Spruce is a little flower shop, owned by floral designer Gaige Clark, right next door to Two Boots Pizza and down the block from a host of good restaurants (and The Chocolate Bar). I found myself peeking in the window as I was walking by this past Saturday with a piping hot chocolate in hand.
Spruce is to bouquets as Magnolia Bakery is to cupcakes. You know why you are lining up at the door. They do not carry anything that does not become them. Their space is cozy, not excessive and only contains the bouquets and precise collection of containers and plants that collectively say ‘Spruce’.
The combination of lush flowers in canning jars and roses arranged in moss in their signature wood boxes reminds me of nice brunches and open windows with breezes. It feels like New England. Their arrangements, although feeling as natural as a hand-picked garden bouquet, are deliberate in their style. Especially attractive on Saturday were the anemone flowers (white with black centers) and the fresh, perfect roses.
Billy was busy arranging the day’s offerings when I entered the shop. He has lived in this neighborhood, near Spruce, since the 80’s and has worked with them for the past eight years. He speaks with much affection for his neighborhood, his partner and their dog, and for the art of arranging flowers. Having been trained as a painter, he finds fulfillment in the challenge of color, texture and layout within his floral designs. One by one they were arranged and then put into the front window, lightly misted with water and glistening as if they were still covered in dew from the garden. We recommend a stop by, if you are looking to bring some of the colorful, fresh out of doors into your dry, winter apartment.
Cuttings:
ArcLinea teases us with their new LED grow light technology
CL Finds (for the ambitious):
Rodale's Illus. Encycl. of Organic Gardening - $9
STANDS for PLANTS or DISPLAY -all metal or wood with metal, $14, $18
1000 WATT SWITCHABLE HPS/MH INDOOR GROW LIGHT - $140
High Pressure Sodium Grow Box on Wheels - $300
-Matt N.
(not maxwell - that is autofill)
I LOVE Spruce!! One of my top 5 favorite florists in the city!!
If you are going to check out florists in the West Village, what about that place on Bleecker near Christopher... Ovando is the name... Incredible window displays, but the owner or manager... Good Lord she's your grumpy wan, and I should know! Love to go in and compliment her on the beautiful things she has and just get a dry "thank you" and a sneer... Of course everything is fabulously expensive and everyone is better off going to the flower district, but for beauty with attitude, you should check out Ovando.
By the way, there's also another Spruce in Chelsea, on 8th Avenue somewhere around 20th Street or so.
i prefer cupcake cafe over magnolia. but that's just me.
Curtis - you're right. They do have a new location on 8th. Haven't seen it yet, but I hope it is as nice as the first. Did you get to take a peek? Everyone is very helpful and relaxed at the Greenwich street location. I like when a flower shop is worth visiting AND they don't make you feel as if you are intruding.
- by the way, I have never tried the beautiful cupcakes at Cupcake Cafe, but my absolute favorite cupcakes are from Crumbs :)
It looked pretty, but spare when I looked into the Chelsea branch of Spruce.
By the way, the buttercream icing on the cupcakes at Cupcake Cafe is wonderful, but I don't think the cake part itself is necessarily the answer to all prayers.
I love Spruce - their bouquets are lovely. I still remember the bouquet I was sent from Spruce when I had my first baby at Saint Vincents. It was so pure, simple and lovely - just like my baby girl.
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