February Lilies, Wine & Chocolate

I just wrote about how much I enjoyed that big bunch of tulips back in January, and then along came FedEx two Saturdays ago with another familiar brown box from Stargazer Barn! I could hardly wait to get this one open to see what was inside.

Lilies this time, and though they were still in bud, I had grown this particular lily in my own garden once upon a time and knew how beautiful they would be. I remember when I bought my bulbs in 2005, 'Starfighter' was advertised to be an improved version of the famous 'Stargazer', undoubtedly the most beloved of all Oriental lilies.

The Carolina sphinx moths (Manduca sexta - the ones whose larvae are hell-
bent on destroying your prize tomatoes) loved my 'Starfighter' lilies as much
as I did. They visited the lilies at dusk when they were in bloom. (2006)

One of the improvements of 'Starfighter' over 'Stargazer' was said to be extended vase life. Now that it's been nearly two weeks since the lilies arrived from Stargazer Barn, I can tell you that the vase life is pretty astounding for a cut flower, especially for one that traveled some 2,500 miles or so to get to my house.

Stargazer Barn ships overnight so your flowers arrive as fresh as possible.

The original 'Stargazer' lily was bred back in 1974 on the very ground where Stargazer Barn is now located. That was a pretty memorable year for me too, as I was 16 for most of it and graduated from high school that spring. (Yep, that's me, grinning and clutching my diploma as we left the gymnasium on graduation day.)

I cut about an inch off the end of the stems of the 'Starfighter' lilies and put them in water in the provided galvanized French-style vase, along with the flower food powder that came with it.

There was also some Bear grass included, if I wanted to jazz up the bouquet a little bit. An informational card showed a couple different ways to use it and I chose to loop mine all fancy-like.

The lilies came wrapped in floral paper and were tied with this red
burlap "ribbon." I know it was included because it matched the lilies, but
it was also pretty much perfect for my kitchen color scheme too. Bonus!

As I said, the flowers were in bud when they arrived, but it didn't take them long before they began to open. As each opened, their intoxicating fragrance got more intense and it reminded me of how wonderful it always is to be walking through the garden in summer and catch a whiff of my own lilies.

Photo from Dick Taylor

These 'Starfighter' lilies are part of the Stargazer White Collection, which includes not only a dozen stems of the lilies, but a bar of that yummy Dick Taylor craft chocolate. This time it was Madagascar, which was dark chocolate with a hint of molasses, orange and raisin. (How do they do that?) This particular variety has won several awards, including being a  2015 International Chocolate World Final Bronze winner.

But that wasn't all! Also included was a bottle of Stargazer Barn's own 2014 Chardonnay. It's also won its own awards, including most recently, a Silver Medal in the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

I admit to not knowing a whole lot about wine, other than I know what I like and what I don't. I don't like a dry wine at all. I prefer white and those that are on the fruity, sweet side, but not too sweet. This one was good, and I say "was," because it didn't take too many evenings before it was gone.

This was really a special gift package and with Valentine's Day right around the corner, if you act quickly, you could send this anywhere in the lower 48 in time for it to arrive on Saturday. They don't charge extra for Saturday delivery and like I said, standard delivery is overnight. (No Sunday or Monday deliveries.)

 
Here's a code for Free Delivery: yummy. I'm not sure when that code expires, but I know it's good for this Saturday's delivery if you get your order in quickly. Not only that, the Stargazer White Collection is on sale right now for $79.99.

I counted the number of flower buds in this bouquet and there are 30 all together. They have continually opened up over the course of the last 12 days and only just today, I snipped off two of the earliest to open. There are still a few that are just now opening, which makes for an amazingly long-lasting fresh cut bouquet of American Grown flowers.

The entire first floor of our house smells like summer and the huge blooms are just so gorgeous that I stop to look at them every time I walk by. Thank you, Stargazer Barn, for this beautiful gift.

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I received the Stargazer White Collection from Stargazer Barn free of charge. No other compensation was given and I'm happy to share these beautiful flowers with you. Perhaps they will be something you might want to send to someone else or enjoy in your own home.

Plan Now to Attend "VAN WERT BLOOMS with P. Allen Smith & Friends" in Van Wert OH - April 16, 2016

There's excitement brewing in Northwest Ohio. All the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes along with a major event is happening right now and will culminate on April 16, 2016 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert.

