Enormous flower garlands hang from Rockefeller Center’s Atlas, the hundreds of blooms — peonies, roses, orchids, carnations and yarrow lilies — cascading from the sculpture’s broad shoulders. At Alamo at Astor Place, 4″ x 4″ square, freeform flat-lays filled with astor, larkspur, wild flowers and grasses, form a counterpoint to Bernard Rosenthal’s Cube, while at the Crosby Street Hotel, Fernando Botero’s Cat has been given a flower mohawk.
The three flower pop-up installations, along with others this week at Plaza de Las Americas, Flatiron Plaza and Flower School New York at 213 West 14th Street, were created for the announcement of the New York Festival of Flowers, which will bow in June 2020. Spearheaded by Leaf founder Moira Breslin, the citywide flower festival with activations such as floral arrangement classes, will be an “opportunity for New Yorkers to enjoy the beauty of nature,” said Breslin. “My grandfather had a garden in Northern Ireland with roses and rhododendrons. I remember the smells…”
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Lewis Miller of Lewis Miller Design, whose clients include Bergdorf Goodman, CFDA, Estée Lauder, Ferragamo, Carolina Herrera and Tiffany & Co., created the installations for Atlas and the Cube. Miller is known for his Flower Flashes, where using buds left over from events and stems suppliers can’t use, he beautifies unexpected places such as construction sites and trash heaps. “The Flower Flash was born of a need to give back and do good,” Miller said. “I love bringing nature into gritty urban environments.”
Additional flower pop-ups can be seen at retailers such as Joe’s Jeans at 83 Mercer Street, Aesop NoLIta, 232 Elizabeth Street, and La Ligne, 996 Madison Avenue, which is offering a limited-edition floral painted pochette. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Central Park Conservancy. At Crosby Street Hotel, a Lewis Miller Design tea features floral-inspired pastries such as violet cake with vanilla mousse, lemon poppy chiffon, and pavlova with rosewater crémeux.