november in studio + garden

Written By Briar Winters
Vintage perfume compacts with floral designs displayed on marble trays. A single compact rests on a white tasseled gift bag with a letterpress tag. A potted plant with variegated leaves peeks from the corner.
A cozy sunlit NYC apothecary studio with tall windows, string lights, and hardwood floors. A light blue sofa with sheepskin throws sits beneath floating shelves. Houseplants line the windowsills, and a wooden worktable is at left.

Besides the Autumn poets sing,

A few prosaic days

A little this side of the snow

And that side of the Haze -

- Emily Dickinson -

{ find the rest here }

-

reading:

our marigolds are still blooming at 6&B, so I was delighted to stumble across this paean to their beauty in a recent edition of the Strange Plants newsletter

and I've been returning Jane Hirshfield quite a bit lately. Lives of the Heart was the first book of hers I read, and I come back to it over & over. This poem has always been a favorite, and shared here it comes with a recipe, too!

the case for continuing to spend time outdoors, even in the colder seasons

November For Beginners by Rita Dove

-


listening:

to Clarissa Bitar, a Palestinian lute player

and to Qais Essar, an Afghan-American composer, instrumentalist & producer, especially The Green Language and Echoes of the Unseen

plus, discovering some new loves on this wonderful album, Music From Saharan WhatsApp

-

above from top left:

The current state of the table by the door in the studio. Beeswax candles, our 2025 calendar ready to turn the page into the year ahead, and a dried bundle of wayward sweet annie from the garden to use as incense in the coming season.

As ever, I’m always adding fresh vintage pieces to the shop. This coral peony compact awaits your choice of botanical perfume balm. See more vintage here!

Beyond the studio windows, the leaves in the park have changed. I thought the dry conditions might deprive us of vibrant autumn color this year, but blessedly that has not been the case at all.

pouring lots of our rosy lip tints this week, with restocks of these & more on their way to our beloved shop partners, including Take Care, Atomic Garden, Nielsen Brothers Market, Remedies Parlor, Light + Grace & Conifer

Against a white wall, on a white marble surface, three coral hand painted vintage ceramic mugs with a floral design are arranged next to each other.

Happy to be able to share so many fresh vintage treasures in the shop this month with your gifting needs in mind. A tea strainer with the perfect patina or a vintage ceramic teacup is sure to delight! And add on a bar or two of our beautiful olive oil soap from Nablus, Palestine, too, via our soap + solidarity mutual aid effort. Freshly back in stock!

A white vintage apothecary cabinet with glass doors displays beauty products and ceramics. Atop sits three plants: a cascading pothos with speckled leaves, purple oxalis, and delicate green succulent. A wooden worktable peeks from the left side.
A vintage metal tray displays a growing paperwhite bulb in a glass vase, floral vintage Chinese ceramic teaware, dried roses, and scattered crystals. The scene is set against a rustic wooden surface and white wall.
Against a white wall, a white person's hand holds up a vintage brass tea strainer with botanical design details.
A close up of the green leaves and white flowers of a small calamondin citrus tree.

Our indoor garden at the studio really comes to life as the days grow shorter and colder. Before the frost, I bring my calamondin tree in from the fire escape, and this year it rewarded me with a flurry of fragrant blossoms. I like to start my first round of paperwhite bulbs at the beginning of November, as well. And this year, I’ve decided to do a little enfleurage with them to extract the scent. Stay tuned for updates on that project as I go along!

-

It was a relief to be visited by the rains once again after an autumn full of brush fires in our local parks. The autumn garden is soaking it all in with gratitude. Below, a favorite color palette from the season, including the beautiful leaves of our kanzan cherry tree, a bit of milkweed fluff amidst the celosia that thrived up until the frost, and the beauty of the rain on our collard greens.

A close up of fallen wet autumn leaves in shades of orange and brown on the ground in a garden.
A close up of a green collard leaf with shimmering raindrops all over it.
A white person's hand holds a dried milkweed pod with fluff and seeds against a green background of plants and leaves in a garden.
An urban garden scene with an autumn cherry tree, leaves turning red and orange and falling on the ground. A wooden grape arbor is at left on a cloudy fall day.

It was truly a gift to visit the New York Botanic Garden this month on the most beautiful autumn day. The light was a dream and the beds were full of the loveliest color and texture, with fluffy seedheads alongside late-blooming salvias and swaying grasses.

A ray of autumn sunlight descends from top right into a bed of perennial plants beginning to fade in fall at the botanic garden. Purple flowers on graceful stems at bottom right.
A greenhouse dome peeks through autumn foliage, with vibrant red Japanese maple leaves framing the sunlit scene. Dried grasses and bare branches create a natural foreground against a bright blue sky.

Until next time,

An autumn garden scene with shades of tan and taupe, in the foreground fluffy aster seed heads rise on faded stalks.
Looking toward a gravel path at the botanic garden that leads to the setting sun, the light passes through a golden tree on the left with fine narrow leaves
Against a wintry sky at the botanic garden, a view of native plant seed heads and the last of a golden yellow evening primrose.
Against a wintry blue sky at the botanic garden, a gravel path leads through the native plant garden with grasses growing out of a dark boulder on the left.
 

more autumn musings

journal
november in studio + garden
november in studio + garden

Besides the Autumn poets sing,

A few prosaic days

A little this side of the snow

And that side of the Haze -

- Emily Dickinson -

Read More →
in october
in october

A month of very little rain. I’ve been trying to care for our perennial plants as best I can at the garden these past few weeks, in the hope that they will not be damaged from the stress. As things quiet a bit in the garden, they become more lively in the studio as I prepare for the bustling months ahead.

Read More →
the light of september
the light of september

This month has been truly lovely in the garden, a spacious respite from the heat of summer. I’ve been very busy in the studio, releasing our botanical perfume, TILTH, and sending lots of treats out to our wonderful shop partners across the country.

Read More →
november notes
november notes

So many fresh seasonal treats are arriving in the shop each day, as the weather cools and we settle into the longer nights. I invite you to cozy up with a cup of something warm and spicy and to perhaps draw a forest-scented bath…

Read More →
october days
october days

Reveling in what remains of the slanting daylight this month in the studio and focusing in on the nurturing rituals that will hold us steady through the colder days ahead…

Read More →
september in the studio
september in the studio

That end-of-summer energy has me reorganizing some of the forgotten corners of the studio. A welcome energetic refresh as we approach a new season…

Read More →
Briar Winters https://www.briarwinters.com
Previous

midwinter
Next

in october