For Lucinda Bray, getting her hands dirty has always been her favorite thing to do. From a very early age, she had a deep love for nature and knew that she wanted a career that kept her outdoors and close to nature—whether that be with plants or animals. Today, as a landscape architect and the owner of Floralis Garden Design, she has fulfilled that dream. “Plants have always been a large part of my life. Each person and place [that I encounter through my career] has its own story, and sometimes I’m even lucky enough to leave my mark,” she shared.
Bray also makes it a priority to give back to the community. Over the past 13 years, Floralis has contributed to local charities, youth 4-H clubs and civic organizations by supplying both monetary donations and hands-on support, through time and materials. “We understand the value of community and hope that through the success of our business, we will be fortunate to continue to support the community around us,” Bray explained.
When asked what she loves most about the Buckhead neighborhood, Bray shared, “The beautiful, lush outdoor environments! I’m thankful that there is such a love for design driven exterior green spaces in the Buckhead community.” She spends most of her time around town checking in on any current and past projects to see how they are growing.
At home, Bray’s passion is, you guessed it: her garden! She especially loves her vegetable garden, which she considers a true reflection of her “farmer’s daughter” roots. “I love growing tomatoes, basil, peppers, a few different types of zucchini, cucumbers and sunflowers.
Lately, she’s been designing and developing cast stone garden planters. As an homage to Bray’s rural background, her Trust Stone Collection features seven unique planter designs, each named after one of her beloved cows.
Keep an eye out for Floralis signs around the neighborhood to get a peek into what her team is working on, or visit their newly installed kitchen garden at the Kyma restaurant’s rear dining terrace. “You’ll find a full mix of summer veggies to use in the restaurant dishes like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini and squash as well as a full range of herbs like rosemary, lavender, thyme, chives, tarragon, basil and oregano.”
The best kid-friendly plants for summer
“Veggie gardens! They’re a great opportunity to learn a love of plants and growing things at a young age. Start with a Sun Sugar Tomato. It’s an incredibly easy starter plant and bears tons of sweet little orange-colored cherry tomatoes all season long.” She also recommends strawberries as a great starter for kids, as they’ll return year after year. Sunflowers are easy to grow and great for cutting flowers to bring inside the house to enjoy. “There is nothing more satisfactory or thrilling than gathering the vegetables and flowers you’ve grown yourself!”
floralisdesign.com, instagram.com/floralis_garden_design, truststone.net
