I've been a fan of Emily Henderson since she won Design Star how ever many seasons ago. She's no Antonio Ballatore, but she's a pretty good designer. One of her signature moves has been adding these big sculptural trees to her interior spaces called fiddle leaf figs
She may actually be a little obsessed, but they work! I did a little digging (pun intended) and found out that anyone whose anyone is using these African native trees in their spaces
Jonathon Adler
Elle Decor
Chloe Warner
Tim Clark
House Beautiful
These trees are everywhere, and they are amazing! Of course, I must have one immediatley! Living in a tropical climate, and these being a tropical plant, I figured it would be as easy as waltzing into my neighborhood Home Depot. Little did I know I was seeking the Birkin bag of foliage, replete with wait list. After being met with blank stares at the first two Home Depot's I armed myself with the latin name: Ficus Lyrata, and a print-out of the tree for reference and hit up the two nurseries I pass on my way to my kid's dance class, still nada. Lowe's? Nope. The Floral Emporium? Sorry. The Green Market? Uh-uh. Now it's purely ridiculous. I heard a rumor that Ikea is selling them, but with the floor issues in the living room I can't persuade Mike to take a trip down there with me, and I just cannot brave it alone with two kids, even for the most.coveted.tree.in.the.world. (pout).
So, I've decided to start a plant design trend of my own, I present to you, the humble sea grape:
(You saw it here first)
Now taking up residence in a corner of our bedroom. It's got the similar fat green leaves and will grow into a tree as well. The thing I love most about sea grapes is that they are cheap and available (my two favorite traits).I haven't given up my hunt for the elusive fiddle leaf fig, but for now, I'm pretty happy with my sea grape.
