Wordless Wednesday: Rossini at the Palm House at Tower Grove St. Louis
Behind the Scenes: Glam Up Your Garden
One of the main "products" my company produces is content – for television, YouTube, web and social media. The past few weeks we've been working on a "weekend warrior" idea to illustrate how to glam up a garden in one day with colorful annuals from Proven Winners®. For this topic we're produced photos, an article for my website and a segment for television.
It took a team of people and a few colorful plants to make transform this idea into a reality.
1. Chip – Stylist, florist, and general Jack-of-all-trades
2. Bill - Video editor and go to guy for source of salvaged house parts
3. Anna Claire - Co-conspirator of the written word
4. Rockapulco® Rose Impatiens - Queen of the summer annuals for shade
5. Nikki - Producer par excellence, woman of many talents
6. Keegen - Digital artisan and idea guy
7. Charmed® Wine Oxalis - Purveyor of continuous summer color
8. Robbie - Cruncher of code, drinks out of a Darth Vader coffee mug
9. Catalina® Pink Torenia - A little something different for summer color
10. Brent - Man of mystery who just wants to create beautiful video
Step 1 - Creative Meeting
The first thing we did was talk. Sometimes we get together in advance; sometimes it's a day before the shoot. During our creative meeting we kicked around ideas. Then Anna Claire headed off to write and Nikki to iron out the details and set a schedule.
Step 2 – Logistics
Next we set a date and location and picked up the props. The weekend warrior story was about how to spruce up an average size flower border, so we picked the City Garden Home for our location. Chip and I discussed the Proven Winners® plants we wanted to use and he got them pulled together.
Step 3 – Writing
With the plants and location decided, Anna Claire and I got to work on writing a story. I gave her some general ideas I wanted to cover and she flushed it out. Then she handed the copy over to Nikki who rewrote it in script format.
Step 4 - Shoot the Cover
With the story in place Nikki and Brent headed out to tape the before, during and after shots of planting annuals – cover video that accompanies the voice over narration.
Step 5 - Shoot the On Cameras and Voice Overs
Around the office they call me "the talent." As the talent it's my job to do the on camera and voice over narrations. The former involves me standing in front of a camera talking; in the latter Brent records my voice. We shot the on cameras at a garden center so I could discuss plant selection for this project. The voice overs were shot in the studio.
Step 6 – Editing
With everything shot, our editor Bill got the video and turned it into a segment that will be used in the half hour show P. Allen Smith Gardens and online. He wove together the on cameras, cover shots and voice overs.
Step 7 – Programming
While the editing was going on, Keegen and Robbie in the web department took the original copy that Anna Claire wrote put it on the website. These days everything is digital so to get images all they had to do was freeze a frame of the video.
And that's how we go from an idea to a piece of content that we can use both on television and the web! Click here to read the article. Watch the video online in about 3 weeks.
Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena with its sugary lemon scent is an herb you'll want to have in your garden for the fragrance and flavor. And plant it somewhere close! It's one of those plants that release scent every time you touch the leaves.
Lemon verbena is a shrubby herb with loose, twisting branches and bright green foliage. It can grow to 6 feet tall by 8 feet wide where it is perennial (zones 8 – 11). In my zone 7 garden it stays a little more contained because I grow it in a pot that I move indoors for winter. It's a fast grower that needs full sun and excellent drainage - too much water will rot the roots! Lemon verbena has a sweet lemon flavor - I tend to use it with desserts and as a seasoning for meat dishes, but I also love placing it near my outdoor living areas so I can enjoy its lemony scent. In fact, it was its lemony scent that led me to make this lemon verbena infused honey, and I can't wait for you to try it.
What you'll need
- A few stems of lemon verbena, cleaned and dried
- 1 mason jar
- Honey
All it takes is a little herb-tidying. Pluck the lemon verbena leaves off of their stems, rinse them, and dry them with a paper towel. Loosely fill a mason jar with the leaves and then pour the honey over the top. While you may want to try it right away, put the jar in a cupboard for a few weeks to infuse. After two weeks strain the honey to remove the leaves.
You'll end up with a lovely lemon-flavored honey that you can stir into tea, drizzle over nuts or cheese, or use as a sweetener.
Red Alert for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds
In honor of National Migratory Bird Day on May 12, I just wanted to alert you that in Arkansas, this is Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Migration Time!
I have been waiting and watching because the Rubies should be back in Arkansas any day now. Usually they start arriving in early April, and sometimes they come as early as mid-to-late March and then leave again in September or October.
