It’s hard to say good-bye now that the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show has closed, and all the terrific exhibits and demonstrations are being packed away and removed.  But the flower show will be back, bigger and better than ever before, in 2010, so mark your calendar now (I’m serious–go grab that calendar right now, before you forget, so you’ll save the date.  Once you’ve made a gardening friend, you should keep him, and we want to see you again.)

I’ve had so much fun blogging for you about the show.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and news I’ve shared.  I’d love to see any pictures you made of the show, too, so please feel free to leave a comment here, or email me at inkycreek@gmail.com.  Let us know what you liked, and what you’d like to see in 2010.  With your permission, I’ll forward your suggestions and remarks to the good folks who direct the show.

I’ll say good-bye for now, and I’m sending my best wishes that you will have a wonderful, successful garden throughout the year.

Green blessings to you and yours!

Happy gardening,

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

author, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds

The good folks from The Home Depot are coming at 11:30 this morning and again at 1 P.M. to lead a kids’ potting and building workshop.  You do need to sign up ahead of time, so hurry over to their booth as soon as you arrive–space is limited!  The activity takes about 30 minutes.  But even if the workshop is full when you get there, don’t despair.   Local Home Depot stores offer even more kids’ workshops, and they’d be glad to give you details.  While your kids learn how to use tools safely, they make fun, practical things like bird feeders, tool boxes, and bug houses (okay–maybe a bug house falls more under the fun than practical category).  Just click here for more information, or ask at your local Home Depot store: Home Depot Kids Workshops.

Look for this friendly lion at the flower show today, too.

roar----this lion marks the entrance to the kids' play area

He’s guarding the entrance to a kids’ play and exploration area.  Don’t you love his fuzzy green collar?

Okay for now….check back with me later.  We’ll have more to tell you before the show closes for 2009 at 4 o’clock today!

cheers,

Lynn

Passion---this year's theme at the flower show

No, friends, you haven’t stumbled onto the cover of a new romance novel, although the guy in this picture does look a lot like Fabio.  This is a poster on display at the flower show, and as you can see, there’s a cut-out where the woman’s face should be.  It’s there so that you can stand behind the poster and look out, while someone on the other side makes your picture.  Voila—you’re the star of a steamy scene.

And while you’re picturing yourself with this Fabio wanna-be, picture yourself here at the flower show, too.  I’ve been here most of the day, and I’m having a blast.

I’d like to extend sincere thanks to some friends who came by to see me as I signed books today at the Eagle Eye Bookstore inside the show:  Monteen, Cathy, Carolyn, Brenda, and Jeff (it was a pleasure to meet you at last).  How fun to see you all, and to see you all enjoying the fabulous flowers and landscapes.

The Eagle Eye booksellers are outstanding, too.  Whatever you are looking for, whether it’s a glossy coffee table book, an herbal handbook, a field guide for birders, or a reference book, Doug Robinson and his knowledgeable staff can steer you to it.  Don’t forget that many fine authors will be signing at the show on Sunday, so check them out.

Kids will also find plenty to do tomorrow, Feb. 1.  At 12:30 P.M., Louise Estabrook comes onboard to tell them about the wonders of worms–and worms are wonderful, when it comes to improving the soil.

At 1:30 P.M. and again at 2:30, the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeepers will lead an “Enviroscape” activity for the small fry, to show them where water comes from, how it gets to our homes, and where it goes after it leaves our houses.

At 2 P.M., the Imaginators take the stage to perform “Georgia Grown,” a mini-musical.

Don’t miss children’s author Joyce Revoir at 3 P.M., as she spins stories for kids and helps them make a craft.

The show closes at 4 on Sunday.  But don’t worry–you still have an entire day to take it all in.

For today, I’ll leave you with a few more pictures I snapped:

Don't miss the designs created by Dutch floral arranger Els Teunissen

an Eco-Brite display showing how to collect rainwater run-off from your roof in a storage barrel

hydrangeas in a landscape setting

More to come!  Check back here on Sunday!

Lynn

the garden in summer

Whether you want to grow a single perfect blossom or learn how to raise fresh veggies and herbs for your table, the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show has something to teach you, something to show you, and something to inspire you.

