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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. 22 Last month, a week before arriving at the Dallas Arboretum to discuss her book Martha's Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Enjoying, Martha Stewart calls me from her farm in Bedford, New York. "We're having a really hideous heat wave right now," she says. "It was 100 in New York yesterday, and 100 the day before. It's terrible for the gardens." Weather aside, it will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Martha Stewart that blooms are thriving in each of her four gardens in Bedford, East Hampton, New York City, and Seal Harbor, Maine — peonies, roses, lilies, poppies, tulips, hydrangeas, and more. Martha's Flowers, her newest project from her lifestyle empire, is not just a beautiful tome packed with photos of elegant arrangements. It's also a handy resource, offering tips from Stewart and her longtime colleague, Kevin Sharkey, on how to best nurture a garden and craft your own bouquets. During our chat, she revealed what first sparked her passion for flowers and which French château she thinks has the most magnificently verdant park. When you first started developing an interest in flowers. It's something I've been doing ever since I was a child. It started with my dad. I got my own garden at 19 and proceeded to grow more and more and more. Biggest gardening influences. My dad was a very good gardener. And probably his mother, who was a rose grower. I like experts. Dan Hinkley from Heronswood in Seattle has been a big influence and also a good teacher. I read a lot. I have a vast gardening library that I refer to all the time. How to grow flowers in the brutal Texas heat. I would absolutely take a course at the local botanical garden. Talk to garden centers where they sell plants that are indigenous to your area so you're not trying to plant something that won't grow. Don't try to grow delphiniums in Texas. SORRY, CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW. I'm on the phone with Martha Stewart. "DON'T TRY TO GROW DELPHINIUMS IN TEXAS." — Martha Stewart Most beautiful gardens you've seen. I like landscape gardens — those big, old, fabulous maintained gardens. There's a château in France called Courances. It has the most beautiful cascading pools. I've visited all the gardens in Japan. They have some very beautiful landscape gardens in China. England, Scotland, France, Italy, Russia, Germany, Greece … I've been to a lot. I'm getting married this winter. Any advice for my bridal bouquet? Carnations are beautiful. Spring flowering bulbs would be pretty. White tulips — those are nice. A memory you associate with a certain floral scent. The most fragrant garden I ever had was in East Hampton. I had about 900 roses on one acre. It was really special. People would come from everywhere just to walk down the street and smell the roses, because the scent was so intense. That's the kind of memory that stays with you for a long time. BY LINDEN WILSON Martha Stewart 8627 LAKEMONT DRIVE SHORECREST ESTATES | $1,735,000 ERIN MATHEWS 214.520.8300 ERIN@ERINHOME.COM