This year, for some reason they’re a little late but I am busy preparing my hummingbird feeders because once they’re back – they’re hungry from their flight up from the south.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds normally spend the winter in Central America and their trek north is an amazing one. These tiny flyers manage to fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico, traveling up to 2500 miles each fall on their way to nest. From March through May they pass through the eastern two thirds of Texas. Some swing up through Cuba and Florida, probably with a stop at a resort hotel in Orlando, you can bet!
Other brave, strong Rubies barrel straight across the Gulf of Mexico. The birds reach the southern Gulf coast in late February and early March. Later migrants fly to breeding grounds further north so their arrival time to their nesting grounds coincides with when their food source plants are blooming. Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird breeds east of the Mississippi River. The tiny little newborn hummingbird is about the size of a honeybee, their egg, the size of a pea.
Conversely, their departure times corresponds with the end of the blooming period for those nutrient plants. The fall migration lasts from late July until late October in the southern states.
Nearly all Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds fly south of Mississippi for the winter. Ten other species can be seen in the region during winter so it’s a good idea to leave at least one feeder out.
Amazingly, the Ruby-throat beats its wings 40-80 times a second, and maintains an average flight speed of 30 mph while their escape speeds can reach 50 mph. No wonder they can outdistance Marge my cat!
Second Annual Garden2Blog
What's the easiest way to keep up with the gardening world? Garden blogs. You talk about folks that have their fingers on the pulse. You'll find garden bloggers at flower shows, horticulture trade shows, and touring gorgeous gardens and industry facilities. Like green reporters they suss out all the latest trends to bring to readers of their blogs. A garden blog is also an informative resource for region specific tips and news.
I'm pleased to say that this week 25 garden bloggers will be here in Little Rock for our second annual Garden2Blog event. For two days we'll tour area gardens and hang out at the Moss Mountain Farm Garden Home. In addition to the bloggers team members from several of my Garden Home partner companies will be there. It's a great way to get industry and media folks talking.
For me the event offers an opportunity to hang out with people who share my passion for gardening and learn a thing or two while I'm at it.
I'm kicking off the celebration with a giveaway. Tell me about your favorite garden blog for a chance to a Garden2Blog goodie bag, three signed garden how-to decks, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener by Niki Jabbour, a trio of manure teas from Authentic Haven Brand (love this stuff!), Fun with Winter Seed Sowing eBook by Monica Milla, Container Gardening for All Seasons by Barbara Wise and I Garden Urban Style by Michael Nolan.
I'll select a winner on Wednesday May 9th, 2012. Click here for the official rules.
Congrats to Nicky from DirtandMartinis.com. She's the winner of the Garden2Blog giveaway. Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment. Great blog recommendations!
Great Garden Blogs to Follow
Edible Gardening
Garden Humor
Garden Design
Small Space Gardening
Container Gardening on About.com
Design
General Gardening
Color-Blocking Containers
A big trend in fashion last year was color-blocking; combining blocks of colors in one article of clothing or outfit. It was a big hit that seems to have carried over to 2012. So I got to thinking, why not color-block containers? The same principles that apply to fashion can be used in the garden. Just plant one color flowers and foliage per container. If you really want to take the idea to heart select a bright container to contrast with your plantings. Or choose a neutral hue for the pot to really make the flowers pop.
All About Blue
Blue is my favorite color for the garden. For harmonious pairings choose other cool colors like green, turquoise and purple. Fuchsia is even a good match. Jazz up blue with contrasting hues like orange and yellow.
In this Container:
- Proven Winners® Graceful Grasses® Blue Mohawk (Juncus inflexus)
- Proven Winners® Sweet Caroline Light Green Sweet Potato Vine
- Proven Winners® Colorblaze™ Alligator Tears Coleus
- Proven Winners® Decadence 'Blueberry Sundae' Baptisia
- Proven Winners® Laguna™ Sky Blue Lobelia
- Proven Winners® Graceful Grasses® Fiber Optic Grass (Scirpus cernus)
- Proven Winners® Color Spires® Steel Blue Agastasche
Passionate about Purple
Purple is the number one color choice for gardeners. It looks great with orange or chartreuse. Keep it cool with green, fuchsia or varying shades of purple.
In this Container:
- Proven Winners® Artist® Purple Ageratum
- Proven Winners® Graceful Grasses® Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum')
- Proven Winners® Superbells® Plum Calibrachoa
- Proven Winners® Supertunia® Lavender Skies
- Proven Winners® Senorita Rosalita® Cleome
Blushing Pink
Pink is a chameleon that can be both warm and cool. Color-block it with yellow, blue or orange. It also looks great with bright green and chartreuse.
