Our good friend Lynne Travis-Pence passed away this week after a courageous battle with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Pete her husband and her Proven Winners® and Pleasant View Gardens family.
Lynne, we will never forget how you brightened our gardens.
This summer, Smudge and Squeak went on a series of field trips to the vet for their puppy shots. It's a big job to choose the right vet for your furry friends, but after getting several recommendations for one doctor and then seeing how he got along with Smudge and Squeak, I knew we had found the right guy for the job!
The girls seemed pretty content to head towards the big city for an afternoon.
But, as puppies will do, they dug their heels in and didn't want to head inside for their second checkup. It took a little pleading…
…and a little bribing.
…but eventually we got them inside
And once we got them inside, we started to learn a lot about them and their health.
Because they're outside puppies, we have to worry about things like biting fleas and gnats (their ears have already been attacked) and heart worms. Heart worms are spread by mosquitoes, and an Arkansas summer produces more than its fair share of mosquitoes.
Being surrounded by other animals means they come in contact with a lot of germs, so we gave them their last vaccination for parasites.
We also want to make sure we prevent distemper virus from growing, so we took a little medicine back to the farm with us. I don't know how the ladies will like that…
Even so, I was proud to see that they're growing fast and look healthy on all fronts- Smudge weighed in at 38 pounds, and Squeak took the lead at 41 pounds.
When we come back in 4 weeks for rabies I bet they'll weigh 70!
Whatever they weigh, I hope they remain good little patients and stay healthy and happy!
Whatever way you spin it, Chicago is a great getaway. Pair a week there with a gardening conference, fabulous fall weather, and interior design shopping and you get a better picture of why I loved my visit to the Windy City. My production crew and I headed north for the annual Independent Garden Center Show where we met up with old friends, bloggers, Garden Home partners, and a whole slew of Chicagoans ready to show off their city. These were a few of my favorite experiences and finds:
The Peterson Garden Project is a collection of Chicago’s urban gardens started by my friend LaManda Joy and inspired by WWII victory gardens. I love American history, so pair this with my appreciation of community gardening and you’ll understand just how much I enjoyed learning about them.
I spent a morning at the Garfield Park Conservatory and each of their nearly dozen garden rooms were fabulous. While the outdoor garden drew my attention, it was the moss garden full of ferns and other tropical growth that really transported me to a different place.
Artiflor is a Dutch company that had a booth of home and garden décor at IGC. Besides the fact that the two owners were a couple of the nicest men I’ve met in a long time, they had some fabulous and fun designs.
As I was rushing to find the room where I was meant to speak, I got distracted by this funky, and functional, garden sculpture. I can’t remember who made it, but I sure do wish I had bought one.
Having lived through this summer’s Arkansas drought, I’ve become well acquainted with my hoses, sprinklers, and water tools. Coming across the Dramm booth at IGC was like stepping into the sunlight! These watering tools are not only functional, they’re beautiful! I wanted one of everything, all in different colors.
Speaking of colors, I have never seen color composition like the jellyfish exhibit at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. We got an early morning pass and had those silent wonders all to ourselves. With about 10 different species in the exhibit, I found myself simply mesmerized. Luckily we had penguins to visit post-jellyfish, otherwise I may still be there!
My friend Julia Edelmann from Buckingham Interior Design has a simple, stylish and somewhat quirky sense of design, and this upright bass shows that off. It was resting in a corner of her office, and she mentioned that it was made of recycled WWI aircraft metal! She bought it for her a son, a cello player, but it ended up in her shop. Sadly, it didn’t fit into my carry-on.
Julia also brought us to an apartment in downtown Chicago that she had recently redesigned. While the views stole the show, this particular light fixture made from jute really centered the breakfast nook and gave the airy space a cozy feel.
We began our final day in Chicago at the former Sears Tower, 103 floors up at the SkyDeck. While a couple members of my crew were nervous about the glass-floor lookout, I couldn’t wait to experience that view!
