The Return of the Artist's Date: Terrain

I didn't realize how long it had been since I went on an Artist's Date until I went back through my blog to find my most recent trip--turns out, it was in July of last year!  It's high time I make the effort again to enjoy a monthly excursion somewhere that feeds my creative spirit.  This month, I chose the store Terrain, an upscale nursery owned by the same folks who run Anthropologie. 

If you are familiar with Anthropologie, you can see the similarity in the vibe at Terrain.  I found it completely dreamy and inspiring.

There were sparkling lights, engaging tablescapes, terrariums galore, and design ideas to inspire both indoor and outside decor.

There were also lots of things that had little or nothing to do with gardening:  candles, luxurious bathroom products, cooking items, greeting cards, cashmere pajama pants (!), and even some crafty items.  Here are some nifty stick colored pencils, and maybe you can see the bin of washi tape and burlap ribbon on either side of them.

I thought these stacks of bark (for $10 a bundle) would make awesome notebook/journal covers, and was tempted to buy some:

And, of course, there were plenty of plants--indoor plants, outdoor plants, terrarium plants, herb garden plants. 

The building across from the one pictured in the photos above looked more like a "usual" greenhouse, with fewer frills:

I took several close-up photos of colorful flowers and leaves, thinking they would make great inspiration for designs and doodling in my sketchbook once I got home.

There were also large outdoor spaces that I did not explore because it was pouring down rain on the morning I visited.

The store was inspiring even to a brown thumb like myself!  I debated the array of indoor herbs, but decided to buy three little non-herb plants that I thought would brighten my kitchen countertop.  Here they are in the little box they gave me to take home:

And here are the plants in their new home in the corner of my kitchen counter:

It never would have occurred to me to put the Angels' Tears into a parfait glass and a crystal vase if it had not been for a display I saw at Terrain.  And I ventured to combine the fern and the fittonia into a single terra cotta pot after seeing the lovely container gardens designed for display at the store. 

I am truly a plant novice, and have a well-established brown thumb, having seen the demise of bonsai, philodendron, and jade plants in my care.  I had a pretty good run with cacti early on, but that's about the extent of it.  Also, my cat Stella is notorious for devouring any living thing I try to bring into the house, so much so that my husband's first words upon seeing the display above were, "So, you got a snack bar for Stella, eh?"

It is so valuable to occasionally use the time when the girls are in preschool for the morning to do something other than run errands or do tasks around the house.  An Artist's Date is a great opportunity to go somewhere I've never been before but have been curious about, and to see the place through the eyes of an artistic, creative person seeking inspiration, ideas, and refreshment.

See if you can't fit an Artist's Date into your February schedule.  You will NOT regret it!