In these Containers:
- Proven Winners® Flying Colors® Trailing Antique Rose Diascia
- Proven Winners® Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum Petunia
- Proven Winners® Karalee® Petite Pink Butterfly Flower (Gaura lindheimeri)
- Proven Winners® Superbena® Pink Parfait Verbena
- Proven Winners® Molimba® Pink Argyranthemum
Window Treatment Ideas with Tobi Fairley
Hello Allen's readers! It's great to be back with you today. I hope spring is treating you well and that you're soaking up some sun!
Being a Southern girl, I'm especially fond of the warmer temps and longer days we have this time of year. I also love natural light and the beauty that it can bring to any room!
Tall panels like these make the room "guest-ready" and opening them allows plenty of light to shine throughout the space. Since living rooms are such a multipurpose space, it can be nice to maintain some formality while still making your window treatments work for everyday use.
Most people typically think of using roman shades in kitchens or baths. However, they make a fantastic option for bedrooms, too. Having one near a bed can provide extra light for reading, too. For this room, I matched the panel to the duvet and shams to create a polished look.
If you like to entertain, you know that lighting can make or break any event. Blending blinds with panels gives you more control over how much light you let into the room. Here I paired matching cornices and panels with plantation shutters to give the room a more formal or "dressed" look.
If you live in an area that's lucky enough to get warm temps for more than a few months out of the year, you might also consider changing out your draperies for a fun summer pattern made from a lightweight material. As a color lover, my motto is "go bold or go home."
These bright, punchy fabrics from my Tobi Fairley Home line are a testament to that and I think they can bring a bit of happy to any room. See the full line at TobiFairleyHome.com.
Speaking of windows, I'm also excited to be a guest speaker at this year's Vision Conference in Chicago, April 23 - 26. I'll be sharing some of my favorite trends for windows and more about my business and design philosophy. If you're in the area, I hope to see you there.
Happy Decorating!
xo,
-Tobi
Happy Birthday Mister President
In honor of one of my personal heroes and in celebration of Thomas Jefferson's birthday on April 13th, I'd like to share a very brief visual tour of when I went to Monticello recently. We filmed an entire episode there for my show P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table but I'd just like to remember back right now some of grounds and gardens with some imagery from my visit.
The Gardens and Grounds at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Home
Antiquing
I really love to treasure hunt in antique malls and stores around Arkansas, I always seem to find something I just can't live without… and usually for a decent price, too! I spent a day last week with my production team at Crystal Hill Antiques and Twin City Antique Mall hunting for furnishings for the new eHow House… and we found some really fun things.
I started the day with a lazy meander through all the different booths. What will I find today!
I like to bring a notebook with me to write down things that I find, their price, and what booth they’re in-
otherwise it gets kind of confusing.
It may be a little pink for my taste, but it’s a good price… and look at this hand stitching! I think quilt tops can make great wall hangings.
You can haggle almost anything, you just have to be willing to ask. Depending on the booth, you can get a lot off of the original price!
I got a little distracted from my original task when I found the china. I’ve got to get some more Old Paris Porcelain… but the old stuff or the new stuff?
I’ve been looking to fill out my Old Paris collection. I like the older, simpler stuff… but maybe I should consider the later, more elaborate designs? It was made from the 1770s to the 1870s and was actually named after a factory in the oldest part of Paris- the Vieux Paris- and shipped to the US through New Orleans.
Ok back on task- I found this quilt at a second hand store and plan on using it in a kids bedroom at the new house… but what can I pair this with?
How about these mulberry transferware plates for $30? I think they’ll look great on a wall, and I can draw other colors from the quilt for my paint choices.
We had quite the successful day- four short clips filmed and lots of fun things haggled and purchased. Hope you stop in next time to hear about our next adventure.
Ten Unusual Seeds
Seeds are the miracle makers of the garden world. Big things come from such small, seemingly inert packages. A carrot seed is small enough to get caught under a fingernail and yet will produce a delectable carrot in a few months. And what about sunflowers or corn? So much promise!
There's still time to get seeds started. If you live in a cold climate you can get a jump start by sowing seeds indoors. Gardeners who live in regions with long summers and warm falls be sure to buy extra now to start a second crop of blooms and vegetables midsummer.
Flowers
Sunflower 'Sonya'
Zinnia 'Benary's Scarlet Giant'
Gomphrena 'Las Vegas Pink'
Cosmos 'Cosmic Orange'
Polish Amaranth 'Oeschburg' (Amaranth cruentus)
Veggies & Herbs
Carrots 'Purple Dragon'
Lettuce 'Tom Thumb'
Tomato 'Sun Gold'
Yard Long Beans
Pepper 'Holy Mole'