All in all, it was a fabulous trip full of good finds and great memories. I can’t wait to head back to IGC again next year.
Congratulations Duyen! You are the winner of the WaterWise® Easy Container Watering Kit from Proven Winners®. Thank you to everyone who participated. The correct answer is Diamond Frost® Euphorbia.
One way to get the upper hand on a drought is to choose plants that have low moisture requirements.
This one of my favorite plants to use as a filler in both flower borders and containers. It holds up like a champ even during the driest weather. Can you guess what it is? Tell me in the comments section below for a chance to win a WaterWise® Easy Container Watering Kit from Proven Winners®.
Need a hint? It’s a plant in my Platinum Collection from Proven Winners®, which you can check out here.
I'll select the winner at random and announce the name on Wednesday September 5, 2012. Click here to read the official rules.
If there's one thing I really love about Arkansas, it's got to be the sense of community. People know each other by name here; know about their families and lives and what they like to get up to on the weekend. Recently, there's been a lot of development of that community-vibe in our food system. I've been thinking about local food sources and the community it creates, and so I went out and spoke with a few people from restaurants or markets that source local ingredients.
We throw that term "local" around loosely, but what does it really mean?
"Food you love from people you know- that's really what it's about. It's more than getting yourself full, it's a connection," said Stephanie Hamling, a jack-of-all-trades at North Little Rock's Argenta Market.
The Argenta Market is a grocery and deli in the downtown community of Argenta that draws clientele and goods, from the adjacent Saturday farmer's market. Hamling said there's a good "synergy" between the two - Argenta Market offers the farmers free coffee, and when the farmer's market ends they'll come in to see what we need for the upcoming week in produce, jams, cheese, and sauces.
"We have over 100 local vendors, and they make this a destination spot," Hamling said. She works on the website, manages customer service, and sources local products, but while she was originally a graphic artist, it's the relationship with the customers that is her real concern. She said that she knows 75% of the people who walk through the front door, and while I was having lunch from the deli I saw her walk up to a man and hand him a gift certificate because she "appreciates him always coming to visit them."
That's what I'm talking about when I talk about community. But there's more to it than that.
Loblolly Creamery is soda fountain a few blocks from our office. The digital team takes a walk over there at least once a week - it's their "spot", so to speak. For Sally Mengel, co-owner of the artisan ice cream shop, a local business is one that supports its community.
"We do that by buying all local ingredients and making everything from scratch," the artisan ice cream maker said.
While we talked about their small-batch ice creams and traditional Arkansas ingredients, Sally said hi to a few customers by name, and knew what a couple of them were going to order.
"It makes it more enjoyable - you know who you're serving, you get to know people. We're creating this dialogue- we're not a traditional soda fountain, sometimes we don't even have vanilla. We're kind of opening people's perceptions and palettes... All with local ingredients."
I like to buy Arkansas ingredients for a lot of reasons - I'm from Arkansas, want to support my fellow farmers and have those dollars flowing back into my state's economy. Like Jack Sundell, from The Root Café, said, "whether its food or a hammer from a hardware store, if you seek out local suppliers you're supporting all that local business, a place that has its own personality, and your community on the whole."
But Brandon Brown, owner of Hillcrest Artisan Meats ("H.A.M."), noted that "local" is kind of a trendy topic, and one that doesn't always work for a business model.
"There's a big difference between local food and good local food," he said. "I think that people fall into a trap of ‘just because it's local it's great.' There's a lot of local stuff that's not great."
While we sat in the in the charcuterie, rich aromas hanging in the air, Brown pointed out the pictures adorning the wall - pictures from the farms where they source their meat, both in Arkansas and around it. He and his wife moved to Arkansas from Oregon, and saw an immediate need for a free-range, grass-fed meat source and started to befriend farmers, some of whom are in those photos.
"We were really disappointed in the food that's available in Little Rock - so we opened this place out of selfishness and necessity!" he said with a laugh.
And that's why he, and others, see the local food movement as an opportunity to educate.
