East of Eliza.(Outdoor Furniture And Tools)

Think of it as a diamond (one of the city's prettiest shops) in the rough (tucked into an ungainly row of squat structures near the ungodly intersection of Woodbine and Gerrard). Spend some time with owner Reed Russell, who for 13 years presided over Eliza in the Beach on Queen East before relocating a few years ago, and the setting makes perfect sense. For one thing, this self-taught florist and gardener--who has the unvarnished good looks and infectious vitality of an Adam's Rib--era Katharine Hepburn--abhors anything artificial or precious or overwrought. The natural world informs everything from the colour of the shop's walls (a delicious moss green) to its display units (reclaimed bee boxes) to Russell's unfussy arrangements ...