Are you a flower store owner or employee, or simply a flower-lover?  Whether you’re in the business of selling blooms or just raising them, don’t miss Els Tenunissen when she takes the Home Depot stage at the show on Thursday, Jan. 29.

Thursday is Gardener to Gardener Day, and Els, who is a renowned Dutch floral arranger, can help you become a better floral designer, no matter what your level of expertise.  She’s designed flowers for Royal Wedding of the Crown Prince of Holland, the United Nations, and even the 61st Academy Awards ceremonies.

Plan to attend Els’ demonstration at 3 P.M., and bring your notebook, so you can catch her expert advice and design tips!

cheers,

Lynn

Els Tenunissen, Dutch floral designer and speaker

spring workshop schedule for Faith Flowers

After all this dull, gray winter, don’t you long for a blast of color?  You’ll find it at the flower show when you meet Laura Iarocci and Victoria Denson, of Faith Flowers, and see their floral arranging demo on opening day, Wed., Jan. 28.

Laura and Victoria will appear at 1 P.M. on the Home Depot Stage, where they’ll discuss “Color, Color, Color!” You’ll learn how to make your own bright floral displays as they share tips for finding the best places to buy flower arranging supplies and  the freshest, boldest blossoms in town.

You can see a schedule of spring workshops for Faith Flowers above.  Although our blog space is rather limited (meaning, we wish we could provide a magnifying glass so you could read this lovely brochure), you can find out more, and get a easy-to-read printed schedule, when you visit Victoria and Laura at the show.

Until then, enjoy the brilliant colors in the flowers shown above.   Come see the real thing on Wednesday!

cheers,

Lynn

Quick: see if you know your hot stuff.  Which of these images represents authentic salsa?

The answer, of course, is that all 3 pictures represent salsa.  Salsa is a spicy mix of tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers from Mexcio that makes a delicious addtion to the table.  But it’s also an informal dance style with its roots in the Caribbean. And it even descirbes a kind of Latin music that incorporates jazz, Cuban  big band sounds, and Afro-Carribean rhythms.

At the flower show, salsa means all these things and more. It means a great line-up of entertainment, foods, and floral displays that we’ll have for you on Sat., Jan. 31.

Be sure to catch Chef Alex Palacios, owner of Salsa Havana, when he takes the Home Depot stage that afternoon at 5 P.M. to talk about cooking salsa-style.  At 4:15 P.M., try your fancy footwork to the Latin/jazz  melodies of Cliff and Sei deMarks.

Don’t worry if the weather is cold on Saturday. We’ll be nice and warm in the flower show as we ignite our gardening passions with a little salsa on the side!

cheers,

Lynn

everyone gets lost now and then

My family likes to say that I could get lost inside a paper bag.  That’s their (sort of) nice way of telling me that I’m directionally challenged, and it’s true.  I always need a map to my destination, even when I’ve been there before.

Just in case there are a few more paper bag wanderers out there, I wanted to post the show’s location.  You shouldn’t miss the gorgeous gardens, fabulous floral displays, and exciting speakers just because you don’t take the right turn.

And this is the show’s first year in its new venue, the Cobb Galleria, which is located off I-75 and I-285.  Since the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre has opened in this area, the Galleria is becoming a cultural focus point for NW Atlanta.

Look for the 2009 SE flower show in the Cobb Galler

If you need more information, or want to know about buying tickets ahead of time (and hurry: the last day for a $4 adult discount is Tuesday, Jan. 27), just click here: Southeastern Flower Show At A Glance.

I’ll see you there (because my family bought me a GPS this year.  Thanks, dear ones. )

cheers,

Lynn

“Master Blogger’ for the 22nd SE Flower Show

Lynn Coulter, author of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds

Cakes & Ale, in Decatur, is owned by Chef Billy Allin. Come meet him at the show!

“The Good Things in Life” —that’s what Cakes & Ale means to chef/owner Billy Allin.  And yum, yum, yum…. the food at Cakes & Ale is good indeed.

This wonderful Decatur restaurant whips up its meals from scratch everyday, using the best and freshest vegetables in season from local stores.  Their freshly-milled grains are artisan-produced; the meats and non-endangered fish species are humanely raised.  In short, dining at Cakes & Ale means better taste and more nourishment for you and your family.

What’s cooking right now, in the winter of 2009?  Chef Billy shops at this time of year for lettuces, trout, and radishes.

Today’s menu—just to give you an example, as the delicious offerings change frequently–includes entrees like these:

• trout stuffed with bay, lemon, garlic and croutons;
• roasted pork loin with rye bread stuffing, creamed Brussels sprouts, and apples;
• spicy Italian sausage and slow-cooked cabbage on polenta;
• and more.  Are you hungry yet?

I am!  Join me to hear Chef Billy talk about “Cooking from the Garden” on Sun., Feb. 1, at 12 noon on the Home Depot Stage.   Bring your appetite!

cheers,

Lynn

P.S.–don’t forget to look for me at the show.  I’ll be blogging live each day inside the Galleria.  On Wed., Jan. 28, I’ll be there around 5 P.M.

Lynn Coulter, "Master Blogger" for the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show

As promised, here’s another preview of a 2009 Georgia Gold Medal winner, as chosen by the good folks at the State Botanical Garden in Athens.

Amsonia 'Arkansas Bluestar'

This is Amsonia hubrichtti, ‘Arkansas Bluestar,’ and it’s a terrific perennial for Southern gardens.  In the spring, it produces mounds of billowy, willow-like foliage topped by star-shaped blue blossoms.  In summer, the foliage is light green.  What you’re seeing here is the golden-yellow color that you’ll get in fall.   Even in the winter, the plants are long-lasting and attractive.  Don’t worry if you plant this one and it looks a bit scraggly at first.  It grows fuller and more beautiful after the first year or so.

Give this bluestar full sun to partial shade and average, well-drained soil.  You won’t have to give it much care, and the deer won’t eat it up!
For more about Georgia Gold Medal winning plants, please visit Georgia Gold Medal Plants

cheers,

Lynn

blue Summer Snapdragon angelonia brightens any garden spot

Did you know that North Georgia was once the site of a gold rush?  You can’t make a fortune in the mines there anymore, but you can strike gold in your own backyard when you use the 2009 Georgia Gold Medal winners in your garden.

Gold Medal winners are plants that have won the approval of the State Botanical Garden (SBG) in Athens, GA.  They’re recommended for Southern landscapoes because they’re easy to grow and attractive in more than one season.  Here’s what Connie Cottingham, of the SBG,  told me about them:

“Recent rains have given gardeners new hope – is this the year we’ve been waiting for, the year we can celebrate and plant instead of doing our best to just keep our plants alive?  We’ve matured lately, realizing we cannot waste water. However, using common sense with water doesn’t mean we cannot have beautiful gardens. I like the concept of creating most of the garden so that it needs very little supplemental water once established, yet allowing ourselves a few indulgences that take more water and attention. Proper plant location, planting, and mulching conserve resources in the garden, reducing the need of water, chemicals, and maintenance time.

Plant choices are also key in conserving resources in the garden. The Georgia Gold Medal program can help homeowners in these plant choices. Every year for sixteen years, a committee comprised of horticulture professionals, county Extension agents and UGA faculty has chosen the annual Georgia Gold Medal winners:  easy to find, easy-care plants, many with multi-seasonal interest that are proven performers in our state. The State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens is headquarters for the Georgia Gold Medal Program, coordinating plant nominations and publicity.

With sixteen years of named winners and several categories of plants named each year, homeowners can find a large selection of beautiful plants to use when designing their landscapes.”

The 2009 Georgia Gold Medal winners are:

• Angelonia angustifolia – Summer Snapdragon, Angelonia
• Perennial: Amsonia hubrichtii – Arkansas Bluestar, Arkansas Amsonia
• Vine: Clematis armandii – Armand Clematis
• Shrub: Osmanthus fragrans – Fragrant Tea Olive
• Tree: Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ PP #10328 – Lavender Twist Redbud

These plants are real beauties—take a look at this Angelonia.  Then check my blog again later today.  I’ll have more Gold Medal winner photos to share with you!

cheers,

Lynn

Chef John Wilson, I am soooo ready to meet you!  You’ll want to meet John, too–and you can, on Sat., Jan. 31, at the Southeastern Flower Show.

John, you see, is an extraordinary chef and the owner of Culinary Vacations, a company that specializes in fabulous, food-filled getaways.  When you book a trip with John, you experience the best cooking a region has to offer, whether it’s in the U.S. or Europe.   Each of his delightfully planned outings includes cooking classes and lodging at a wonderful inn or hotel.  His classes are followed by a complete meal served with wine, and he presents you with printed recipes to take home, so you can recreate each delicious dish from the comfort of your own kitchen.

On Saturday, look for Chef John at 12 P.M. on the Home Depot Stage.  He’ll tell you about “Cooking from the Garden.”

I’ll be honest:  I’m sure the chef can teach me a lot about cooking.  But I’d rather just get out of the kitchen and take one of his relaxing vacation packages.  Rescue me, John, from slaving over my hot stove!

cheers,

Lynn

Okay, you don’t really need music to watch flowers.  Orchids, tulips, roses, and cherry blossoms are entertainment enough by themselves.

But why settle for just a visual feast when you can have it all at the flower show?  We want your ears to be as excited as your eyes.

We’ve already told you about our stellar musical line-up for opening day, and now we want to let you know about the artists for Thursday, Jan. 29.

Starting at 10:15 A.M., you’ll stroll through the gardens and exhibits as Charlotte Dewberry plays piano, followed by Ezekiel Kennedy.  At 12:15, the Inman Middle School Jazz Band will knock your socks off with their lively performance.  By that afternoon, you’ll be listening to Linda Fraser on the piano and singer Cliff deMarks on jazz keyboard.

George Skaroulis closes out the day on the piano from 6:15 to 8 P.M.   (You can hear a preview of performances by George Skaroulis and Cliff deMarks by clicking on the red text, above.)

Don’t miss these wonderful artists!

Cheers,

Lynn

George Skaroulis, pianist

Have you bought your tickets yet for the flower show? Hurry–there’s still time to get a discount if you purchase by Tues., Jan. 27. Just visit the flower show home page (you’ll find a link on the blog), or drop by a conveniently located ticket outlet. You can find tickets at:

• Andy’s Nursery
  • Ashe-Simpson Garden Center
  • Bates Ace Hardware
  • Boxwoods Garden & Gifts
  • Eagle Eye Bookstore
  • Foxgloves & Ivy
  • Habersham Gardens
  • Hastings Garden Center
  • Jocks and Jills, in the Cobb Galleria
  • Stoney River
  • Or the Lush Life Garden Center

Advance purchase tickets are just $12/adult. After Jan. 27, adult prices are $16. Seniors age 65 and over get in for $12 at the door only.

Plan to visit the show after work? Save by coming between 4 and 8 P.M. on Wed. through Friday only, for a $10 Twilight ticket.

Kids save even more. Grades 1 – 8 get in for $6 per child, while grades 9 though graduate school are just $8 with ID. Kindergarteners and younger are free!

And don’t forget–if you’re a PTA member, you can get $2 off your ticket–and children 8th grade and under get in free–all day on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Get those tickets soon, and I’ll see you at the show!
Lynn