As you can see here, the 106-foot Christmas tree at the Americana (or more appropriate, Armeniacana) in Glendale is yes, a living tree. But like many things brought here after being discovered, the tree got a makeover including the coniferous version of hair plugs and a spray-on tan done with green paint.

I snapped these iphone pics while watching the guy on the cherry-picker drill holes in the trunk then hammer in pre-doweled branches -  from other trees stripped of their limbs I presume.

Someone over at Dior thought Victoire de Castellane’s new flower and insect-heavy jewelry collection needed it’s own island inside Second Life. I made a visit, filmed it, and set it to Philip Glass, resulting in overly dramatic virtual home movie.

A while back I posted about the rainbow dyed roses seen at the LA County Fair and my subsequent hunt for and purchase of said roses. Well the Dutch growers who created them, Happy Colors, have a site displaying their experimentation with all manner of multi-color flower dying.

So I picked up my order of Rainbow Roses from Mellano and Co. in downtownLA. (They are a special order and you will have to call them – the roses are not on their website.) They weren’t cheap – about $6 a stem retail. Here’s photos from the unpacking. I was told the dye was injected into the stem but that doesn’t appear correct. The stems were split into four pieces which, I’m guessing, were each placed in seperate dyes. When trimmed you can see how the dye was absorbed.

See also: Beyond Rainbow Roses – Rainbow Everything

Seen at the LA County Fair, these are real white roses dyed with injections made directly into the stem.Mellano and Company is one of the few US wholesalers to order them. Gay-wedding planners have never been happier.

ORDERING INFO:I don’t sell these.You must call Mellano and Company (they are not on the company’s website) or call your local florist and have them place an order through Mellano & Co.

More info/pictures: Rainbow Roses: They Arrive, I Geek OutSee also: Beyond Rainbow Roses – Rainbow Everything

Amazing wildlife illustrator, Charley Harper has a second set of skateboard decks out for Habitat and has liscensed his art for use on accesories and fabrics for the Todd Oldham Collection at La-Z-boy. (In NY? There’s a party for him next week.)

Todd is totally crazy about Charley and is finishing a massive book of him and his art for Regan Books that’ll be out this winter. Oh and FTD is making Todd Oldham branded flower arangements. I like these two: