Cozy shop display with wooden shelves adorned with bottles, jars, crystals, and small art pieces. Natural dried floral wreath and artwork on the wall. Sunlight creates a warm, inviting atmosphere.

the journal

seasonal musings from city, studio & garden

Hand holding a glass teapot with herbal tea, next to a teacup on a marble surface.

Briar Winters 8/22/23 Briar Winters 8/22/23

a summer notebook

The quiet days of summer have arrived. A certain stillness drapes across the city on the weekends. Thunderstorms bluster through. Soaking rain, searing heat, fireflies…

Briar Winters 9/15/22 Briar Winters 9/15/22

late august in the studio + in the garden

A shift is in the air. Shorter evenings catch me by surprise. The studio fills with freshly harvested botanicals and bustles with activity as we prepare for the cooler months ahead.

Briar Winters 8/12/22 Briar Winters 8/12/22

early august in the garden

A particularly beautiful moment in the native plant beds these past few weeks. Delicate shades of pinks and purples before the golden blaze of the late summer goldenrods and sneezeweeds.

Briar Winters 7/29/22 Briar Winters 7/29/22

late july in the studio + in the garden

Recovering from the heat wave. I kept my errands to a minimum, content with my little routine of walking from home to studio to garden and back again.

Briar Winters 7/21/22 Briar Winters 7/21/22

summer tea, three ways

We’re having a very hot week here in NYC, so I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to enjoy our teas in the summer without steaming up the kitchen!

Briar Winters 7/2/22 Briar Winters 7/2/22

midsummer in the studio + in the garden

The heart of the year, the longest days. I’ve stayed busy in the studio preparing the summer collection, which I look forward to offering each year.

Briar Winters 6/9/22 Briar Winters 6/9/22

june in the studio

June has arrived in the city like an unruly rose clambering over a chain link fence. Stormy and sunny, both.

Briar Winters 6/2/22 Briar Winters 6/2/22

roses of the lower east side

Just a few of the many roses in the neighborhood, in a collection of photos from over the years, to celebrate the season. All this beauty somehow clambering over fences and thriving in once-vacant lots.

Briar 7/19/18 Briar 7/19/18

a popsicle recipe from the archives

It seemed like a good moment to bring this recipe back from one of the past editions of my newsletter, given the sweltering temperatures in the city this last week.

Briar 6/15/18 Briar 6/15/18

musings in the garden at the beginning of another hurricane season

This is one of our native plant beds at 6th & B Garden. It grows more lush and intricate each year and attracts a beautiful variety of birds and pollinating insects…

Briar 9/18/17 Briar 9/18/17

where summer and autumn meet

This is one of my favorite moments in the year in the world of Northeast native plants, and I never let it pass without a trip to one of the native plant gardens near us…