As much as I hated being away from my children—and I tell you I longed for them every minute I was away—the historic closure of Europe’s airspace kept me in Milan much longer than I had planned, and I’m glad. In Italy for Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the most stunning furniture tradeshow in the world, I discovered all kinds of cool outdoor furniture and planters. Plus, and this is no surprise, the displays incorporated plants in funky, inviting ways that inspired me to do some redecorating at home (look at the plant arrangements in lucite fish tanks). The extra week in Milan put me in front of pretty if unkempt plantings in all parts of the city: parks, plazas, window boxes, porches and he walls of houses and hotels all sported plants gone wild.
