Before Sophia Moreno-Bunge became a boldfaced name in the floral design world and attracted a clientele that includes goop, the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica, and the most discriminating private patrons in the L.A. area, she wrote for Gardenista. We are thrilled to have her back in our fold for a short but sweet Quick Takes visit today.

Sophia is the founder of Isa Isa, the thriving floral design studio she named after her Argentine grandmothers (both named Isabel). Her arrangements, often featuring local and foraged flowers, branches, pods, and fruits, are emotive and idiosyncratic—and demand attention. (To call them pretty would be an insult.) Most impressive, no matter the size or scale of a project, Isa Isa installations always feel personal and from the heart. 

Sophia lives and breathes flowers—and can’t help but bring her work home (catch a glimpse of her plant-filled apartment here). “I often buy plants to use in my work, since certain varieties are not available at the flower market, and then plant them all over my apartment building and garden in Santa Monica—from orchids, to farfugiums, roses, jasmines, and herbs,” she tells us. “At this point I have hundreds of potted plants and a rose garden, and am currently planning and starting to plant a cutting garden in Malibu!”

Read on to learn where she bought her chic tool holster, what makes her tick—and what ticks her off.

Photography courtesy of Sophia Moreno-Bunge.

Your first garden memory:

Weeding my family’s garden with my grandmother Isabel, and the smell of herbs and blooming fruit trees coming in through my bedroom window at night.

Instagram account that inspires you:

Orca Living for their beautiful California gardens. [See Quick Takes With: Molly Sedlacek.]

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Wild, seasonal, playful.

Plant that makes you swoon: