Yes, it’s October 1 and all I can do is think about spring. 🌷🌸🌹
So, I am going to take advantage of the fact that it is Thursday and do a #TBT post about spring and blooms and such. It will make me feel better about the coming roseless seasons.
My spring was ushered in with a trip to the Garden 2 Blog event and P. Allen’s Smith amazing rose garden and so many wonderful rose friends. Ahhhh….
And learning from the man himself…
Then there was the Biltmore International Rose Trials and more beautiful roses and wonderful rose friends!
Me and Mr. G surrounded by New Dawn and her beauty and fragrance!
As you can imagine these big boy roses behind me need a drink now and then, and they are going to be getting a drink while I make a garden fashion statement. The amazing no kink (yes no kink) Flexilla garden hose now comes in a variety of colors. I chose CRAZY FOR COCOA. It fits in so well with my cottage garden landscape. No kink and safe to use for drinking! Check them out. I think you just might need to make a garden fashion statement too while you are making the chore of watering your plants much easier!
I already have one of these hoses in the original Flexilla green so I know they work for me, but there is more you might want to know…
Flexzilla hoses feature a Premium Hybrid Polymer material that redefines flexibility.
Flexzilla hose characteristics offer zero memory allowing it to lay-flat exactly where you drop it and won’t work against you during operation or coiling after use.
Flexzilla offers extreme all-weather flexibility, even in sub-zero conditions. Flexzilla is currently in use by oil companies located in Alaska!
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!
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.
Our Host…
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!
Me and Diane LaSauce checking out the app! We were impressed!
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…
Paula of Cresent Garden did a fabulous job telling the story of her family’s moving from Columbia and coming to America–her land of opportunity!
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.
Go team Diane, Teresa and Michael! Elegant design don’t you think?
Who can fill the First Nature bird feeder the fastest??The competition was fierce! LOL
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.
These Stargazer Barn lilies were spectacular!
AROMATIQUE
Aromatique is the creator of decorative fragrance. Steve Lawrence, Carolyn Gay, Will Humphreys and Netta Thomas gave us the opportunity to make our own signature potpourri using a variety of oils and native botanicals. Here is my creation…
My creation… Woodland Breeze.
MORE FUN
Click on any of the pictures below to activate the full gallery feature…
There a color just perfect for you…
These Stargazer Barn lilies were spectacular!
Thanks for stopping by. P. Allen Smith’s rose garden pictures coming soon! And, oh what a rose garden it is!
Well, I counted the days until spring and that was great but it appears spring was anxious to leave. I think we had about 1 week of spring and now it is S U M M E R! And, around here that means the roses start blooming. If the heat continues, many of the roses will bloom 3 weeks early. While they are beautiful anytime, that does not bode well for my garden tours that are coming in early June! Sorry my garden club and master gardeners buddies … not sure what you will see in June but we’ll find something! 🙂
Today I made my last garden walk before leaving for P. Allen Smith’sGarden 2 Blog event in Little Rock, Arkansas. I simply can’t wait to be back at Moss Mountain with Allen and so many of my garden friends from all around the country … and Allen’s amazing rose garden should be at peak! More about this event here. More info and more pictures to come from Moss Mountain!
Here is what I found on my garden walk today…
ROSES…
Often the first to bloom, Harison Yellow, the Pioneer Rose. Welcome back friend; it has been too long! Read more about Harison’s rich history here.
The Rugosas (fireworks of the spring garden) are showing a bit of color and hopefully will stall for a week so I can “experience” their beauty and fragrance.
Rugosa Theresa Bugnet is showing off her first bloom…
Rugosa Blanc de Double Corbert … fragrant!
Champagne Wishes … this is a rose I just bought and it came with open bloom. I think I am really going to like this lovely rose from Ping Lim’s Easy Elegance series. The tag line for this series is All the beauty but none of the work. I have several in this series and will share pictures and info as they bloom.
ROSE COMPANIONS
Some of the rose companions are coming on strong as well.
Iris…
Peonies … should be stunning when I return!
POTTING SHED BLOOM
Even the geranium cutting in the potting shed is in bloom!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
How are things in your garden this week? Have any Rose Buzz to share?
I love the concept of garden 2 table … cooking with the fresh food you grow yourself. My mother was a great gardener and she grew just about everything we ate. Because she canned and froze the extras we had food from our garden year round. (You can read more about her here.) But, if I am honest, my veggies keep getting inched out by roses and a couple of honey locust trees that are devouring our garden. However, we still have room for herbs and tomatoes — Mr. G makes sure of that. So, around here we are extremely grateful to area farmer’s markets to provide us with the other produce we love.
So many of my friends tell me they rarely cook anymore since their time is so limited! But, good news, there is someone who is inspiring us to get in the garden and in the kitchen by teaching us just how easy, fun and nutritious Garden to Table can be. My friend P. Allen Smith. Allen grows an acre of the most beautiful organic veggies you have ever seen and he is always testing new plants and gardening ideas. PLUS, he is a creative master in the kitchen.
Or through his wonderful books, digital publications and you tube videos. Take advantage of all of these easy-to-use resources to be a master in your kitchen, especially if you are like me and spend most of your extra time in the garden and need all the tips and tricks in the kitchen you can get.
Follow Allen’s Garden Home Facebook page here for regular updates on what he’s cooking up in the kitchen and what’s going on in the garden.
SOMETHING NEW AND DEEEELISH
Don’t miss Allen’s most recent video for a Squash & Zucchini Casserole with Quinoa … can you say, “healthy comfort food you can feel good about.” I can’t wait to make this one! Take a look here.
And, yes, I did find enough room in the herb garden for zucchini! 🙂
THIS WEEK IN MY GARDEN
Around here we are having rain every day and boy are things lush even though the blooms are surely taking a hit. I did manage to get some pretty pictures after one of the rain storms earlier in the week…
Coral Drift … I first saw this rose growing in P Allen’s herb garden and just had to have!Poseidon Floribunda from the Simply Brilliant collection from Certified Roses. Check out their roses here.David Austin’s lovely Claire Austin.The healthy blooming machine … Amber Carpet Rose.Another shot of Poseidon. I can’t get enough of this rose!Etoile des Violette clematis … perfect paring with New Dawn Rose.