The beautiful image you see above is an entry from the “Passion in Bloom” interpretive design category, featuring “The Mother Earth  Four Seasons Statue.”  Now take a look below to see how the same statue was accessorized with different fruits and flowers to symbolize spring:

Another entry in the "Mother Earth" intrepretive design category

Aren’t they beautiful?   But let’s say you’re a gardener who prefers simplicity and perfection.  The show has exhibits to suit your taste, too, like this outstanding camellia blossom, submitted by a gardener from the North Georgia Camellia Society:

'Dixie Knight Supreme' camellia, entered by John Newsome of Atlanta

I was enchanted by the tiny fantasy gardens in the “Heart of the Garden” Class G17, Miniature Garden category.   Here’s one of my favorites, a “Cupid’s Eye View” created by Mary Braswell of Stone Mountain, Georgia.   Mary designed her small garden with dwarf Alberta spruces, boxwoods, miniature thyme, agaves, and, of course, a sprightly “Cupid” to overlook the romantic cottage:

"Cupid's Wild Passion," 3rd place winner in the Miniature Garden category

I lingered awhile to talk with landscaper Ed Castro about his exhibit, “A Garden to Love.”  He was at the show with Chris Hopper, the creative force behind the exhibit.  Chris told me that he used the 2009 Southern Living plant collection, which includes Encore azaleas and various annuals, among other plants.  Ed pointed out that their garden also incorporated many Eco-Brite ideas, products, and concepts. Eco-Brite, you may remember from one of my earlier posts, is dedicated to encouraging environmental stewardship through the use of garden features like water permeable paving stones, grass strips, and more.  Stop by and ask Ed to tell you how to add these earth-friendly features to your own garden.

Ed Castro's landscape exhibit includes the Southern Living plant collection and environmentally-friendly Eco-Brite ideas and products.

I could go on and on, but you don’t want to keep reading about the flower show when you could be here in person to see it, right?  So come by the Cobb Galleria; the show runs tonight through 8 P.M., and opens again on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, here’s a quick sample of the authors you can meet at Eagle Eyes Books, which is located inside the show:

11 A.M. – Lynn Coulter (okay, that’s me!), author of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds

12 Noon – Ashton Ritchie, author of Scotts Southern Lawns

1 P.M. – John Wilson, author of Tales from a Tuscan Table

2 P.M. – Ashton Ritchie (again)

3 P.M. – Grady Thrasher, children’s author

4 P.M. – Allan Armitage, author of Armitage’s Native Plants for North American Gardens and other books

5 P.M. – Pamela Crawford, author of Instant Container Gardens

…and there are many more, including Joyce Revoir, Nicholas Kniel, Polly Mattox, and Helen Bost.   More authors and more great books arrive on Sunday!

I’ll have more pictures and show news for you tomorrow.  Until then–hope to see you at the show!

cheers,

Lynn

Allan Armitage

Saturday is also the day you can meet the Imaginators. They’re a group of entertainers from the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, and they’ll perform a 20-minute “mini-musical” for students and kids at 2:30 P.M.  The musical, “Georgia Grown,” is all about the plants that provide healthy food for us to eat, and the trees that give us fresh, clean air to breathe.

Hey–you can come even if you’re not a kid!

See you there.

Lynn

author, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds and your “Master Blogger” for the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show

Kids love Joyce Revoir's stories and crafts. Look for her at the flower show!

Everybody loves a good story, and stories that revolve around gardens–our shared passion here at the SE flower show–are a winning combination!

That’s why you’ll want to bring your little ones to see Joyce Revoir, children’s book illustrator and creator of an award-winning video for kids.  She’ll be at the show on the weekend of Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Joye has been spinning stories since her own two girls were small.  Now this storyteller/artist from Newnan, Georgia will be available to sign copies of her Read-Along DVD and Sing-Along CD, “Little Garden Stories, ” which was created especially for ages 2 to 8.

On Saturday, Jan. 31, look for Joyce in the books booth from 10 to 11:30 A.M.   She’ll be back on Sunday, Feb. 1, from 2 to 3:30 P.M., in the Children’s Center, where she and her daughter Gillian will lead a FREE craft-time for kids.  Don’t miss this fun activity!

Stories and gardens really do go together. After all, when you’re in a garden, you always live happily ever after!

cheers,

Lynn
www.LynnCoulter.com

author of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds

"Little Garden Stories," Joyce's award-winning DVD/CD for kids

P.S.–be sure to stop by and say hello to me on Wed., Jan. 28.  I’ll be blogging LIVE on the opening day of the flower show  at 5 P.M.

Gillian, Joyce's daughter, will lead a craft project at the show

a field of tulips blooming in Keukenhof, Holland

Sadly, I’ve never had any luck getting tulips to come back for a second year in my Southern garden.  Scott Kunst, who specializes in rare and antique flowers at his mail order company, Old House Gardens and Bulbs, has told me that the trick is to give tulips very little water during our hot summers.  Still, mine usually disappear.

