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 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.

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!

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

The Casual Gardener

Seasonal Wisdom – Teresa

Garden Humor

The Grumpy Gardener

Good Enough Gardening

Garden Design

Gardening with Confidence

Garden Smack Down

J. Peterson Garden Design

Miss Rumphius’ Rules

Small Space Gardening

Life on the Balcony

Urban Organic Gardener

Container Gardening on About.com

Design

Urban Gardens

General Gardening

BG Garden

Red Dirt Ramblings

The Garden World Report

Southern Post Journal

Our Little Acre

Punk Rock Gardens

The Garden Buzz

The Garden Faerie

Garden Girl

Heavy Petal Nursery

Read Between the Limes

North Coast Gardening

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

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

The Gardens and Grounds at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Home

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.

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’

Congratulations to Fran Danner! You’re the winner of The Best Strawberry Giveaway. Your cautionary tale of eating strawberries that you should be saving for shortcake made me laugh. I’m sending you a copy of The Fruit Gardener’s Bible.

Thank you for all your comments. It was a joy to read each of them. There’s something comforting in the fact that so many of you can remember the taste of an exceptional strawberry from 20, 30 and even 60 years ago!

It’s so close to strawberry season I can almost taste the strawberry shortcake. I’m a little biased but I think the best strawberries are grown right here in Arkansas. Care to challenge me on that? Tell me about the best strawberries you’ve ever eaten for a change to win a copy of The Fruit Gardener’s Bible by Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry. If you’re interested in growing fruits of any type this is a handy reference to have around.

Strawberry Tip from The Fruit Gardener’s Bible

• Everbearing and day neutral strawberries are the best choice for growing in hanging baskets.
• Plant strawberries with the crown sitting at soil level. Too deep encourages disease; too high and they’ll dry out.
• Alpine strawberries, Fragaria vesca, produce small, intensely flavorful berries all summer. They spread by seed and don’t produce runners. Great for partial shade.

I stumbled upon Arley when I was a graduate student at the University of Manchester. While exploring the grounds I struck up a conversation with an elderly gentleman who turned out to be the 10th Viscount Desmond Ashbrook. He introduced me to his wife Elizabeth and we became fast friends. Over the years I’ve developed quite an attachment to the people and gardens at Arley.

So I’m excited to welcome Lord Ashbrook to Arkansas. He’ll be here to give a lecture about the estate and gardens that have been in the family for more than 500 years. If you are going to be in Little Rock that day I encourage you to plan to attend. Here are the details.

When: Wednesday, March 28, 2012
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Bring your lunch! Drinks will be provided.)

Where: Clinton School of Public Service, Sturgis Hall

How: It’s a free lecture, but you do need to reserve a seat. Email the school at publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or call 501-683-5239.

Congratulations to Alice McMillan and Christine Czarnecki! Your comments are my picks for the book giveaway. Alice I loved all the ways your grandmother used yellow in the garden, especially the traces of yellow on the river rock. Christine, your blue and yellow toile dining rooms sounds so lovely. Hope your search for forsythia was a success!

There were so many amazing comments! Thank you to everyone for participating and for all the fab ideas for using yellow.

A recent visit with The Collected Tabletop author Kathryn Greeley inspired me to get reacquainted with my tableware collection. I’m hopelessly addicted to collecting cream ware, porcelain and transferware. An ardent collector herself, Kathryn showed me some clever ways to set a table with my pieces. With spring’s official arrival tomorrow I’m eager to use some of her tips to create a new tablescape to celebrate the season.

And since it is spring what better color to work with than yellow! Now I’ll admit, yellow isn’t the easiest color for me to work with so I went to designer Tobi Fairley for advice. She sent along this post with a few ideas for incorporating it into a tabletop.

Thanks so much to my good friend Allen for inviting me to be his guest today! Allen is always so kind to share his wisdom on my blog, and it’s such a treat to be here to share with you today!

Speaking of treats, this early summer weather has certainly brought us a few — like lush green landscapes and early blooms. Allen’s beautiful daffodils are always one of the highlights of an Arkansas spring and this year is no different.

The rolling hills of yellow have inspired me to share a few ideas for bringing this vibrant hue to a table setting indoors.
Here are a few of my favorite finds inspired by the daffodils at Moss Mountain Farm.

Aegean Dinner Plate /Yellow and White “Firenze” Fabric for a Tablecloth / White & Yellow Cake Stand /Lacquered Box / Linen Cocktail Napkins / Glass Decanter Set

Choose one of these or mix a few together to create a look that’s fresh as a daffodil!

Happy Decorating!

