When I was growing up there were always fresh cut flowers around our house. My dad was the green thumb, nurturing dozens of varieties of roses and camellias that my mom stuck in bud vases or shared with neighbors. Springtime peonies were always a favorite—not exactly an original claim, I know, but the big, dramatic blooms are impossible to resist. They’re also especially hard to come by because of their short blooming season. In the South, it’s usually no more than a few weeks between late-April to early-May before the heat zaps them. Which is why I was excited to stumble on The Peony Patch a small, family-owned farm in Greensboro, North Carolina, that offers fresh-cut, door-to-door deliveries

For the design-minded, High Point Market is the ultimate adrenaline rush. Around every corner there’s a new vendor, product, or trend waiting to be discovered.  The star-studded cast of tastemakers—from Suzanne Kasler to Beth Collier—scattered throughout the showrooms and after-parties make the already high-style event something akin to Hollywood for furniture fanatics. (I even got my picture taken riding a magic carpet with Aladdin). This year, I was particularly excited to find these standout products, highlighted below.

If you’re looking to freshen up your decor this spring, make sure to check out the work of Southern textile artisan Kathryn Maresca. The daughter of Charleston architect Mark Maresca, Kathryn received a degree in textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design and recently set up a small studio in Savannah to produce her wares.

In her just-released coffee table book Houses with Charm, Southern design writer Susan Sully isolates a crucial component that reconciles the South’s high-end tastes with its laid-back lifestyle: the art of the personal touch. Filled with images of eclectic mountain homes, beach cottages, and brick colonials, Sully’s book highlights the way Southerners seamlessly integrate their interiors with their lives and histories.