Ep. 463: Flowering Outdoors with Margot Shaw

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We are so excited to welcome one of our favorite guests back to the podcast—the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Flower Magazine and a true entertaining expert—Margot Shaw! Margot sits down with Caroline, Taryn, and Liz to celebrate the release of her gorgeous new book, Flowering Outdoors: Gardens and Parties. A follow-up to her bestselling book Living Floral, this new release focuses entirely on inspiring gardens and al fresco entertaining. Margot shares some of her favorite projects from the book, including the stunning restoration of the storied Gray Gardens estate, and explains why she believes place cards are a non-negotiable for any gathering. Quick Decorating & Entertaining Takeaways: Honor a Home's History: Margot discusses the beautiful revival of the iconic Gray Gardens estate by Liz Lange. When updating a historic property, Margot notes how important it is to keep the original spirit alive while adding your own personal touches (like Liz's dramatic round pool). It ensures the home feels referential and soulful, rather than just being a "pretty house". Never Skip the Place Cards: Whether you are hosting an elaborate dinner party or simply having dinner with a group of friends on a cruise, Margot insists that place cards are essential. Assigning seats eliminates the awkward "moment of panic" for guests figuring out where to sit, and it allows you to thoughtfully mix up the conversation. Embrace the "Stretch Goal": When flipping through beautifully styled tabletops and garden parties, it's okay if not everything is easy to replicate. Look for the simple, easy-to-accomplish details (like menus or pretty napkins) while also embracing the grander setups as aspirational "stretch goals" for your own hosting. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: 00:00 Welcome & Introduction to Margot Shaw 00:52 Discussing Margot's brand new book, Flowering Outdoors: Gardens and Parties 02:25 Bringing the book's inspiration to life for spring entertaining 03:28 The standout project: The history and revival of Gray Gardens 04:14 How Liz Lange honored "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" in her restoration 06:46 The process of curating content for the new book vs. the magazine 08:14 The case for always using place cards to make guests feel comfortable 01:00:07 Closing thoughts & where to get the book Also Mentioned: New Book: Flowering Outdoors: Gardens and Parties by Margot Shaw Previous Book: Living Floral by Margot Shaw Flower Magazine Gray Gardens Shop Ballard Designs Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone. Happy Decorating! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.
0:09.1	I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head of the creative team.
0:14.8	We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other
0:21.2	talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.
0:25.4	We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at balderdesigns.net.
0:30.5	Now on with the show. Today, we have one of our favorite guests back here on the podcast.
0:54.6	She's been on twice before. You know and love her. She is an author. She is a garden enthusiast, an entertaining expert, and she is the founder and editor-in-chief of Flower Magazine, Ms. Margo Shaw. Margo, you have a new book. So we're here to talk about it, flowering outdoors, gardens, and parties.
1:05.0	You've had a previous book, Living Floral, which I know is a bestseller. So we're thrilled to have you back to get to preview the new book and share it with our audience.
1:13.3	I'm thrilled to be had back and share it with your audience. I love this podcast. It is maybe my favorite podcasts I ever do. And I'm not sucking up. But no, it's just so much fun. And when it's over,
1:21.4	I'm like, oh, do I have to leave? Well, would you come back anytime? We'd love to have you.
1:25.8	Well, thank you for inviting me this time to promote the new book.
1:29.5	Yes.
1:30.2	Liz and I got to read it.
1:34.0	And it really just coupled with the gorgeous 70-degree day that we're having right now.
1:40.4	It really put me in the mood for spring.
1:47.0	I was already texting my husband. I told you this before we were recording that I was like, oh, we need to do this, this and this. I can't wait.
1:51.7	I was thinking maybe I need to host my book club. I don't know. All of the pictures and stories
1:57.7	in the book of fabulous parties entertaining.
2:06.4	There were great tips from things that were easy to accomplish and maybe things that were a little bit of a, you know, aspirational.
2:09.8	Yeah.
2:10.1	And we all have stretch goals.
2:11.4	Yes.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Caroline McDonald, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Caroline McDonald and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.