Dandelion Ranch

Sounds like somewhere nice to hang out, doesn't it?

It's actually the name of my most favorite flower design boutique in LA.

Run by Clover and Fern (I mean, C'MON), it's not a shop you walk up to but rather a tucked-away stone room in Baldwin Hills where you can make an appointment to visit. I knew I was there when I came upon stacks of old tires with all sorts of lush wild things growing out of them.

I first found them when I was planning our wedding. I pulled this off the internet somewhere

as exactly the feel I wanted for the cocktail hour: elegant but a little bit wacky. Alas, our wedding not being in LA (hence needing to pay for flower travel) and me deciding to save money and do a lot of the flowers myself, I didn't hire Dandelion Ranch to do it. I'm still getting over that and torture myself sometimes by hanging out on their weddings page.

Thank God there are other reasons to buy flowers than a wedding.

I wanted to send an extra-special thank you this summer to one of my agents who kicked booty in negotiating a job for me, and I called up Dandelion. They said Modern or Rustic? I said Rustic. They put together this

and my agent just about died.

Then, it being the holidays, and I, for one, not being in need of another cookie, felt maybe I wasn't alone and rather than showering the agents' office with baked goods, I called again. Modern or Rustic? Modern. I brought them these

A peony and ranunculus and juniper berries and cool pine-cone-related thingys!

They almost died again.

Dandelion's whole philosophy is about letting the flowers do the expressing; not trying to arrange them in some crazy interpretive way but rather as though you stumbled across a rather perfect garden. They do the flowers for Mozza, Grace, and of course Lucques (yet another reason to worship that restaurant. We were there last night for Sky's bday with a party of 12 and we've converted everyone to being Lucques disciples) and I think maybe every great restaurant in LA.

Inside the studio is a giant blackboard with days of the week and what gets deliveries when. I got oddly thrilled, like I was seeing Helen Mirren's dressing room or something.

Needless to say, I'd recommend these ladies for any event or gift you have reason to throw or send. For my mom's party that I'm throwing Jan 6 (and haven't even started on eek) I might have to have something like this

or this

or this

or maybe this

or should I go succulent?

or berries. Definitely berries.

all photos courtesy of Dandelion Ranch

I might have to name a daughter something botanical in the hopes she'll open a Dandelion Ranch of her own one day.