As part of The Plant Provocateur Holiday Workshop series, Master Wood Carver Yo Takimoto returns for his final Japanese Woodcarving Workshop of the year. Yo's workshop is a Plant Provocateur favorite!  He gives woodcarving workshops both in Japan and Los Angeles.  We are super excited to have him for a return engagement.  He did a brilliant workshop for us before Thanksgiving and offered to come back for a holiday event.  He teaches you the meditative and relaxing experience of Japanese woodcarving.

Each workshop participant is provided with a choice of wood at the time of the workshop, tools for carving, and instruction.  The experience is truly meditative!  Only 1 session will be offered next Saturday, December 12th from 12:30pm-3:30pm.  Previous workshops have sold out so get your ticket today

The workshop session is limited to 8 people.  Class fee is $60 includes all materials.  Makes a really cool gift!!

Workshop session take place on the patio at The Plant Provocateur shop and is a 3 hour event.

Payment is required to RSVP.  Stop by The Plant Provocateur or call 323-774-4836 during open hours to secure your reservation. You can also purchase from The Plant Provocateur website under the 'Shop' menu.  Just click above.

The Plant Provocateur welcomes back, for a return engagement, esteemed Master Wood Carver Yo Takimoto!  Yo gives woodcarving workshops both in Japan and Los Angeles.  Each workshop participant is provided with a choice of wood at the time of the workshop, tools for carving, and instruction.  The experience is truly meditative!  Only 1 session will be offered.  Sunday, November 22nd, from 12:30pm-3:30pm.  The last time the workshop was offered back in June, two sessions were offered, and both sold out!  So make your reservation today!

The workshop session is limited to 8 people.  Class fee is $60 includes all materials.  Makes a really cool gift!!

Workshop session take place on the patio at The Plant Provocateur shop and is a 3 hour event.

Payment is required to RSVP.  Stop by The Plant Provocateur or call 323-774-4836 during open hours to secure your reservation. 

It's back!  This Sunday, September 20th from 10:30am -11:30am is the return of The Plant Provocateur Succulent Workshop.  The last Succulent Workshop was a huge hit.  If you couldn't attend before, now's your chance.  I will be teaching techniques and tricks for taking one succulent and making more.  I will simplify methods for growing your own.  The workshop covers leaf, cutting, and seed propagation.  Perfect for the beginner, as well as the novice.

The workshop is hands-on so be prepared to get dirty.  Each participant will leave with their own tray of started cuttings and a packet of seeds.  I will also have a few familiar succulents on hand, as well as a few varieties you may have never seen before.  Oh, and I will also have what I consider to be one of the best Succulent growing books on hand for purchase! 

The workshop is this Sunday, Sept. 20th from 10:30am-11:30am at The Plant Provocateur shop on the patio.  Workshop fee is $20.  Workshop is limited to 8 people.  A few spots are left.  Reservations may be purchased beforehand by clicking this SHOP link or by calling 323-774-4836 during shop hours Thurs-Sat 11-6 for credit card purchase over the phone.  Makes a cool gift!  The Plant Provocateur is located at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd., in Silver Lake.  Cross street is Micheltorena.  Patio is located next door to Night + Market Song Thai Restaurant and behind Muddy Paw Coffee at 3320 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026.  Sunday metered parking is FREE!

Kokedama: The Japanese art of the 'String Garden'.  Have you seen them?  Cool moss garden vessels are created to host whatever plant you can imagine.  These living sculptures can hang suspended in the air or sit themselves elegantly like a bonsai on a flat pedestal. 

The Plant Provocateur is offering a special workshop teaching you how to create, build, and care for these amazing individual gardens of visual deliciousness.  This is a hands-on workshop so come prepared to get dirty.  Each participant gets to take home their very own Kokedama 'String Garden'. 

Workshop takes place Sunday, September 13th from 10:00am-11:30am at The Plant Provocateur shop on the patio.  Workshop fee is $60.  This covers all materials and instruction.  Workshop is limited to 8 people.  Reservations may be purchased beforehand by clicking on the following link: RESERVATIONS or by calling 323-774-4836 during open hours (T-Sat. 11-6 or Sun 12-5) for credit card purchase over the phone. 

Got Drought?  No, problem.  The Plant Provocateur is here to tell you about chic, unique, low maintenance plants that are the perfect solution for lowering your water usage and will increase your style profile.  This FREE talk also defines 'Drought Tolerant', discusses how to prepare your environment for drought, and how to keep your plants thriving in these dry times.  Whether your plants are inside or out, The Plant Provocateur has tips for you.

The talk takes place Sunday, August 30th at The Plant Provocateur on the back patio.  The time is 10:30am - 11:30am.  Attendees must register with The Plant Provocateur to secure a seat for the talk.  Seats are limited.  Click this link to register.  When you get here be sure to grab yourself a tasty beverage and snack at Muddy Paw Coffee and get comfortable!

