The Garden2Blog Event With P. Allen Smith - The Governor's Mansion

Here it is, four days after the first annual Garden2Blog event wrapped things up and I've still got images and thoughts running through my head. So many wonderful things happened in the matter of two short days!

Allen and his staff had as their objective to share gardening trends and to further the sharing of information with as many people as possible.  It is Allen's wish to get people growing by showing how easy it is, once armed with basic knowledge. This includes both growing beautiful ornamental plants as well as growing our own food, no matter how large or how small our growing space might be.

Allen and First Lady Ginger Beebe

Azaleas were in full bloom.

Despite the struggles with the weather, the sun shone on us for the first part of the afternoon as we made our way to the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock, home of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe. We were greeted by Allen and First Lady Ginger Beebe (she's a Master Gardener!) at the side of the home. After introductions and a brief history of the gardens, we moved on to see them.

Cameras were snapping and cell phones were tweeting the information
given to us by Allen and First Lady Ginger Beebe.

A few years ago, a tornado destroyed much of what was growing on the property here, and Allen was called to help restore beauty to the grounds.

We were introduced to Allen's design team, most of whom have been with him for many years. They include Sarah Burr, Ward Lile, Mary Talbot, and Nicole Claas Moore (left to right, in photo above).

'New Dawn' rose, which is climbing on the beautiful colonnades

The tree on the right is one of just two that remained after a tornado went
through the property, destroying most of the mature trees.

 
The 8.5-acre property contains a vegetable garden, which is maintained by the Arkansas Master Gardeners.

It seemed a little like "Alice in Wonderland" when Mimi (COO of Hortus, Ltd.
and P. Allen Smith Associates) and Jim (VP of Marketing at Corona Tools)
stood in front of the "Mini Mansion."

As we left, I spied a beautiful Kousa dogwood tree in full bloom.

Next up: A visit to two private gardens designed by P. Allen Smith - those of Chip & Cindy Murphy (of Murphy Oil) and Mark & Kim Brockington.

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I was invited to attend the Garden2Blog Event by P. Allen Smith and Associates/Hortus, Ltd., free of charge. My airfare, lodging and meals were provided (with some exceptions) by them. Any opinions expressed on this blog in this post and any subsequent posts about my experiences or products associated with them are my own true and honest opinions, as always. Please note that they are just that - my opinions - and I was not asked to blog, tweet, or post on Facebook about any of it.