On that day, landscape designer, author, and television celebrity P. Allen Smith will take the stage and share his experience with those of us lucky enough to have a ticket to Van Wert Blooms with P. Allen Smith & Friends. (You can get yours here!)

Readers know that Allen and I are buddies and I'm so excited that he's coming to my stomping grounds! Allen supported my book, Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook For Houseplants, that I wrote with Jenny Peterson in 2013, and they're his words that appear on the back cover of the book.

Allen and I film a video in 2012, demonstrating the GrowBox.

In the last five years, I've visited Allen four times at his Moss Mountain Farm home outside Little Rock, Arkansas, as an attendee of Garden2Blog. I can tell you that no one knows how to pack in the fun like Allen and his crew, while helping you learn new things about gardening. His down-to-earth style is inspirational. "For heaven's sake, just grow something."

That's what he'll be doing at Van Wert Blooms - teaching, sharing, and inspiring, in his usual fun way. He'll be joined by several other outstanding garden speakers:

Barbara Wise - Barbara works for Landscape Service, Inc. (LSI) in Nashville, Tenn., as Director of Floriculture. She oversees the design, installation and maintenance of 350 clients’ annual beds and more than 400 containers for the company, a recognized leader in sustainable landscape management, design, construction and water management practices in the southeast.

She also provides educational classes, teaches master gardening courses and works as a gardening consultant. She shares her appreciation for all things gardening on her blog, BWiseGardening. Barbara is also a writer for Tennessee Gardener and has a monthly gardening column, "Garden Compositions," in Nashville House, Home, and Garden magazine.

With the desire to cultivate a culture of gardening, Barbara’s passion for helping new gardeners succeed led her to publish her first book, Container Gardening for All Seasons, in 2012.

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Irvin Etienne - Irvin is the Horticultural Display Coordinator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art where he has worked over 20 years. He helps the horticulturists with plant selection and garden design as well as designing and maintaining his own areas. While working in the 152 acres of the IMA gardens and grounds requires knowledge and skill with all manner of woody and herbaceous plants, Irvin lusts for and loves the tropical species most of all.

He is the recipient of both the Gold and Silver awards in Electronic Media Writing from the Garden Writers Association for his blogging at the IMA. He is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Public Horticulture.

There is an attempt to infuse humor in all aspects of public interactions whether live, electronic, or in print. In his own garden, everything from cannas to eggplants to magnolias coexist in a lush jungle fed by manure from his own rabbits and chickens. Obviously a product of the Midwest, Irvin could be considered...well...a simple farm boy that likes shiny, sparkly things. And is easily distracted.

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Maria Zampini - Maria’s first memory of working in the family business is putting fertilizer pills in pots at age seven. Maria worked her way up the green corporate ladder and now represents LCN Selections and other new plant varieties, researching and developing the plants and introducing them to the market. Under her guidance, UpShoot has expanded its breadth of work to include marketing of garden related products.

Additionally, Maria is also a respected author, speaker and consultant. In 2012, Maria was named Director of Plant Development for the Agricola Management Group, the exclusive licensee of the HGTV HOME Plant collection. Her work includes sourcing genetics for the various plant collections, working with grower and retail partners, as well as networking with garden writers.

Maria writes a monthly column in Garden Center Magazine and a regular column for Nursery Management. Her work has appeared in numerous other publications, including American Nurseryman, Nursery News, Country Folks Grower, Fine Gardening and the northern issues of State-by-State Gardening Magazines. She is also a sought-after speaker, lecturing on new plant introductions, sustainability, native plants, plant patents and trademarks and other plant-related topics.

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Amanda Thomsen - Big, loud and fun, Amanda landscapes by day and blogs at night. She has blogged for almost 10 years. She also was a blogger for Fine Gardening magazine. She writes content for Green Profit and is also featured in a monthly column. In 2010, Amanda co-authored Grocery Gardening. She was part of the podcasting team, Good Enough Gardening and now lives in Chicago with her family in a pup tent in the parking lot of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

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Pam Bennett - Pam is the State Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator for Ohio and Horticulture Educator and Director for Ohio State University Extension in Clark County.  She has a BS in Landscape Horticulture and an MS in Human and Community Resource Development from Ohio State University.  Her responsibilities include providing leadership for the OSUE Master Gardener Volunteer program consisting of more than 4,000 volunteers and conducting consumer and commercial horticulture programs.