–Tobi

As a final step Jobe’s Organics All Purpose fertilizer was added. This stuff is powerfully good at breaking down nutrients in the soil for plants to absorb.

This year is going to be the best yet for the staff garden.

These pictures beg for captions don’t you think? Well, the folks in the office sure thought so and spent a good deal of time emailing choice chick words; some with visual aids. Check out their suggestions on our Purina Chicken Chat Facebook page.

Now a cook might tell you different because tomatoes are not often used to sweeten a dish. They are served as vegetables so they are vegetables. Right?

Tell me your opinion for a chance to win an awesome Garden Patch Grow Box™ and a packet of ‘Jelly Bean’ and Roma tomato seeds from my Bountiful Best collection from Ferry-Morse Seed Company.

The winner will be announced Wednesday March 7, 2012.*

Congrats to Debbie Chen! She’s the winner of a Garden Patch Grow Box™. We suggest planting it with tomatoes!

*Winner will be selected by P. Allen Smith and his staff based on the merit of their comment. Click here to read the official rules and legal mumbo jumbo.

Give these varieties a try and you’ll be in fine fettle for serving dishes made with homegrown ingredients.

1. Basil ‘Genovese’ – If you only grow one herb, make it basil. This variety has large leaves that are full of flavor. Summer garden.

2. Cucumber ‘Lemon’ – Unusual round, yellow cucumbers. Their sweet flavor makes them good raw, but you can pickle them too. Good for small spaces. Summer garden.

3. Cucumber ‘Spacemaster’ – Large 7 to 8 inch fruits are borne on compact plants. All you need is a 12-inch pot to grow ‘Spacemaster’. Summer garden.

4. Peas ‘Cascadia Sugar Snap’ – This pea has multiple personalities. Harvest early to use as a snow pea or matured pods are delicious snap peas. Spring garden.

5. Radish ‘French Breakfast’ – A scarlet and white radish that is as beautiful as it is flavorful. Spring garden.

6. Arugula ‘Roquette’ – One of my favorite salad greens and so, so easy to grow. Spring and fall garden.

7. Squash (Zucchini) ‘Black Beauty’ – Every garden needs at least one zucchini plant! Dark green fruits are tasty sautéed or used in baked goods. Summer garden.

8. Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’ – The vegetable garden isn’t always the most colorful spot, unless you grow ‘Bright Lights.’ Neon pink, orange and red stems. Spring and fall garden.

9. Tomato ‘Jelly Bean Hybrid’ – This indeterminate, grape tomato produces abundant fruits with delicious flavor. Summer garden.

10. Tomato ‘Roma VF’ – These are meaty tomatoes with few seeds. Perfect for sauces, salads and salsa. I selected this variety because it is resistant to both verticilium and fusarium wilt. Summer garden.

When Your Roses Arrive
If your roses came prearranged, simply place the vase in a spot out of direct sun and away from heat sources.

For unarranged roses fill a vase with lukewarm water and add a floral preservative along with one teaspoon of bleach to keep the water clean. Remove any leaves from the stems below water line. Under running water, re-cut the ends of the stems at a slight angle. Place the flowers immediately into the vase.

Every few days replace with water and recut the ends of the stems.

Giving Your Roses a Second Life
Pull the freshest flowers from the bouquet and reuse them in a new arrangement. Buy flowers from a local florist or market to complement the colors of your roses. For red roses try purple, orange, and golden yellow flowers. If you receive salmon roses, add chartreuse, blue, and cream. Pink roses look great with burgundy, lavender, and cream blooms.

Cut the rose and flower stems to about 8 inches long. Grab the entire bouquet as close to the base of the blooms as possible. Wrap a rubber band around the stems to hold the arrangement together tightly. Place the bouquet in a low vase filled with fresh water, floral preservative and a few drops of bleach.

Preserve your Memory
As your roses fade, remove the petals and place them in an open weave basket to dry. Purchase other ingredients from hobby or craft stores to create your own personalized potpourri. I start with a base of pre-packaged dried flowers or potpourri to create a colorful mixture. With an eyedropper add some rose oil to the potpourri and toss gently to refresh the fragrance of the flowers. Place the mixture a bowl or basket where the aroma can be enjoyed.

So here we are a decade and countless cups of coffee later ready to kick off Season XI of the P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home television series. While I’m puzzled over the speed of passing time, I am thrilled that we are celebrating the second decade of the show.

To mark the occasion I’d like to share a little photo montage I call “Where’s Brent?” Our videographer Brent has been with the company for 7 of the 11 seasons. A quiet but constant presence, Brent is the man behind all the captivating imagery in the shows. As you can see by some of these photos, he’ll do anything to get a good shot.