"People expect to come here and have every vegetable or egg to be local. I try to explain that we don't have local milk because our last local dairy closed a few years ago or that you just can't grow avocados in Arkansas, so we have to source them from somewhere else," Hamling said about Argenta Market. "I think we're educators more than anything else."
Part of that education means explaining that the price of high-quality, locally grown food is worth the extra cash.
Brown told a story of a first time customer coming in to pick up a whole chicken. When Brown rang his total up- about $20 for just the bird- the man was appalled by the price, but bought it anyway. By the next afternoon, the customer had posted to HAM's Facebook page an essay about just how wonderful that chicken was and how he'd never buy another commercial chicken again.
"It's really expensive to grow meat well, without hormones. What we buy it for reflects that, what we sell it for has to reflect that," Hamling said.
Sundell says that there's no comparison between these high-quality local foods and industrial products - people want good taste and good health.
"People are interesting in eating healthier. You're eating local food closer to the time it was picked, so it just has more nutritional value than a tomato that was picked two weeks ago, shipped green, & sprayed with ethylene gas to ripen. It looks like a tomato, but it doesn't taste like a tomato," Sundell said. "Another big issue is transparency. You hear about food borne illnesses and outbreaks - that type of thing rarely happens when you're dealing with a local food system because production isn't so industrialized."
And less industrialization means better tasting food.
"It doesn't take a chef or a knowledgeable food critic to taste the difference between an Arkansas tomato and a store-bought tomato. There's no comparison." Sundell said.
When I go to the farmer's market, I see a mixed bag of people both selling and shopping - young, old, first-time farmers, third-generation land owners. But eating local food isn't a new idea.
"Before there was convenience food and all these packaged goods, people grew their own food and had to buy from farmers... But now it's becoming more valued," Mengel said.
Hamling echoed that sentiment.
"In generations past everybody was trying to get off the farm, but now I think people are looking for community and connection where they can get it, like going back to the land, and we want to support that."
Like I said, I love the community aspect of my home state. We support our farmers, and there is a growing movement of people who want to make that more common. I think local food and the fellowship it creates is a powerful movement, but I couldn't say it better than Jack Sundell does.
"I don't see it as something that's a passing fad. With local food, it's something that builds community so naturally and it's something that people really crave and haven't had access to. When they come together over good food, I think they get something special that you can't just find anywhere."
Shrubs have traditionally been cast in supporting roles with the occasional star billing for seasonal blooms or color. However, hybridizers are continuously introducing varieties with attributes that push these workhorses to center stage.
Size is one characteristic that has seen an increase in possibilities. Whether you need a shrub to create an enclosure or brighten the corner of a patio garden, there’s something for you.
From tall to small my friends at Proven Winners® have some fabulous shrubs to choose from. Here are 10 worth considering for setting a dramatic scene in your garden.
‘American Pillar’ Thuja (Arborvitae)
20 – 30 feet tall
3 – 4 feet wide
Evergreen
Full sun to partial shade
Hardy in zones 3a – 7b
This tall, columnar arborvitae is known for its dense branching and rapid growth. It’s an excellent choice for screening and creating enclosures. Learn more about ‘American Pillar’ arborvitae onProvenWinners.com.
Berry Nice® Ilex verticillata (Winterberry)
6 – 8 feet tall
6 – 8 feet wide
Deciduous
Full sun to partial shade
Hardy in zones 3a – 9b
I. verticillata is a deciduous holly with brilliant red berries in winter. It is very dramatic when planted in groupings. Learn more about Berry Nice® Ilex verticillata onProvenWinners.com.
Bloomerang® Purple Syringa (Lilac)
4 – 5 feet tall
4 – 5 feet wide
Deciduous
Full sun
Hardy in zones 3a – 7b
Unlike other lilacs Bloomerang® flowers in spring, then again midsummer and continues through the fall. A compact, mounding shrub that’s suitable for mixed borders, it has the same delightful fragrance you expect from lilacs. Learn more about Bloomerang® Purple lilac on ProvenWinners.com.
