Author: Julie Blakeslee

Yawn. We cut down our sunflowers and got tagged the next day. A stylish olive green color but really not much effort put behind it. I might just white out the letters so we don’t lose the ghost behind it. I was thinking we should go ahead and start a real garden out there – but it’s a scorcher site- so it was going to be all cactus anyway. I guess now it’s going to be really aggressive cactus garden. Hmm. Maybe our mexican barb wire +

a vicious cactus garden would be a nice Pemberton Heights marketing piece. We are having quite a little crime wave over in west austin. Big Red Sun offering natural crime deterrents. Good for frisky escape prone teen agers as well. and a nice bonus is that broken glass and agave are about all we want to plant right now. I think we need a lexicon change here in Austin- all people are saying is “this summer is brutal”. But i mean the last 2-3 summers have been pretty intense. So maybe just accede: “our austin summer is brutal” and deal with it plant wise you know? and just deal with it. plant wise. miss us? xoxojb

um. these have been really popular. I’ll save one for you. xojb

S- check it. Justin did a little segment on the news this afternoon. He’s a total natural….and how about that logo placement huh?

There’s un peau de drama when the interviewer asked if one can dig up wilting plants from the garden and bring them inside? We’ve got a policy to always say “yes” here at BRS Austin. Just how will he do it and keep his squeaky clean conscious in tact….? link below. xoxojb

Dr. Kasulka LIVE

S- since we were talking about maybe maybe maybe sneaking back into interior work here and there, I was wondering if you had seen the project I did at ArtPace summer before last? ArtPace is an artist residency program and the artists’ flats needed an overhaul. The director asked that the spaces be very flexible work live space. The artists asked that it be clean. The artists have studios to use during their 6 week stint, but many like to work in their rooms. 3 flats: 1 for an international artist, 1 for a national artist, and 1 for a Texas artist. Lake Flato did the initial fit out 15 years ago. One flat had an earlier life as an giant car lift elevator area and they had built a sleeping loft into this flat. The climb up was so treacherous, that Artpace had habitually given this flat to the Texas artists b/c “they handle their alcohol better”.

But even strong Texas boys and girls most times ended up sleeping on the couch.

So we had to make the big decision to take out the flat- losing square footage but lengthening their lives. These are the life and death decorating issues we work with down here in Texas.

For all 3 flats, we devised ink stained, DIY flavored murphy beds. (i call this shot below- artists trusting artists)

The requested touch of Tejas evidenced as the pull down handle for the beds…

As for the whiff of S.A., Riley- who basically has run ArtPace for the last 16 years, introduced me to super cool custom low rider shop called Get It Up. yes. please. The main guy there, Josh, called me “mama” and told me my wish was his desire. My first wish was for him to customize my Ikea Vent-a-hoods. yes.

but when i became enamored of a custom low rider truck and needed to have it immediately to drive back to west austin. The answer was “those are only for special occasions mama”.

You know i try to sneak camo into every project no matter what Target is selling. So was thrilled to finally be able to use the Bisazza tile pattern of my dreams.

Well hell, i guess this is all the air conditioned time I can manufacture this morning while doing my nursery stint on the 4th of July weekend… i’m going back out in it. Have a good holiday. xoxojb

S- hmm- wonder why i’m thinking about igloos? Check out these living bamboo igloo things I saw in the Villa Carlotta gardens in Como a couple of years ago. Let’s get someone to allow us to do this in their yard. For the patient client, at Big Red Sun we offer living forts. Or super chic woven living fences…schwing!

Have you been reading about American artists Mike and Doug Starn who are recreating the Big Bambu by the Guggenheim at the Venice Biennale? We saw it towards the beginning of it’s iteration on roof of the Met last spring. It’s really rather startling that the bamboo poles were directly on the balcony pavers. just sitting there.

You had to give your first born and commit some serious fashion crimes (sneakers, fanny packs only) to be allowed up on the structure in NY so we didn’t climb aboard.

But in Venice, you know those Euros, they’ve always been a bit more Darwinian and you can just get all up in it.

thus the peeps have created a little lounge….

and an hibachi area…with cup holders (go america! always a place for your frappuccino)

You know the how they work right? It starts out as a scaffolding or whatnot at the beginning of the exhibition and then they add to it over the course of the show. The NY Times had a good story about it at the opening a few weeks ago.

NYT BIG BAMBU

stream of conscious analysis: I guess i’m wishing I were in an igloo of living bamboo on the grand canal. drinking. yes. xoxojb

 

S-

g-friend. je-sus. I feel like we are on one of those reality shows where they shoot you out of a cannon and then make you eat scorpions so you can get your prize that’s what- like $50? Who opens a nursery in the worst heat wave in recent history?

We’ve got so many plants in ER we had Chucho and Hippo rig up some shade cloth so they can recoup. On a perkier note, Hans’ prado red sunflowers are thrilled- but Justin started wringing his hand b/c the seeds are disappearing.

so ah, this morning we all came in to discover Tessa’s black panty hose in the garden. Really?

S- the fountain- non affectionately known now as the f*cking fountain or FF2 is in it’s final phases of readiness. The plaster guys only did a medium job last friday so lunes, we’ve literally got 5 guys and one daddy overseeing it. Anal overkill i guess. We’ve only been able to

work on it in fits and starts as we’ve found the time. But- it’s SO gorgeous even though we are maligning her, we can’t wait to turn her on… tomorrow?? wish us luck. xoxojb

S- the fountain- non affectionately known now as the f*cking fountain or FF2 is in it’s final phases of readiness. The plaster guys only did a medium job last friday so lunes, we’ve literally got 5 guys and one daddy overseeing it. Anal overkill i guess. We’ve only been able to

work on it in fits and starts as we’ve found the time. But- it’s SO gorgeous even though we are maligning her, we can’t wait to turn her on… tomorrow?? wish us luck. xoxojb

S~ sister. check it- we have been anxiously circling the great transplanted sagos from last fall.

We had that epic cold spell that killed back sagos all over town and we thought they were doomed. Oddly, the big girl didn’t even take freeze damage, the other 2 –not so much. We had to cut them back to nubs. 4 weeks ago the second one flushed out. But you can see little stump there on the edge. We watched and watched and waited and finally last week the homeowner asked us to just cut it back. She was thrilled that the other 2 big ones survived the transplant. We begged for one week reprieve. We seaweeded it, we talked nicely to it, we threatened it, we coddled it and lo and behold-

He rewarded us this morning with this- on June 6th. It’s 104 degrees today- poor little thing. But dios- these are some tough plants. Dr. Kasulka successful again. Schwing!! xxoxojb