Pam specializes in herbaceous ornamental plant trials and evaluates more than 200 varieties of annuals and two genera of ornamental grasses; she presents programs on annuals and perennials as well as other landscape topics locally, statewide, and nationally.  Pam has also lectured in South Korea and China.  She is Chairman of the  National Extension Master Gardener Committee, a Clark County Park District Commissioner, and is the Past-President of the Friends of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden.  She also provides leadership to the OSUE MGV International Outreach program.

Pam is the co-author of the newly-published book Garden-pedia, An A-to- Z Guide to Gardening Terms, writes a weekly gardening column for the Springfield News and Sun and the Dayton Daily News, authors the bi-monthly "Ask the Expert" column for Ohio Gardener magazine and is a frequent writer for popular gardening magazines as well as trade publications.

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The cost of a ticket for the day's event is just $45 and that includes breakfast and lunch. Master Gardener Volunteers will receive 6 CEUs for attending the event, but you don't have to be a MGV to attend. You only need to enjoy gardening.

See you there!

Everyone will be the recipients of horticultural knowledge and a fun time is guaranteed. I know each of the speakers personally, and I can't wait to hear every one of them speak. And then there will be the awesomeness of being in a room full of fellow plant nerds...

As of now, more than 400 tickets have already been sold. Do you have yours?

A Pecan Pie Story

Mimi and me in 2011
Photo by Annie Haven

Several years ago, I was having a conversation with Mimi San Pedro, COO of Hortus, Ltd., P. Allen Smith's company. It was a few weeks prior to one of my Garden2Blog visits to Allen's Moss Mountain Farm, and the conversation veered in the direction of pecan pie, as most conversations do. I mean, who doesn't love pecan pie? It's always in the forefront of our thoughts and eventually we're going to talk about it. We can't help it.

Now I am not a pie eater in general, but if you put a Dutch apple or pecan pie in front of me, I'm a happy girl.

Mimi described Allen's pecan pie to me and I was already drooling, and I secretly hoped he would serve it when I was there. Okay, maybe it wasn't so secretly and I might have just said, "Can we please have Allen's pecan pie when I'm there?" 

"M-m-m-m... pie!"
Photo via Hortus, Ltd.

Well, how about that - a few weeks later when we had one of our meals at the farm, THERE WAS THE PIE. Of course, I just KNEW we were having that pie specifically for ME, right? (The truth is, all visitors get it for lunch when they take the farm tour.) 

This is The Pie.

Take my word for it - make this and you will throw out all your other pecan pie recipes. Even if you don't particularly like pecan pie, you might just like this one. So. Good.

Pecan Buttermilk Pie

Click on image to enlarge

 



Allen's Pecan Buttermilk Pie is featured in his wonderful cookbook, Seasonal Recipes From the Garden. This is my go-to cookbook if I want to make something new and be assured that it will taste good. 

Enjoy!



 
*Recipe reprinted here with permission. Link for Allen's book is my Amazon affiliate link.

Get "Happy" at Moss Mountain Farm

There will be more to come about what we did, but for now, let's get happy with the Garden2Blog bunch at P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain Farm near Little Rock, Arkansas!

YouTube video:  Pharrell Williams Happy Gardeners #G2B14

Yes, it was that much fun.

Want to win?

Want to win a prize package of gifts from some of the Garden2Blog sponsors?  Just go to Allen's Facebook page, "Like" it, and then leave a comment there saying, "Kylee and Marge sent me."  (Marge is Allen's cat that he rescued seven years ago.)  :-)  Do it by Friday, because that's the day they choose a winner! Good luck!

Garden2Blog Sponsors:

Bonnie Plants

Jobe's Organics

Laguna

Proven Winners

Le Creuset

Flexzilla

Troy-Bilt

Little Rock Convention & Visitor's Bureau

Hubbard Life

United Solutions

Sun Valley Group

US Foods

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My transportation, food, and hotel accommodations were provided by Hortus, Ltd. and P. Allen Smith.

Garden2Blog 2014: Return to Little Rock!

Boy, do I feel blessed.  Or lucky.  Or both.  In 2011, I got to visit someone who became one of my favorite people, who lives in a house on a property that most of us just dream about.  It was the very first Garden2Blog, held at P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain Farm just outside Little Rock, Arkansas.