But I love these romantic-looking flowers, and I plan to be there when Darryl Wiseman, of Darryl Wiseman Flowers, talks about them from the Home Depot Stage on Jan. 30 at 11 A.M.   Look for his presentation, called “Darryl’s Dutch Treat…A Celebration of Holland Flowers,” on the show brochure you’ll get with your admission ticket.

While I’m not successful enough with tulips to tell you how to grow them, I can give you a bit of advice about designing with them.  They look best when they’re planted in informal groups of 5 to 10 bulbs, so that you get blocks of color in the landscape.  They’re also stunning with combined with annuals and perennials like bleeding heart, pansies, alyssum, and columbines.

Speaking of complimentary, what goes together better than Valentine’s Day and passion, which is the theme of this year’s show?  If you’re passionate about flowers from Holland, don’t miss Darryl’s talk!

cheers,

Lynn

P.S.—-don’t forget to click on “comments” at the end of this post to enter our contest.  Just tell us about your garden passion.   What do you love most–a flower, a landscape, maybe even a special floral design? If you have a picture to send, that’s better still!   On Jan. 21, we’ll pick 3 winning names, and send those gardeners a gorgeous 2009 gardening calendar absolutely free!

Graceful purple tulips, silhouetted against the setting sun.

a homemade compost bin

Okay, I’ll admit:  you won’t find any trashy talk here today, no matter what my heading says.  But we are going to talk about trash, because today’s blog is about compost.

As you probably know, compost is simply a mixture of decaying vegetation and well-rotted manure. You can make it by putting your kitchen scraps (except for meats, grease, or diary products, which attract animals) into an outdoor bin or pile.  Toss in grass clippings, fallen leaves, twigs, or just about any other organic matter you have on hand.  Moisten and turn the pile occasionally.  In time, microbes will reduce the materials to a kind “black gold,” a dark, nutrient-rich humus that makes a terrific mulch or soil amendment.   So forget bagging up all  your trash for the city dump.  You’re throwing money away if you get rid of stuff stuff that can decompose!

Now is a great time to plan on starting a compost heap for spring. For detailed instructions, check out this site from the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service: How To Make Compost.

And while we’re on the subject of decaying stuff—once your compost is ready, it will attract lots of highly desirable earthworms to your garden.  Make the little guys welcome, because as they plow through the dirt, they aerate the soil, and the casings they leave behind will help feed your plants organically.

Worms, we should mention, have a certain ickiness factor, which makes them very appealing to the kids in your family.  If you’d like to give your children a fun, play-in-the-dirt project to do, check out these easy directions, from the National Gardening Association, for creating a bin at home:  Making a Worm Bin.

Then bring the little darlings (your kids, not the worms) to the Southeastern Flower Show on Sunday, Feb. 1, to hear gardener Louise Estabrook teach them all about these wiggly gardening wonders!

green blessings,

Lynn
www.LynnCoulter.com

Give your kids crayons, watercolor paints, and chalk sticks like these to create a nature journal.

Happy New Year’s Day!  If you’re like me, you’ve been oohing and ahhing over the fantastic floral designs and floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade.  I needed all that splashy color now that we’re in the gray days of winter.  Makes me yearn for spring.

But spring is still some time away, so instead of sighing over what I can’t have, I’m making some new resolutions (yes, on top of the ones I posted yesterday).  One is to catch up on reading all the gardening books I bought last year.

Another one came out of a Christmas gift I received.  My friend Courtney gave me a blank nature journal, along with some colored pencils and a box of watercolors.  Then she taught me a few basics about sketching things like toads and trees and birds.  I’m resolving to keep adding to my journal, whether by writing a few lines or by painting a landscape or flower I want to remember.

If you have children, a nature journal is a great way to cultivate their interest in gardening.  Older kids can use a camera and paste photos into their books.  Younger types can color with pencils, crayons, or crayons, or cut and paste pictures from your old gardening magazines (if you can bear to let them go.  Be sure to check out Flower Magazine, one of the participants in the upcoming Southeastern Flower Show.)  If you don’t feel artistic enough to help get them started, don’t worry. There are lots of tips for beginners on the Web, including this “how-to site” on Wiki, a free, online encyclopedia: How to Sketch.

Keeping a journal is an excellent way for anyone to study and learn about design and color.   It’s just plain fun, too!
cheers,
Lynn