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Creative Minds

Creative Mind: Lindsey Taylor

The garden designer reinterprets famous works of art as expressive bouquets in her vibrant new tome

By Kathleen Hackett
Person sitting at a table arranging flowers, surrounded by potted plants and decorative items.
In Art in Flower, Lindsey Taylor juxtaposes Willem de Kooning’s La Guardia in a Paper Hat (1972) with an arrangement of peonies, ranunculus, tulips, and viburnums. Photo: DANA GALLAGHER

If it were up to Lindsey Taylor, we’d live in a world where having flowers in the house is just as vital as keeping milk and eggs in the refrigerator. “It’s never about fanciness or expense—it can be a single stem, a clutch of blooms, or a bunch of fallen branches,” says the garden designer, whose work spans Hudson Valley estates, Brooklyn townhouses, and Tribeca rooftops through fruitful collaborations with architects and interior designers, including 2022 Creative Mind Elizabeth Roberts, Bangia Agostinho, Stephanie Goto, and Suzanne Shaker.

Colorful flowers in a black vase with twisting stems and various blooms against a neutral background.
In Art in Flower, Lindsey Taylor juxtaposes Julie Mehretu’s Retopistics: A Renegade Excavation (2001) with beautiful arrangement. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Abstract painting with vibrant lines and shapes interwoven across a beige canvas, featuring bold colors like blue, orange, and pink.
Julie Mehretu, Retopistics: A Renegade Excavation, (2001). Photo: Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, AR

Natural obsession: Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry described Taylor as “a gifted gardener with exquisite taste” in her recent tome, Art in Flower (Monacelli). The book, organized with a work of art on one page and the flora Taylor has translated from it on the next, is deliberately designed to make readers slow down. Inside, a tumble of tulips pairs with a vibrant Frank Stella artwork; a plummy bouquet complements a Georgia O’Keeffe canvas. “Even with a work of art you think you know, you will see more colors, more lines, more of the mood once you challenge yourself to make an arrangement from it,” says Taylor. 

A portrait of a woman with a serene expression, sitting against a landscape background; known for her enigmatic smile.
Leonard da Vinci, Mona Lisa, (1503–6). Photo: The Louvre, Paris
Vibrant floral arrangement with blue delphiniums, red astilbes, and greenery in a dark ceramic vase on a gray surface.
In Art in Flower, Lindsey Taylor juxtaposes Leonard da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503–6) with a beautiful arrangement. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Colorful bouquet of flowers in a unique, sculptural ceramic vase on a light background.
In Art in Flower, Lindsey Taylor juxtaposes Willem de Kooning’s La Guardia in a Paper Hat (1972) with an arrangement of peonies, ranunculus, tulips, and viburnums. Photo: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Abstract painting with vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes, featuring yellow, pink, red, and green hues.
In Art in Flower, Lindsey Taylor juxtaposes Willem de Kooning’s La Guardia in a Paper Hat (1972) with an arrangement of peonies, ranunculus, tulips, and viburnums. Photo: COURTESY OF GALERIE KARSTEN GREVE, COLOGNE, PARIS, ST. MORITZ

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.