As most of you know, recently I had the grand pleasure of meeting with so many of my garden blogger friends in beautiful, historic Little Rock, Arkansas for Garden 2 Blog 2015.  Our time in Little Rock started at the gorgeous Capital Hotel—considered the front porch of Little Rock. I can assure you they roll out the red carpet for their guests!

Our ultimate destination was P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm, or as I often refer to it as “Gardener’s Mecca.” The Arkansas red carpet just keeps rolling. Moss Mountain Farm offers you beauty filled with focus — their focus is on farming/gardening/decorating inspiration, information and conservation. Whether you are into heritage poultry, flowers and bedding plants, herbs, vegetables, home decor, test gardens, sheep, or … or… or.. (you get the picture!), you will find it — all on a mountain top that overlooks the Arkansas River. For this garden girl raised in the mountains, it is a balm for the soul.

While I love all of the above, it is the rose garden that beckons me. Look for a ton of pictures from the beautiful rose garden in an upcoming ROSE BUZZ post! 🐝🐝🐝

In addition to our beautiful surroundings, there is the wonderful food, decor and oh the friends! As you know I am a bit “crazy” over gardening, imagine how much fun it is to be face-to-face, arm-in-arm with a bus load of “like minds.” Over the top!

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SERIOUS PAMPERING
We are completely “spoiled and pampered” by P. Allen, his crew and our wonderful sponsors who share with us information not only on their products but what’s coming up and trends they are seeing in the gardening world.

 

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OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS…

BONNIE PLANTS
Bonnie Plants, now leaders in the industry, began in 1918 as a family business of Bonnie and Livigston Paulk in a small Alabama town.

Lois, Su, Byron and Amanda led us through the fascinating world of the tomato! What gardener wouldn’t “relish” the chance to get all nerdy just diving into the subject of tomatoes!?!

And if you haven’t already, download their iPhone app… we did!

AMERICAN GROWN
Something new in the world of cut flowers…
The American Grown brand is a diverse coalition of U.S. flower farms representing small and large entities across the country to provide beautiful cut flowers and foliage.

Kathleen Williford and company knocked our socks off with their amazing designs at the “FARM TO VASE DINNER”. Read more about their tour schedule for Farm to Vase dinners here.  http://www.americangrownflowers.org/fieldtovase/ There just might be one coming to a farm near you!

As a former florist I can tell you this was truly some of the most beautiful displays I have ever seen. See what I mean…

CRESENT GARDEN
Crescent Garden has containers for every need … Their beautiful line of containers is very deceiving. They look so “real” that you expect them to be very heavy. But, these products are lightweight, durable and will fit into any landscape.

Paula Douer, Mark Rosas and Cesar Castillo shared their company story and led us through fun design exercises showcasing their amazing products.

 

 

FIRST NATURE
Highly functional, affordable, easy to use and easy to clean products that will be very attractive to the birds in your life! Joe Murfin and his team shared their commitment to quality for all of their American made products.

FLEXZILLA
A no-kink, highly flexible hose—need I say more! In a color that will allow you to make your own garden fashion statement!

Corbin Mollman, Rachel Perez and Andy Perez were with us to demonstrate this amazing garden hose … one that is safe for drinking and can be left out in the cold!

 

JOBE’S ORGANICS
I always love to hear from Jobe’s Organics. They are doing so much to bring us the very best in organic fertilizers. Clemente Conde, Jen Neve, Martin Rainey and Rebecca Cantu reminded us of how important it is to take good care of our soil. Jen, project director for Oppenheimer Biotechnology, shared with us what they have learned from their work in oil spill cleanup and leaving the soil better than it was before!

SAKATA HOME GROWN
Tracy Lee and Alecia Troy shared with us what is going on with this 100-year-old seed producer headquartered in Morgan Hill, CA. We had the opportunity to choose seeds to take home and try! You can find these seeds on retail seed racks and via mail order seed catalogs! More here.

STARGAZER BARN
Home for farm fresh flowers, based in Humboldt County, CA, where the foggy conditions are perfect for tulips, irises and stunning Oriental and hybrid lilies—one being my personal favorite—the Stargazer Lily! Take a look at some of the beautiful flowers provided for us by Bill Prescott and the good folks at Stargazer Barn.

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Thanks for stopping by. P. Allen Smith’s rose garden pictures coming soon! And, oh what a rose garden it is!