Garden2Blog 2011

Twenty (give or take) garden bloggers from around the country spent two days touring private gardens and whooping it up at Allen's farm, all the while learning great stuff about plants and gardening and garden products.  We garden bloggers enjoyed each others' company too, because you know when that many people who enjoy the same thing get together, all kinds of shenanigans are sure to happen.  Some people call it networking.  Whatevs.

Then the next year came along and lo and behold, I got to go again!  About half the bloggers in 2012 had been there the year before and half of them were first-time attendees.  Just when I thought it couldn't be as fun as it was the first time, it was even more so.  And this time we didn't have a tornado breathing down our necks.  We had the best time.  Again.

Garden2Blog 2012   

I was pretty sure I'd had all the fun I was going to get to have at Moss Mountain Farm those two years, but guess what?  I got invited back this year!  In about ten days, I'll be heading to Little Rock again and you can bet I'll be cherishing every moment I spend there, because for SURE this will be the last time, I just know it.  And boy am I grateful for what I know will be a third charming time.

The festivities have actually already begun.  Two weeks ago, we were sent a package from one of the event's sponsors - Jobe's Organics - and we were instructed to use the materials to plant a container and video the process.  We got a plastic container, some Jobe's Organic potting soil, some Jobe's Organic fertilizer, and a $10 gift card to either Lowe's or Home Depot to help buy plants for the container.  Mine was from Lowe's, since that's the closer store to me.

Now videos and I are not the best of friends.  You don't really see me in too many videos on this blog or elsewhere, do you?  Some people are good at them and actually love doing them (*waves at Shawna*), but I'm sort of uncomfortable with them.  This one was actually kind of fun though, because I got this idea of showing, not telling.  So without further ado, here's my 1:23 video:



I did it in one take, which is a good thing, because I would have hated to have to put those plants back in their pots and the potting soil back in the bag and do it all again.


Some potting tips:

• Make sure your pot has a hole for drainage in the bottom.  I had Romie drill one in the bottom of this pot because it didn't already have one.  You can use a container with no drainage hole, but you have to be really careful about overwatering if you do that.
• This potting soil didn't already have fertilizer added to it, so I put the proper amount in it (according to package directions) before adding the plants.
• The old formula of Thriller + Filler + Spiller still works well.  I used Juncus grass as my thriller (something tall), Dahlia 'Pooh' as my filler (medium height), and Nemesia Sunsatia® Lemon as my spiller (something to spill out over the side).  All three plants like pretty much the same light and moisture, so watering will be easy to manage.
• Because containers dry out faster than in-ground plantings, keep an eye on them, especially during hot and dry weather.  Don't forget that wind can dry out plantings faster, too.  And when you water, do it thoroughly, until the water runs out the bottom.  Let the top inch or so dry out before watering again. Most plants don't like to be sopping wet all the time.
• Since you're watering the containers often and water runs out, the fertilizer may need to be replaced every so often, depending on what kind you use.  Some potting soils have extended release fertilizers but the Jobe's I used is organic, unlike those other ones that last for three months or so.  Organic is good.
• If any of your plants start looking sad as the season draws to an end, take those out and replace them with something new that goes with your theme. By that time, the garden centers may have some good deals on some suitable replacement plants, and you'll have a whole new look to your container!

I mentioned a theme, didn't I?  My theme for my container in the video was to plant something for the hummingbirds.  They're drawn to red, which the dahlia provides and I added a hummingbird feeder in red and yellow colors that echo the flowers.  We'll see if the hummers find it!

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As I said, the planter, soil, fertilizer, and a $10 Lowe's gift card were provided by Jobe's Organics and the container video project was part of the P. Allen Smith Garden2Blog 2014 experience.  I paid the amount over $10 needed to buy the plants and the hummingbird feeder.

Happy Pi(e) Day! (And a Scrumptious Pecan Pie Recipe)

I loved math in high school.  I'm not kidding, I really did.  And I got As in Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II, which shouldn't be surprising, because anyone who loves math is probably going to be good at it

So it probably doesn't surprise you that I can remember pi (π) to five places after the decimal: 3.14159.  Or that the area of a circle is equal to πr².  Why I remember those things is beyond me, because in the 40 years since I've graduated from high school, I've never once had the occasion to actually use pi in one single practical instance in my life.  It's just one of those quirky things that sticks in my head.

Why am I chatting about math and pi?  Because today is Pi Day!  Yes, people all over the world celebrate Pi Day on March 14th, because...well...you know...  3.14.  I really think it's just an excuse to eat pie.

