Outdoor Elegance

From Kim:

Living in Santa Barbara, we enjoy a marvelous indoor / outdoor lifestyle. We have the luxury of living and dining outside many months of the year, surrounded by the outdoor elegance of flowering trees and bushes. For those living in New York City, especially after a very cold winter with snow-covered streets, the sight of tiny green leaves and budding branches is exhilarating. That said, one can bask in the beauty of massive floral arrangements in the foyer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art year round. I always marvel at these arrangements and have taken numerous photos over the years; they are always that inspiring. There are four grand pediment niches and a central pedestal which support classic marble urns bursting with a magnificent arrangement of flowers. This enduring gift is from Lila Acheson Wallace. Who was this woman with the foresight of gifting all who behold, these beautiful flowers? Lila and her husband founded Readers Digest in 1922 and generously went on to create The Wallace Foundation and fund a number of great philanthropic causes.