Explore and shop at Kumquat Garden

atio umbrellas, hammocks, hanging chairs, glassware, cheeseboards, candles and lanterns, pillows and outdoor rugs, throw blankets, bean bags, granite and basalt fountains, pillows, pots, vases, and patio-friendly accent decor — just a sampling of the goods offered by the new online retailer Kumquat Garden. Santa Fe landscape architect Catherine Clemens and her daughter, Elizabeth Freeman, established the business as an “outdoor living boutique.”

The clean, bright website offers shopping by theme — “Bright and Bold,” “French Country,” or “Rustic Metal Accents”— besides the main headings New Arrivals, Outdoor Living, Entertaining & Dining, Body Botanicals, and Gifts. The latter includes an assortment of “Gifts under $50,” among those Idea Chic gift sets (containing items like seeds, seed-pack postcards, stationery, wood-veneer gift tags, and lavender sachets), body products from the Austin-based milk + honey company, Whisky Stones (soapstone freezer cubes to cool, but not dilute, your spirits), the totally coolWhisky Stones shot glasses, stainless steel wine glasses, and lots of pretty coasters.

“We’re pushing the envelope a little,” Clemens said, “because it’s not just about what you’re sitting on and what your feet are on and the pots you’re planting in, but what are you drinking out of? What is it that’s making your outdoor experience special?”

The site includes a blog, with DIY tutorials onmaking spiced orange pomander candles and nearly a dozen types of wreaths, and little focus pieces such as 5 Great Reasons to UseOutdoor Fabrics Indoors, Perfect Pots, and Fantastically Fun Beverage Bar Ideas for Fall Parties.

In a business statement, Clemens said, “The economic slowdown prompted action but not in the way originally intended, as a brick-and-mortar endeavor. I was aware that as the economy was changing, I wanted a business thatmight be a less localized avenue to express my creativity.” Her initial idea was to do a series of instructional videos on landscape design and at that point she asked her daughter, an art history graduate with experience in gallery sales in San Francisco, if she wanted to come to Santa Fe to work with her.

“We were driving across Arizona brainstorming and Catherine has always wanted to have a garden boutique,” Freeman recalled. As the three of us spoke in Clemens office in the Lofts at Marquez Place, a Pottery Barn catalog lay on top of a pile on her desk “That was actuallymy initial idea, that I’d love to do something like Pottery Barn,” Clemens said. I’ve had an interest in doing that for 20 years. Michael Zimber of Stone Forest and I, before he started Stone Forest, were in conversation about doing something together.”

The rationale for Kumquat Garden and some of its most popular products shows up in another paragraph from her business statement: “Just like inside your home, a garden is never truly finished until it is furnished and personalized with accessories. We love all the wonderful fabrics that are durable enough for outdoor exposure. Fur-