Incrediball® Hydrangea arborescens (Smooth Hydrangea)
4 – 5 feet tall
4 – 5 feet wide
Deciduous
Full sun to partial shade
Hardy in zones 3a – 9b
This North American native shrub produces impressive flowers (up to 12 inches across). I love it so much that I selected it for my Platinum Collection. Learn more about Incrediball® Hydrangea arborescens on ProvenWinnners.com.
Snow Storm™ Spiraea x media (Spiraea)
3 – 4 feet tall
3 – 4 feet wide
Deciduous
Full sun
Hardy in zones 4a – 8b
Snow Storm™ produces hefty white blooms in spring. Foliage turns a striking orange-red in fall. This is a good choice for mass plantings or as a seasonal focal point in a mixed border. Learn more about Snow Storm™ spiraea on ProvenWinners.com.
Little Henry® Itea virginica (Sweetspire)
2 – 3 feet tall
2 – 3 feet wide
Deciduous
Sun to part shade
Hardy in zones 5a – 9b
Little Henry® is the compact version of one of my favorite North American native shrubs. It will grow in sun or light shade and tolerates moist soil. Little Henry® produces showy white blooms in early summer and the foliage is fantastic in fall. It’s part of my Platinum Collection. Learn more about Little Henry® Itea on ProvenWinners.com.
Lo & Behold® Blue Chip Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
24 – 30 inches tall
24-30 inches wide
Deciduous
Full sun
Hardy in zones 5a – 9b
Now everyone can grow a butterfly bush in their garden. This little shrub produces fragrant blooms from mid-summer through fall. It stays under 3 feet tall. It’s a great bedfellow for perennials and annuals or grow it in a container. Lo & Behold® Blue Chip Buddleia is part of my Platinum Collection. You can learn more about it on ProvenWinners.com.
Show Off™ Sugar Baby Forsythia
18 – 30 inches tall
18 – 30 inches wide
Deciduous
Full sun
Hardy in zones 4a – 8b
Show Off™ Sugar Baby produces the same amount of bloom as larger Forsythia varieties but on a compact plant. Mass plant in larger gardens or use as a spring focal point in small spaces. I love it in a container, surrounded by daffodils and grape hyacinths. Learn more about Show Off™ Sugar Baby Forsythia on ProvenWinners.com.
Sunjoy® Mini Saffron Berberis thungergii (Barberry)
18 – 24 inches tall
24 – 30 inches wide
Deciduous
Full sun
Hardy in zones 4a – 8b
Sunjoy® Mini Saffron sets itself apart with its compact form and dazzling foliage. The sunny yellow leaves tinged with orange turn a sunset orange-red in fall. Learn more about Sunjoy® Mini Saffron barberry on ProvenWinners.com.
My Monet® Weigela
12 – 18 inches tall
12 – 18 inches wide
Deciduous
Full sun to partial shade
Hardy in zones 4a – 6b
My Monet® boasts variegated foliage and pink flowers but in a petite form. Mix it with perennials and annuals in a flower bed or group several together for impact. It also grows well in containers. Learn more about My Monet® Wiegela on ProvenWinners.com.
For a guy who loves his fruits and veggies, the "Big Apple" can't be beat. New York City is a place that inspires me every single time I visit, and I was lucky to be there early this summer. I've been going to New York for years, and while I love hunting for new restaurants or book stores or furniture shops, there are few staples that I can't seem to pass up when in the city.
Located in the heart of Manhattan, The Met is as much an architectural gem as it is art museum. Besides the fact that it's one of the world's largest art galleries- it holds over 2 million permanent works!- it also is packed with an incredible array of temporary exhibits that I like to research before I arrive. If you get to visit, I recommend the rooftop garden. With a café and bar, it's the perfect place to sit and ogle the Manhattan skyline and Central Park.