My favorite pie in the world is pecan pie.  The best pecan pie I ever had was at Josephine's Tea Room in Godfrey, Ill., in 1989. I begged for the recipe and they left me sobbing on the floor without it.  But three years ago, P. Allen Smith came to my rescue.

I received a copy of his book,  P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden, and in that book was a recipe for pecan pie that rivaled Josephine's.  The book has other scrumptious recipes too, but trust me on the pie.  It's amazing.








I've got permission to share Allen's recipe, so here you go.  You're welcome.

The only thing better than Allen's pecan pie is getting to eat it at his farm in Arkansas.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

• 1 cup pecan halves
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup dark corn syrup
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease the foil.  Stir the pecan halves, light brown sugar, and dark corn syrup together in a small bowl. Spread the mixture out on the jelly-roll pan, and bake,stirring every 4 minutes, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the glaze thickens.

Remove the pan from the oven and spread the pecans in a single layer on wax paper. Let the pecans cool completely, separating them with a spoon as soon as they cool.

Lower the oven to 325°F.

Combine all the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl, and pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell.  Scatter the chopped glazed pecans evenly on top of the pie filling.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until set. Let the pie cool on a wire rack before serving at room temperature. 


Mmmmmmm.....pie.  :-)

P. Allen Smith's Rustic Collection ~ And Our Library!

Christmas comes earlier this year.  No...wait...it just seems like it because Thanksgiving was later than most years.  As a procrastinator extraordinaire, I like that it did, but with fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'll still be right up to the last minute preparing, just like all the other years prior.  I know there's a solution to this problem I have, and I'm workin' on it.

I did get the Christmas tree up by Thanksgiving, which is always my goal, so that we can decorate it when the kids come for dinner that day.  But this year, Hannah stole the show and the tree remained bare until I got it decorated yesterday.

Another thing that helped jump-start me this year was a lovely box of live greens that arrived the day before Thanksgiving, courtesy of my friends, P. Allen Smith and Heidi Berry, over at the Berry Family of Nurseries.  They sent a wreath last year that looked good for months, and this year I got a 15-foot garland.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with the garland, because each year I put one on the short bannister at the bottom part of our stairs.  When you walk through our front door, it's one of the first things you see, so it's the ideal place to put this.  And this year, because I'm using live greens instead of my usual artificial garland, it smells good too!  Walk in my house, and it smells like a Christmas tree. Mmmmmm!

The garland came as a kit, with six pre-wired ribbons and eight pine cones: four white ones and four natural ones.  I was a little worried about whether the garland would hold together as I wound it around the bannister, but it's really well put together and I didn't lose anything more than small pieces of the juniper.

Since I didn't need all 15 feet of the garland for this area, I simply cut it in two and used the other half on top of our bookcase.  I don't have that part completely decorated yet, or I'd show that to you too.  But it's nice that this was long enough that I could use it in two different places, and of course that lovely fragrance is in both places, too.

 

 

This was part of the P. Allen Smith Rustic Collection, which has companion pieces available (seven, in all) along with the garland, at Home Depot.  They're only available online, so have a look at all the collections here.

Look what they're doing and YOU can help!

Allen and Heidi are doing something really nice this year.  The top three bloggers with the most interaction on Allen's Pinterest board will get a collection of greenery sent to a local non-profit, charity, or religious organization.  If my blog post is one of the three winners, I'm having the greenery sent to The Paulding County Carnegie Library.

Our local library isn't large, but it's pretty special.  It's been designated an Ohio Historical Landmark because it's the first county library in the United States to be funded by The Andrew Carnegie Foundation and was established in 1912.  It serves our rural area well (2012 population of Paulding County was 19,295), and there are several branches in the little towns throughout the county, as well as a bookmobile.  The staff at the library is very supportive of local authors (like me!) and they've got plenty of activities for kids and adults alike throughout the year.

I'd like to see this special place receive some Christmas cheer, and if you'd like to help, just head over to Allen's Pinterest page and either "like" the pin about my blog post or leave a comment on that pin or even better, REPIN IT!  On December 9th - that's next Monday - they'll have their winners.  If you don't see the pin there yet, it will be very soon!

In any case, I hope you'll have a blessed holiday season!

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The Rustic Collection Garland was provided to me free of charge by P. Allen Smith and The Berry Family of Nurseries.  All opinions stated here are my own.