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I’m Lisa Orgler, creator and editor of Topiary & Tiramisu, the blog that celebrates the craft of garden living through lovely photography and illustrations.
I grew up in a home full of love, but minimal monetary riches. Lack of material things gave me the gift of truly appreciating the simple things in life…flowers, tea cups, patterned fabrics, tasty casseroles and charming farms. Antiques and flea market finds also squeezed into my world. These items were often inexpensive, held an unknown story, and were frankly, just beautiful.
The appreciation of beautiful objects eventually led to my love of outdoor spaces. With my siblings I spent hours in nearby woodlands building forts, making wildflower bouquets and whipping up imaginary dishes. Later in high school we ran miles through rural areas past impeccable farms with bright red barns and perfect corn rows. For me there was always something intriguing about the mysterious wild paired with controlled agriculture.
This intrigue led me to earn two degrees in landscape architecture and into positions where I was able to work closely with enchanting landscapes. I have had the privilege to work at a botanic garden surrounded by a staff of talented horticulturists, educators, and designers and today am able to share my love of gardens teaching landscape design to horticulture students.
This blog is where I can collect beautiful images of gardens and people living in them…entertaining, loving, playing, working, creating, or just enjoying solitude. My goal is to discuss gardens through atypical images. These images focus on people and how they utilize the landscape.
I’m hoping this blog will reveal a new way to look at the craft of garden living…and maybe inspire some creativity along the way. It is a collection of fabulous images and ideas from talented photographers, party planners, foodies, designers, and artists.
What you will not find is information about fertilizers, plant diseases and installation techniques. This is not a technical site, but a reflective one…a place to dive into the craft of gardening as a place for living. I hope you will find weekly inspiration for your own garden and how you can enjoy living in it.
Please contact me to share your lovely images, thoughts and questions.
Though not in stylistic tune with this site, I do have another quirky site about food:
The Lunch Box Project. It's for those that need to snack on art once in awhile, minus the calories.