So, this week I've had a lot of customers coming into The Plant Provocateur shop asking about which plants are pet safe.  My general response is usually 'everything' is toxic to some degree to dogs and cats.  So today when Katy (her real name!) came in to find out which houseplants in the shop wouldn't make her cat sick, I gave her my 'everything' answer.  My rule of thumb is that all plants can be toxic either inducing:

1. Mild symptoms of diarrhea, dry mouth, hyper-salivation, upset stomach, and/or light vomiting.  These symptoms can be caused by saps in the plant that can burn mucous membranes in the mouth and stomach.  If the saps don't do that they'll irritate other parts of the digestion system leading to some seriously toxic poop.  (Yes, I said it.)

or

2. Severe symptoms such as stomach bleeding, heavy vomiting, seizures, even death.  These symptoms are caused by wicked poisons in the sap or plant parts that really cause problems when ingested, not only burning mucous membranes but getting into the bloodstream and doing more serious/fatal damage.

Well, while having this discussion with Katy, I called up my old friends at the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) on the old computer machine to see what they had to say.  Turns out they have their own list of what's toxic and what our pet kids can go to town on and eat with little or no toxic reaction.  Check out this link to their listings: ASPCA Non-Toxic and Toxic Plant List.  Be sure to click on the plant name to see if they classify it as toxic or non-toxic.

So, after reviewing their list here's what I've got growing on and ready to purchase at The Plant Provocateur shop that not only will be safe for your pets (by the ASPCA's standards), but also can add style to your livin' profile. 

A great, pet safe, easy care, super cool plant family are the Bromeliads, also known as the steroidal, colorful cousins of air plants aka Tillandsias, and has The Plant Provocateur got 'em for ya!  Super tropical looking, low maintenance, produce cool flowers, come in a variety of colors and sizes, as well as being just...beautiful!  How about the succulent and groovy Peperomia with their thick plump leaves of smooth, patterned, and/or color splashed leaf finishes.  Very rad for your pad!  Similarly stylin' are the Calathea/Murranta group with their art deco/nouveau/tropicalia-ish patterns, colors and textures.  Très exotique!  Palms are good candidates too.  The ultra glam Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) with her fashionably fresh foliage and pretty pleated texture is a cool choice.  Even the majestic low light Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana), not pictured, is a beauty in tall indoor spaces.  Very chic. 

Oh, and ferns too!  A word about Ferns.  Most ferns are listed as non-toxic on the ASPCA list except for Asparagus Fern, commonly referred to as the Foxtail Fern.  Just watch out for that guy!  So, if you're looking for something to bring the beauty to your living situation that won't harm the pups and the kittehs, come on down to The Plant Provocateur Shop and check out these plants and a few others that fit the non-toxic bill.  Oh, and a big shout out to the woman, the myth, the legend, Katy for putting the spotlight on this subject for me today. We love our pets and we love our plants!  Let's bring them together in sweet harmony.

You've asked for it...another cool workshop is coming your way from The Plant Provocateur.  It's Tillandsia time!  They're hot, hip, and bring the tropical glamour wherever they grow!  Your Plant Provocateur will be putting on a workshop introducing you to many of these highly sought after, easy care, air plants.  The workshops will feature a show and tell of different types of tillandsia, a hands-on examination by each participant of the plants themselves, cool ways to display them, and focus on how to care for them so they live, last, and look amazing! 

The Plant Provocateur will have some beautiful Tillandsias , as well as, one of the best books on Tillandsia care, on hand for purchase.  So here are the details.  The workshop will be held Sunday, July 26th from 10:30am-11:30am at The Plant Provocateur shop on the patio.  Workshop is limited to 8 people.  Workshop fee is $20.  Reservations must be purchased beforehand either at The Plant Provocateur shop or by calling 323-774-4836 during open hours (T-Sat 11-6 and Sun 12-5).  The Plant Provocateur is located at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake.  Cross street is Micheltorena.  Patio is located next door to Night + Market Song Thai restaurant and behind #muddypawcoffee at 3320 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026.  BTW...street meter parking is FREE on Sundays!  Also, the last workshop sold out fast, so book today!

Well, the day has finally arrived.  Time to open the doors and begin the new adventure.  Now, in typical L.A. fashion, I'm referring to this event as a "soft opening".  I'll be there.  The doors will be open...but it's a casual thing.  Regular store hours are in place but the Grand Opening event will not happen until June or July.  Everything is just about there...but more is to come.  So, if you're feeling like coming to check out to see what's growing on or talk about plants n' stuff...push the door open, if it isn't already, and say "Hi!".  I've got super sexy houseplants, scrumptious succulents, and a few cut flowers too.  Also, be sure to check out some of the design goods I'm carrying.  It's all stuff to make you feel good.  Store Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11-6pm and Sunday 12noon - 5pm.  Mondays Closed.  Welcome to The Plant Provocateur!

Hello.  Anyone out there receiving this transmission?  The Plant Provocateur is here to say "Hey!" and catch you all up on the goings on.  So, it's been a while.  So much, so fast.  Well, as you can see a new website has launched.  Now, you don't just the pretty pictures but you also get events info and most importantly brand new shop info.    

So as the saying goes...slow and steady wins the race.  That's been my motto so far for 2015.  The NEW shop is coming along!  One foot in front of the other of course.  After some contractor delays, getting and recovering from the flu, plus a few other unexpected bumps...my latest forecast for the shop's grand opening is now set for April.  So, you'll just have to wait a teensy-tiny bit longer my patient friends of The Plant Provocateur.  It will be worth it I assure you.  More soon...