As much as I adore The Met, it's the much smaller and less well-known Whitney Museum of American Art that I turn to first. I have always been a fan of American History, and the museum focuses on 20th and 21st-centuray American Art, pieces that tell the story of our country's modern history. My favorite aspect of the museum it that it sources many of its works from living artists and showcases young and upcoming artists each year.
Whether it's off Broadway or on, the theatre scene in New York is unbeatable. I always try to make time for at least one show, and on my most recent visit I got to see Wicked! I've been in the audiences of some of the most famous and long-running shows like Cats and The Lion King, and gotten to be one of only a few thousand people who have seen shorter-lived productions, but you just can't go to New York and NOT see a show. I think it's actually a state law...
I never seem to spend as much time as I want to at the New York Public Library, a space whose history is almost as lovely as the building itself. The library originated in the 19th century from the combined efforts of all different kinds of groups- grass-roots organizations, social libraries, and private donations from bibliophiles and philanthropists alike. Each time I visit the newly-restored Rose Main Reading Room I feel like I've entered one of the great cathedrals of Europe- the ceiling is painted with murals that give the impression that you're actually look through the ceiling, up to the sky- but it's the thick red quarry tile from Wales that gives the room its powerful echo, reminding you just how big the space is.
You can take a farm boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy! New York may be famous for its restaurant scene, but on a breezy day there's nowhere better to be than the Union Square Farmers Market. At the peak of the season, there are almost 150 farmers, fishermen and bakers sharing their New York-sourced goods, but there are also 60,000 shoppers enjoying the cooking & canning demonstrations, recycling & composting how-to's and general camaraderie of the market. I recommend grabbing some local cheese and tomatoes and fresh bread, sitting down in the grass, and watching the world pass by.
Best of all, New York is the perfect place for people-watching. No matter when you go, or where you stay, just make sure you have time to wander through the different boroughs and imagine your life as a New Yorker.
Whew. What a summer. It’s like Mother Nature has a magnifying glass pointed right at the central U.S. Here in Arkansas the growing season started about a month early this year. We were planting tomatoes in March and by the end of May it was as hot as July.
When the forecast is hot and dry for the foreseeable future the best thing for the vegetable garden is consistent, even moisture and an organic, water soluble or slow release fertilizer that won’t over stimulate heat and drought stressed plants.
My fertilizer of choice for edibles is Jobe’s Organics Vegetables and Tomatoes. It’s organic, but produces quick results. The granular and stakes are slow release and there is a new water soluble version too that’s perfect for our current weather.
The reason Jobe’s is my choice is it’s organic and it works. I can see the difference in the health of my plants and the flavor of the vegetables they produce.
This year I decided to put Jobe’s to the test to see how vegetables fed with Jobe’s matched up to those that went without. In early May I set up an experiment by planting two 6’x6’ raised beds with tomatoes and peppers. I added Jobe’s Organics Vegetables and Tomatoes granular fertilizer to the experimental bed and left the control bed unfertilized.
Over the summer, I've continued feeding with Jobe's Organics water soluble. It’s easy to do with a hose end feeder, but you can also mix it up in a watering can.
In spite of the horrendous heat (11 days of near 100 and above 100 degree temperatures), both beds have continued producing a harvest, but the Jobe’s tomatoes and peppers are more robust and flavorful.
Are you curious how your vegetable garden would perform with Jobe’s Organics Vegetables and Tomatoes? Tell me how your garden is growing in the comments below for a chance to win a bag! Congratulations to Christine! She's the winner of the Jobe's Organics Fertilizer. Thank you to everyone for entering. Sounds like the heat and drought aren't keeping you guys out of the garden!
Click here to find a store in your area that sells Jobe's Organics.
There is so much to discuss about Heifer Ranch I thought it deserved a second post. In the first post I introduced you to this farm and learning center that is a part of Heifer International. With only three full time gardeners who maintain almost four acres of produce, I figured the folks at Heifer Ranch would have some good tips for us home gardeners. Here's what they had to say.
Do you use any of these methods to keep your garden in top form? We'd love to hear which of these you use, or any other tips you have to make a garden manageable.
