This is the story of how two plants made their way into my apartment.
In the beginning, I knew that I wanted something dramatic and 'alive' in my apartment, but I didn't know exactly what. So, I consulted with the local experts: the garden staff at Martha Stewart Living.
We settled on some ideas.
One, an 8-foot Cutleaf Philodendron or Philodendron selloum, traveled 135 miles from David Burdick Daffodils and More. The other, a Swiss Cheese plant or Monstera deliciosa, and a bit smaller, came from the New York Botanical Garden. Both ended up in large, square terrazzo planters from Evan Peters and Co.
To acquire these plants, repot them and then get them into my apartment was no easy task (just take a look at the photo galleries below) and there are many, many people who need to be thanked, including David Burdick, Joel Moskowitz of All Points Courier (who somehow wrangled an 8-foot plant into his van on short notice), the entire garden department at Martha Stewart Living magazine (Andrew, Tony and Stacy) as well as staff stylist Tom Borgese, my executive assistant Sara Garrison, Deputy Decorating Editor Rebecca Robertson, Home Editor Anthony Santelli and last, but certainly not least, the office services staff at MSO. Thank you Brian, Daniel, Martin, Juan, and Louis for getting everything where it needed to be.
1 Here is the first batch of plants to arrive from the New York Botanical Garden. The medium and smaller sized ones. Ultimately, I chose the Philodendron selloum, or cutleaf philodendron.
2 Martha Stewart Living's Deputy Garden Editor, Tony Bielaczyc, meets me at the far end of the office to check the delivery. Stylist Tom Borgese (in the back) also stops by since his plant expertise will come in handy, too.
3 We being to discuss not only how to care for the plants but how we are going to repot them.
4 Then comes the trim and shine. Tony begins by cleaning up a bit.
5 Then brings out the secret weapon: milk.
6 While Tom mixes the milk with water (half milk/half water), Tony cleans the plant base.
7 Tom shines the leaves with the half-milk/half-water solution. Though mostly used to shine up Begonias, Tony recommends this technique to give the Swiss Cheese plant some luster.
8 Tony cuts and prunes.
9 And expertly demonstrates how to reshape the leaves.
10 Here are the trimmings.
1 My 8-foot tall Swiss Cheese plant at David Burdick Daffodils and More.
2 All Points Courier Service, run by Joel Moskowitz, picked up the plant and delivered it to the office.
3 He had to strap it down in his delivery truck so that it would be safe during the 135 mile trip.
4 This was some operation. And so beautifully executed.
5 It took three MSLO employees to get it off the truck.
6 On to a dolly.
7 And through the streets on New York. The guys had to bring it around the corner onto the loading area so it was an amazing feat.
8 My plant's personal entourage.
9 When they turned the corner, a car came by and almost hit them.
10 It was going into the parking garage under the building.
11 It passed without incident.
12 Whew.
13 It made it into a photo studio along with the plants from the New York Botanic Garden.
14 I love the form.
15 Stylist Tom Borgese and I talk about how we are going to get it repotted and into my apartment. We decide it's a better idea to repot the larger one on site and the smaller one here. I also decided I only needed two.
16 So off it goes to the loading dock.
17 Along with the terrazzo pot from Evan Peters & Co.
18 Onto the van that pulled up to the 9th floor.
19 Then, the smaller one was repotted and also delivered.
20 Off it goes.
21 Not easy.
22 On to the van.
23 The large Swiss Cheese plant arrives safe and sound.
24 As does the pot.
25 It's wrangled into the hallway.
26 Just fitting.
27 Everyone in.
28 Tom does it all with a smile.
29 Daniel CAREFULLY gets it out of the elevator.
30 Once it arrived...
31 Everyone had to cover up before they could wheel it in.
32 Here it comes down the hallway.
33 ...and into the living room.
34 Bringing in the pot was a breeze...but then came the EZ Glides.
35 Deputy Decorating Editor Rebecca Robertson passed the EZ Glides to Tom.
36 Together, they placed them on the bottom of the pot so the floor wouldn't scratch.
37 Tom really got under there.
38 Without much fanfare, the smaller plant arrived, too.
39 Together, they make a fine pair. The large one stayed in the corner of the living room.
40 Ultimately, I decided to put the smaller one outside.
Kevin Sharkey 
From: dolly | 6/1/10 at 9:40 am
Kevin, love the plants. They really do bring a lot of dimension to the living room and patio. But I have to ask this question, and maybe I missed the blog, but when did you get the sofa? The last I remember, you were asking us to help you decide. But I must say,I like it, and hope too see a better picture of it. Also love the patio chairs, where did you get those? The apartment is really coming together. thanks for the updates...
From: Wanda | 6/1/10 at 10:51 am
Very dramatic plants, Kevin.
Looking forward to the final result.
I would love to see a 360 degree shoot like you see on real estate web site to get the full view.
From: Ronald Louis | 6/1/10 at 2:24 pm
These and the bedroom plants are perfect for Mid-Century modern.
From: Lynn Schmitter | 6/2/10 at 6:35 pm
I wanted you to know that the plant that you picked up in Stockbridge, MA was purchased approximately 20 years ago by me at the local Price Chopper. As I had nearly killed it, I put it on my neighbor's doorstep and ran. He is a gardner at Tanglewood here in the Berkshires. He brought the plant back to life, it grew huge, lived for a while at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, came back to fill my entire living room where we decorated it for Christmas that year since our traditional tree would not fit in with "Phil" as we call the plant and eventually made its way to you. Do know, that the picture of "Phil" in my neighbor's green house is incorrectly labeled on your blog. The green house belongs to Ron Brouker and the person in the photo is Rob Genari. Loved seeing the pictures!