Christmas trees are great, there’s no denying that. But every year in America millions of trees are cut down for the Holidays. This year, we’re asking you to consider a new tradition by using a living tree, not just a real one, a tree that is alive & potted! What we call – Pocketed!

Living trees can be reused for years to come. They’ll look great in your home over the Holidays & will also help ease levels of CO2 . When you’re finished for the Season, either re-plant your beloved tree into the ground, or plant it in your Brian, Lana, Tina or Steve to give it a wonderful home. Living trees can be purchased by local growers & even some in-the-know nurseries and garden centers! If you don’t know where to plant your tree after the Holidays are over, consider donating it to your community school or local tree adoption/urban reforestation services.

Alternatively, consider companies like the LA based Living Christmas Tree Co. that will rent you a potted 2 – 7ft tree & pick it up after the Holidays – all in a biodiesel truck!

So, don’t cut your tree short – consider making it a long-term member of your Family & the Planet!

Send photos of your Pocketed trees to info@woollypocket.com for the chance to win the Pocket of your choice!

Stay Woolly,

Aurora

LOGO TV airs their newest reality show “The Arrangement” tonight (Monday, October 4^th) at 11pm/10c!  If you’ve loved Top Chef, and always wished for the Floral Design version, your dreams have now come true.

All over the set you will find lush Woolly Pocket Living Walls!  Behind the judges’ table, filling empty windows in the workroom, and above the couch in the “kiss and cry” room – Wallys are everywhere!  Islands, too, hang out around the set, also filled with tropical indoor plants.

Set your Tivos and DVRs and see who will be “weeded out” weekly.  And of course, check out the amazing floral designs! LA Times’ David Keeps said “I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I hope to see a lot more.”

Image ©suthi picotte

This past week we took a trip to the home of Kristen Lee & Joe Cole. I have to say, it’s pretty amazing. Kristen & Joe own one of my very favorite LA boutiques, TenOverSix – so I admittedly had some high expectations going in there. Their house blew my expectations out of the water. An eclectic mix of dancing cacti, shoes, beautiful artwork, shoes, brilliant vintage finds, Kingsley the dog & some awesome shoes – made it pretty much my dream house. Check out these images to see for yourself just why I fell in love!

photo credit: Josh White

We were super excited to share our Woolly love for plants and gardening with the thousands of inquisitive visitors we met at Dwell on Design this past weekend! Inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, we planted a living wall chock full of native grasses and yuccas, a perfect pairing for the start of summer!

Our booth was conveniently located next to the Wine Australia tasting garden! In the shade of an ancient olive tree, people perused pockets with their toes luxuriating on the realistic artificial grass! For so many people, it was their first time seeing pockets in person, and the first thing (just about) everyone did was reach out and feel the 100% recycled plastic felted wool.

It was a sheer joy to see their eyes light up as the proverbial lightbulb turn on in their heads and they realized a couple pockets can turn that ugly cinderblock wall into a green oasis! We spoke to so many amazing people with great ideas for pockets, from backyard restorations to Juvenile Halls to Recovery Centers for Injured Military Veterans.

The rest of the show was totally inspiring as well! Our Woolly friends at Potted in Atwater hung their new circular hanging pots all around the show!

A Chandelier Of Epiphytes!

An Ellipitcal Rocking Bed!

A bizarre rotating mirror machine!

The Heath Ceramics Truck brought a new line of tiles!

It wouldn’t be a Dwell event without Prefab Homes!

or Sheds

or Tents

or this Geometric Plywood Yurt by Gregg Fleishman!

After 3 days on my feet, I couldn’t keep my eyes off this piece of machinery, possibly the greatest hammock ever invented!

Last week, SHFT opened their art gallery pop-up in Downtown Los Angeles. Woolly Pocket was there with Wallys and Islands! They perfectly complemented the sustainable yet design oriented vibe of the art and products on display. The exhibition is thoughtful and beautiful. All the artwork echos the theme of sustainability in one way or another. Here’s a sample of what’s on view. Enjoy!

Plants seem to have a natural calming effect on people. We’re certain the patients visiting Madison dentist Jody Schilling, DDS, SC are benefitting from the recent addition of some beautiful orchids to her office. A beautiful arrangement of 2 orchids rests comfortably in a Wally on a wall while a Tina holds another pair of orchids for patients to enjoy at the reception desk. Chuck Acker of Orchids Garden Centre & Nursery did a fine job with the installation and arrangement. Well Done!

Sachin Tuli, husband of Jody and the photographer, writes to us about their Woolly improvements:

We are really happy with the way the way the orchids are looking in both the Tina Island as well as in the Wally One! We think they are better than art–so beautiful, interesting and calming.

Right on Sachin! The plants look so bright and happy in their pockets! Thanks for sharing your story!

One of our favorite architects in L.A., Barbara Bestor, recently had us over to her home. When we were there, we obviously had to take photos!

If inspiration is what you seek, behold the photos below, including some amazing interior and exterior vertical gardens using the Wally Vertical Garden System, as well as some happy Islands stylishly adding greenery indoors!

Photo Credit: Suthi Picotte

Brian + Calamondin = Orangerie

Citrus trees are wonderful house plants, oozing clouds of sweet fragrance when they bloom (right about now!) and cheerfully sprouting fruit soon after.  Here in Los Angeles they can live outside year-round, and they are one of my favorite things to put in a pot, especially by the front door.

This Variegated Calamondin Orange, from Monrovia, is my new favorite.  It has tiny round oranges that are juicy but sour and perfect for marmalade and cocktails.  The light green leaves splashed with yellow add drama and color.  Just the thing for Brian.

If your hometown is less tropical, you can move your trees outside for the summer (after frost danger is past), then bring them indoors for the winter.  Make your own orangerie in front of your sunniest South-facing window with a few lightweight Islands (big Brian is best for this).  Thinking he’ll get lonely? A Variegated Pink Lemonade lemon and juicy Mexican Thornless Lime will also be happy wintering indoors, rounding out your new citrus grove nicely!

Happy Gardening!
Stephanie
Materials:
1 x Brian
1 x Calamondin Orange Tree (5 gallon)
Potting Soil

Instructions:
Unzip Brian and add 2” of potting soil.  Remove plant from its plastic pot and gently massage its roots.  Place on potting soil base.  Zip Brian up, adding more soil around the edges as you go (don’t stuff – go for a relaxed fit).  Don’t cover the top of the plant with any extra soil – citrus trees like to have their root crown (the very top part of their roots) exposed to the air.  Enjoy!

Upkeep:
Citrus need lots of sun, so if you don’t have a sunny South facing window (or if there’s a tree or tall building in the way), consider investing in supplemental full spectrum lighting.  Water weekly, or more often if its extra dry inside.  Brian will “sweat” extra water out the sides, so you’ll know if you’re overwatering.  Don’t water if he feels damp.  Citrus are also heavy feeders, so use a good quality organic citrus food, and follow the instructions.

We’ve been making a big splash this week at the New York International Gift Fair with the debut of our newest additions to the Woolly Family, four new freestanding designs!