When I was growing up, it wasn't unusual to know where your food came from. I don't mean which grocery store or restaurant- I'm talking about food that went from the ground onto your dinner table, I'm talking about farms and farmers, gardens and gardeners. I've spent most of my life on a farm, but I know that this isn't the reality for most Americans.
My social media coordinator Anna Claire really cares about food systems- in fact, that's one of the reasons we get along best. But she didn't grow up on a farm, in fact she just started gardening this year. During one of our discussions I suggested she take advantage of a local resource – Heifer Ranch, a division of Heifer International. Located just outside of town, it's a great place to learn about community supported agriculture and pick up a few pointers for her garden. I thought you might be interested in hearing about it too.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a combination of knowing your farmer, growing your own, and going to a farmer's market... all in one. At its most basic level, a CSA allows a farmer to offer a certain number of "shares" to the public and in return for buying that share, shareholders receive a box of vegetables (or flowers, eggs, bread, or whatever else was produced at the farm that week) each week throughout the farming season.
The model has taken hold across the nation- tens of thousands of families hold shares in CSAs and in some areas there aren't enough farms to support the demand. It just so happens that Heifer Ranch has a one acre vegetable garden that serves a CSA of about 60 members that each pay $350 a season, or about $20 a week for a basket of approximately 10 items. Some weeks you'll get more - when Anna Claire visited the CSA drop-off, shareholders were getting 12 items and a $40 value- and some weeks you'll get less. But each week you know that you're getting fresh, typically organic produce because you know your farmer and you know your farm.
And that's not the only advantage- because you receive only fruits and vegetables that are in season, you get exposed to new vegetables and ways of cooking. And the farmer benefits just as much as the consumer - instead of spending a couple of days a week driving to and sitting at a market just hoping that someone will stop in and buy something, they spend time marketing their food earlier in the season so that when the longer days in the field begin, they don't have to worry about cash flow because the food is already purchased. Therefore, you're supporting local business, too.
On the flip side, there is a sense of "shared risk" when it comes to CSAs. When a shareholder buys in, they're agreeing to accept whatever food is offered. Last year, the Heifer CSA had a tough spell when a flash flood left them cabbage-less after months of tending the garden. CSA baskets for consumers were lighter for the next couple of weeks. This year, there seems to be an endless supply of broccoli, so consumers may be getting more of one thing than they like. But there is a sense of community between the members and the farmers that springs from that shared risk.
Heifer International is a global non-profit that I plan to write more about in the future, but the Ranch itself is what I find most fascinating. The average age of American farmers is 57, but to visit Heifer Ranch it's easy to see that the face of agriculture is changing. A young man named Ryan heads up the CSA and has two full-time volunteers, Brittany and Kenny. They both are giving a year of unpaid service to learn - and teach - about farming. One of the main projects at the Ranch is to offer sustainable agriculture training to farmers from impoverished areas in the US. Right now, the focus is on Hughes, a one-diner town in the Arkansas Delta. The practices that Heifer is teaching this community were learned and perfected on the Ranch.
Another major task involves teaching young students about food and farming. Groups of students on field trips or summer programs will visit the farm almost every day and part of their visit gets the students' hands busy harvesting beans or other easy-to-pick items. While the extra help is valued, Brittany, Kenny and Ryan also get the chance to share their farming experiences and teach an even younger generation about knowing where their food comes from. For the rest of their day, Brittany, Kenny and Ryan spend long days in the hot Arkansas summers working to produce healthy crops for the CSA and learn enough to run their own farms, and maybe CSAs, someday soon.
Half of Heifer's shareholders are new this year, so it's likely that they're learning about or getting involved with a CSA for the first time. One new share holder got involved because a close friend swore by it, and now looks forward to trying a new recipe with seasonal vegetables each week. Another woman loves the convenience of the CSA, but also loves that she knows her farmers and is supporting a good cause. It may not be the best option for everyone, but I think a CSA is a great way to support a local food culture and eat well throughout the year.
