In Conversation With Lucinda Bray
The founder of landscape design firm Floralis climbs to new heights
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles: Coined the “City in the Forest,” Atlanta is known for its abundant green space and warm climate. How has Atlanta shaped your opportunities or your landscape approach?
Lucinda Bray: I was recruited out of Penn State University by an Atlanta-based landscape company. Two days after college graduation, I was packed and moved south. The depth of residential projects in Atlanta and the appreciation for design, with a strong architecture and design community, have given me so many opportunities for which I am grateful.
AH&L: Looking back, was there a pivotal moment in your career that you feel ignited your rise in Atlanta?
LB: I feel that my eyes were really opened to the design community when we participated in our first showhouse: It was the Serenbe Designer Showhouse in 2016. This was my biggest introduction to the Atlanta design community, the team of creators and the force that moves design and architecture forward in Atlanta. With each project you meet new people, make new friends, learn new styles, new materials, new ways to look at a space. The showhouses have been pivotal for me for all of these reasons.
AH&L: Floralis was founded 13 years ago. What part of your design process has changed the most throughout your career?
LB: So much of our work hinges on understanding what a client is saying—or not saying—then being able to develop those cues into a successful design layout. Project specifics, facial expressions, tone of voice, and amount of engagement have all become easier to spot over time. I’ve learned to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, or offer alternate approaches. Reading those cues early on in the process can make all the difference in delivering a successful design solution.
AH&L: Many Atlantans are partial to historic homes. How do you balance designing for a place’s history and its future?
LB: I love places that have some history and grit, and a good historic house has a sense of charm and character that some new builds will take years to earn. It’s important to respect the historical significance of a place and to preserve its unique details, but also understand that modern materials and technology can still be incorporated to adapt to the present and future. A blend of styles where historic meets modern can be an incredibly engaging palette.
AH&L: How do you see your personal identity reflected—consciously or subconsciously—in your landscapes? LB: I look at each project as if it’s my own: I like to place myself in the shoes of each property owner and think about what I would want if engaged in the spaces of a property each day. Of course, my personal favorite plants tend to find themselves into most of our projects. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Floralis landscape without a paper bush, snowball viburnum, or Nuccio’s Gem camellia.
AH&L: Are there early experiences or mentors that still quietly guide your design decisions today?
LB: Oh, absolutely. They say that history has a tendency to repeat itself, and in this case, it’s a good thing. Historical precedents can be the backbone of a strong design layout, while previous projects, resolutions to previous site issues, seeing first-hand how plant material performs, and learning the maintenance needs of each plant all enlighten and guide our design decisions on a daily basis.
AH&L: Walk us through your own garden. What would onlookers find?
LB: I’m a true farm girl at heart. My house is an 1896 farmhouse and the original 2 acres and barn from an old pecan farm in Covington. A true farmhouse doesn’t hold much of a planted landscape around the foundation but rather focuses more on functional plantings. I have a grid of 100-plus-year-old pecan trees, a large pomegranate tree, fruiting fig bushes, a blueberry grouping, blackberry and raspberry trellis vines, pots and beds of herbs, and a series of raised garden beds planted seasonally. My favorite season of the year: tomato season.
AH&L: Each project is a labor of love. What do you hope people feel when they experience your work?
LB: I hope people see quality work, created by a team of craftsmen who truly love and appreciate what they do. I hope they feel the care that went into the product, the hours of design time and decisions, attention to the stone and material details, the feel of the plant leaves and specific flower scents selected for the space. I hope they see nature and beauty. floralisdesign.com
A Day in the Life
Morning to night with Lucinda Bray
6 a.m. Wake up, check emails, and finalize my schedule for the day. Leave the house to get ahead of traffic in-town. Call a few of our subcontractors and builders to catch up on project progress.
7:30 a.m. Arrive at our shop and holding yard on the Westside to pull plant materials and check in with the crew. While at the shop, water the plants in the greenhouse and in our holding yard.
8:30 a.m. A site meeting with a new client followed by a few stops to check in on current projects and answer the needs from my morning check-in calls.
12:30 p.m. Grab a sandwich from Henri’s and eat on the go (egg salad on rye is my go-to!). Answer phone calls while driving back to my home office.
1–5 p.m. Office time in front of the computer to wrap up a permit site plan in AutoCAD for a Sandy Springs project.
5–6 p.m. Zoom call with an architect to review site layout options for a project. Once we’re done, I sign off for the day and walk outside to check on my own garden. I pick a few herbs to use for dinner: Arugula, kale, rosemary, and chives are my favorites this time of year. I also check on my chickens—Waffles, Lou, Sally, and Scarlet—to get the day’s eggs.
6:30 p.m. Cook dinner while my husband makes a “house cocktail”—a little help to unwind from the day! Our house cocktail: elderflower, vodka, grapefruit, lemon, and a sprig of the rosemary from the garden.
8 p.m. I do a quick check of emails and gather my pile of papers and plans needed for the next day.
This is the second installment of AH&L’s Futures of Design. To learn more about the class of 2026, visit atlantahomesmag.com/futures-legends.
