Our Garden Tour Star Hope Sword

From time to time, we highlight “Our Garden Tour Stars” — landscape architects, florists, and interior designers who have participated at our annual Garden Tour and Showcase Estate at The Virginia Robinson Gardens. We want to let you know about these very talented designers, their inspirations, and their creations.

This month, we are featuring florist Hope Sword of Pigsty Studio. At the 2024 Garden Tour, on a long table in the Loggia, Hope arranged a stunning and romantic tableau of flowers, including peonies, roses, and foxglove in a soft palette of pink, red, coral, and apricot hues. Her work has been seen in Vogue, Martha Weddings, and Goop, to name a few.

1. How did you decide to become a floral designer?

My mom did floral design as a hobby growing up & it became a part-time job for me in college as a way to support myself financially and creatively while studying. It became a place of solace and calm for me & continues to be a place where I find lots of joy and meditation.  

2. Where do you find your inspiration?

I most love wild and unstructured floral arrangements, hillsides, gardens & landscapes. I am inspired by each season and the delicate nature of each bloom that presents itself monthly. I love to travel as well & see how things grow around the world – tangled messes of garden roses and overgrown heaps of hydrangeas in Nantucket and Cape Cod, wild grasses, sage brush and echinacea around Marin County, fields of poppies and wildflowers in Italy.  Farmers markets also bring loads of color inspiration seasonally. 

3. Can you please share some photos of your favorite floral arrangements and/or projects you have worked on? 

4. What is the book that inspires you the most?

Lately, my favorite book for inspiration has been Planting the Natural Garden by Piet Oudolf and Hank Gerritsen.

6. How would you like to be contacted?

[email protected]
pigsty.co

5 Responses

  1. Kerstin Royce
    | Reply

    Love your arrangements! It was wonderful to see them in real time at Robinson Gardens.

  2. Souzan Eli
    | Reply

    It’s so beautiful
    Please let us know when we can see it in real time.

    • Sohila Eli
      | Reply

      It’s so beautiful
      Please let us know when we can see them in real time

      • Linda Meadows
        | Reply

        Hope’s wonderful creations were at our Garden Tour on May 18, 2024. Hopefully, she will participate in next year’s Garden Tour on May 17, 2025.”
        Kind regards,
        Linda Meadows, Editor of the Happenings

    • Linda Meadows
      | Reply

      Hope’s wonderful creations were at our Garden Tour on May 18, 2024. Hopefully, she will participate in next year’s Garden Tour on May 17, 2025.”
      Kind regards,
      Linda Meadows, Editor of the Happenings

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