of that. My aim is to get those doors open sometime early to mid March. Crossing fingers, toes, and the beard beneath my nose...things will get growing as planned.

|Aloe Kaleidoscope|

Now what can you expect? Beauty, intrigue, and mystery. The shop will feature signature live plants. I've been searching the world for crazy cool heirloom, exotic, unusual, badass plants, the likes you have never seen. So they'll be here. Also, in a slightly different direction, I will be offering cut flowers on a small scale. Now, I won't be a full blown florist but I will feature some cut florals from time to time. Also, for the locals out there, I am providing these pieces by appointment.

|Bromeliad Kaleidoscope|

Let's see what else? Oh yeah, The Plant Provocateur will feature a select display of furnishings and 'figments' for inside and out. I'm pretty excited about this and can't wait to share with you the cool things I've found. Also, the shop will feature occasional classes and featured speakers. If the subject relates in anyway to the botanical world around us...we'll be talking about it.

|Magnolia kaleidoscope|

So a lot of people, have asked, "What will The Plant Provocateur be about?" You know when you start a business it's always a good idea to have a mission statement; something that defines the very being of what the heck it is you're about to do. Well mine is simply this... Inspire With Plants. Yeah, you may of heard it before. It might sound a bit cliché, but wait and see what I do with this mission. I've been feeling extraordinarily creative as of late. I hope to explore things that are beyond our expectations. I call it the Future Flora Initiative. I want you to fall in love with plants and what they inspire, perhaps in ways you never thought you would. Like the saying goes...big things have small beginnings. Well, that's how it will start. Now, moving forward, my mission is to make it exciting and thrive. Stay tuned.

|FiddleHead Kaleidoscope|

The Plant Provocateur Is Back With A Holiday Pop Up!

December 08, 2014 in Food + Drink, Inspiration, Plants, Style

|2014 Holiday Pop Up Flyer|

And after a hiatus...The Plant Provocateur is back and bringing it to you Holiday Style. For all of you Los Angeles peeps It's Holiday Pop Up Time! Come on down this Sat 12/13 and Sunday 12/14 from 12-5pm and see what's been going on. Still need some holiday decor? We've got that! Need some quick gifts...artisanal organic chocolates, organic apothecary products for bath and body, some of the best vintage denim wears in all of L.A., groovy holiday stocking to put all your gifts in, and maybe a wreath to hang on the door or use as a holiday centerpiece? The Plant Provocateur and friends have got you covered.

|Wreath Set 1|

But wait there's more...on the patio there will be pet adoption, free spay/neuter services, animal advocacy charitable clothing, as well as every dollar spent on coffee at Muddy Paw Coffee provides a donation to animal rescue charities. So come on down...support local business and good causes.

Oh and I forgot...you'll get to see the future location of The Plant Provocateur shop coming Spring 2015!

Big Things Have Small Beginnings...The Plant Provocateur Store at Silver Lake Farmer's Market

August 14, 2014 in Food + Drink, Inspiration, Plants, Style

|TPP at the Silver Lake Farmer's Market|

Call me crazy! Call me nuts! The Plant Provocateur has taken the show on the road so-to-speak and set up shop at the Silver Lake Farmer's Market in Los Angeles! Here's my chance to see if you, the public, are interested in what your Plant Provocateur has to offer. Every Saturday from 8am-1:30pm is my chance to welcome you face-to-face into the world of The Plant Provocateur.

|Farmer's Market Palette|

So here's what's happening. I'm offering mostly stuff grown by yours truly in The Plant Provocateur Botanical Garden. Having a shop gives me the opportunity to meet you...the plant loving public, show off some amazingly beautiful stuff to grow, love, and obsess over, as well as, give people the opportunity to bring this type of beauty into their lives. As one of my recent clients stated...Plants first, People second!

The shop is also the seed of, hopefully, an actual brick-and-mortar store to come. Right now, an actual store is just an idea...a little something I'm working on. There's a lot to do to make that happen but I figure the Silver Lake Farmer's Market is a great place to start. So, on a Saturday...any Saturday...this Saturday... come on down. Check out what's going on. I'll have plants, my Sunset Book - Sunset Outdoor Design and Build Guide: Container Gardening, and from time to time some super extraordinary botanically inspired products that you probably won't find anywhere else.

Botanical Bain De Soleil - Cucumis metuliferus

February 21, 2014 in Food + Drink, Plants, Style

|Cucumis metuliferus pulp detail|

So this might be a weird way to start a post but...if you're having a problem with keeping ghosts out of your house and need a way to kick those pesky paranormals to the curb, why not take the roots of Cucumis metuliferus, also commonly referred to as the African Horned Melon or Jelly Melon, pound them up, mix 'em with some lard, and smear the produced paste liberally all over your body. The elderly persons of the Okavango region in Southwest Africa say it'll do the trick. In my honest opinion, I kinda think sporting this botanical-bain-de-soleil while hanging out at home might scare anyone away. If you're into it...let me know how it goes. Well, what is this ghost repelling Cucumis metuliferus, anyway? It's one of the coolest looking funky fruits I've seen in a while. Seeing is believing.

|Cucumis metuliferus fruit + detail|

Behold! Have you ever seen anything like it?! I only discovered Cucumis metuliferus, native to Africa, recently and was even more excited to find it is easy to grow from seed and bonus...is edible. Last season, I got seed for this alien apparition from my friends at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Once I got my seedlings planted, they took off on my bamboo trellis and created a bountiful harvest of armed egg-like fruits covered in a spine tingling greenish-yellow skin that later turned bright orange. When I sliced open the fruit, an insanely contrasting and juicy lime green pulp was revealed. Unbelievably beautiful! Of course, I tried the pulp to see what magical mystery tour awaited my taste buds and what I got was a TART, with a capital 'T', taste of something vaguely cucumber-ish with a very subtle note of lime and a hint of sugar-free banana. Now I will admit, it's a taste that I don't find all that knock-down, drag out amazing. Not in the least. However, if you scoop out the pulp, strain it to remove the seeds, and add simple syrup to the remaining juice, something interesting starts to happen for the old taste buds. Something exotic and new.

|Cucumis metuliferus vine + fruit + tendril|

Although the taste of this fruit may not be for everyone, at least Cucumis metuliferus gives us something fun and funky to grow in the garden. The vines are lushly outfitted with beautiful leaves, ticklish tendrils, and produce some of the most intriguing looking fruit ever seen. Here's a little fact for you...I've seen this fruit at grocery stores for around $9-$10 per fruit! Why spend that when you can grow your own!?

Cucumis metuliferus is an annual vine. It likes full sun, rich, fertile soil, and regular water. Be sure to let soil dry in-between waterings. It will grow almost anywhere you can grow other melons. So, why not put some fun and intrigue back into the garden? Use the fruit as decor or better yet make an exotic elixir so green, so mysterious, and serve it at your next get together. Dare your friends to go where they've never gone before...on a surreal taste safari.

I've Got A Burnin' Desire For U Baby - Lime-Scented Flax Dressing

January 19, 2014 in Food + Drink, Inspiration, Plants

|Clockwise from L to R - Fresh Lime, Flaxseed Oil, Garlic, and Cayenne Pepper|

As some of you know, I mentioned that it was time for The Plant Provocateur to get into a healthier frame of mind. Well, in order to take those steps I decided to do a dietary cleanse. Now, the results are in. I lost 15 lbs in 14 days. Awesome! I must admit that doing a cleanse takes a bit of discipline, which I don't always have when it comes to food. I love to eat! But lucky for me, my cleanse included some amazingly delicious recipes to tingle the old taste buds. One of my favorite recipes is the Lime-Scented Flax Dressing found in the book, Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S.. This dressing has become a staple in my cooking. It pairs great with the greens I've been growing and harvesting for my insatiable appetite of fresh greens. It also tastes amazing drizzled on freshly steamed vegetables. I mentioned this dressing in a previous post and many of you have asked for it so here ya go...

|CU Lime-Scented Flax Dressing|

Lime-Scented Flax Dressing

4 tablespoons flaxseed oil

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

*Put all ingredients in a small covered jar, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Drizzle on leafy greens or vegetables and toss.

|Lime-Scented Flax Dressing|

The flavor is beyond! It's fresh, citrusy, exciting, with a zing of cayenne pepper heat that kicks the deliciousness into high gear. The other thing that's cool about making this dressing is that you can practically grow all of the ingredients yourself. The lime I used came from my Bearss' Lime tree, the cayenne pepper grown and ground from my Baker Creek Seeds Cayenne Long Thin Pepper, and garlic grown, harvested, and dried from my Territorial Seed Organic Garlic Cloves. The flaxseed oil was store bought but you can grow flaxseed, Linum usitatissimum, and if you're really industrious learn how to produce your own oil.

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