Week 2 - Horticulture Coordinator

It's the first full week of February and we have wind chills below zero! 

I won't be moving any plants into my office today.  We did get some books and pictures in and up on Saturday though.

So far the plants I brought up to my apartment are happily living in the windows that afford them the best light.  I have a nice wide windowsill over my kitchen sink!  It is full of little succulent treasures.

I think my Sanseveria collection would be the best genus candidate for my office.  I will look for a window box to place them in over the next few cold weeks.  Plenty of time to do some online shopping AND meet my new plant friends at their establishments in Sullivan County, NY.

Since our friend Pete did not see his shadow spring is on its way!

Springtime temeperatures on the way!

I will be so happy when it reached 68 degrees in Liberty today!

Hopefully the forsythia up the street will bloom so I can take a picture of this massive thing!

In the meantime I saw a post of a Mohonk type gate posted on Facebook this morning and thought of the garden installed during my era there in the cutting garden.  Beautiful intricate work!

Spring has Sprung in PA

On Friday I traveled from Zone 5 to 6b and was thrilled to see magnolia, cherry and forsythia in full bloom.  In our own garden mayapples are up, bloodroot is blooming and the maples trees are full of bees. 
Ah...spring, thank you for returning slowly and beautifully this year!

Photos to follow soon!

I can imagine crocuses blooming but this seems like the longest winter in many years!  Since I have moved up to Liberty, NY it has snowed, or at least flurried, almost every day.  My new job entails looking at completed gardens from past years and suggesting upgrades.  Hard to do under 6" of snow.

Dawn of a New Spring!

Happy Spring 2013!

 

One of our favorite plants, Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' in our old backyard. 

 Fragrant, see through and screams SPRING each year. 

The Story is in the Plants and the Plants are in the Story

2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
LOCAL MARKET & EXPO

March 9, 2013

One Cablevision Center
Ferndale, New York
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

VOLUNTEERS
“The Heart of Renaissance”

Come to  our Expo next Saturday

Sullivan Renaissance’s annual expo features exhibits by many of Sullivan County’s garden centers and nurseries, and other vendors with products and services of interest to volunteers. Our atrium is filled with flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees designed to inspire thoughts of Spring. This year’s expo will also feature an interactive display on the Sullivan Renaissance collection. Among others, the following exhibitors will be featured:
 Butterfly Botanicals
 Liberty Home, Garden & Pet
 Manza Family Farm
 Monticello Farm Home & Garden
 SullivanArc Garden Tour
 Sullivan County Master Gardeners
 The Cutting Garden
 Trailkeeper.org
 Tri-Valley Natural Resources Program

It is going to be a great event.  We will have an atrium full of flowering trees, shrubs, perennials and spring bulbs

A LOCAL MARKET
This year’s conference features an expanded market where participants and guests can purchase local, natural and organic goods from area businesses. Among others, products include:
 Artisan breads and pastries
 Local wines
 Handcrafted fresh pasta
 Locally roasted coffee
 Maple syrup and honey
 Plants and flowers
 Arts and crafts and much more

The event is FREE!  Register today!

REGISTRATION FORM
Please complete and return this form by March 1st!
Name: ___________________________________
Community: ______________________________
Phone: ___________________________________
Mobile: __________________________________
E-mail: ___________________________________
I plan to attend the following:
 Keynote & Achievement Awards
 Expo & Local Market
 Workshops (indicate preference below)
Workshop Session I (11:30 - 12:30)
 A. Youth Panel
 B. 2013 Renaissance Collection
 C. Trees in Your Landscape
 D. Volunteer Development
 E. Sullivan Renaissance Salon
Workshop Session II (1:00 - 2:00)
 A. Meet Dr. Peter Tarlow
 B. Showing of Flowers
 C. Beneficials in Your Garden
 D. Social Media 101
Space is limited and
pre-registration is required!
There are four ways to pre-register:
 Call (845)295-2445
 Fax registration form to (845)295-2746
 E-mail sgonzalez@sullivanrenaissance.org
 Mail registration form to:
Sullivan Renaissance
P O Box 311
Liberty, NY 12754

(845)295-2445
info@sullivanrenaissance.org

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SULLIVAN RENAISSANCE CONFERENCE Keynote Address to be Webcast Live at www.sullivanrenaissance.org

[FERNDALE] – The CVI Center will be filled with flowers, garden exhibitors and a farmer’s market during the Sullivan Renaissance Annual Conference, Local Market and Expo on Saturday, March 9 in Ferndale.  The public is invited and there is no cost to attend.

The event has three main elements:
• The conference features the keynote address, presentation of Sullivan First Achievement Awards, “What’s New for 2013 IN Sullivan Renaissance” and multiple workshops.
• The local market offers participants and guests the opportunity to purchase local, natural and organic goods from area farms and artisans.
• The expo highlights exhibits by many of Sullivan County’s garden centers and nurseries, along with other vendors with products and services of interest to volunteers.

Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the event continues until 3:00 p.m.  A light breakfast and lunch will be provided, and door prizes will be awarded at the conference conclusion.

The conference program will also be available through a live webcast beginning at 9:00 a.m. ON March 9th by going to www.sullivanrenaissance.org.

The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Peter Tarlow, an international consultant on the positive impacts of community beautification on economic development and tourism.  He will speak about the power and impact of volunteers to make change in their communities.  Dr. Tarlow will also present a workshop focused on youth leadership.

Conference workshop space is limited to the first registrants, so RSVP before March 5.  Workshops and presenters include: Youth Workshop with Dr. Peter Tarlow; Meet Dr. Peter Tarlow; 2013 Renaissance Collection with Diana K. Weiner; Showing of Flowers with Diana K. Weiner; Trees in Your Landscape with Janet Gula and George Profous; Beneficials in Your Garden with Susan Dollard and Helene Chappell; Volunteer Development with Cara Kowalski; Social Media 101 with David Binkowski and Cara Kowalski; Sullivan Renaissance Salon.

For more details and to sign up on-line, go to www.sullivanrenaissance.org.  To obtain a registration form, call Sullivan Renaissance office at 845-295-2445.  To return a form, email to sgonzalez@sullivanrenaissance.org; fax it to 845-295-2746; or mail to Sullivan Renaissance, c/o Gerry Foundation, PO Box 311, Liberty, NY 12754.

Sullivan Renaissance is a beautification and community development program principally funded by the Gerry Foundation.

(3) Garden Writers Speaker's Workshop

It was a great Saturday in Allentown!  C.L. Fornari is an incredible speaker and teacher of the craft.

(3) Garden Writers Speaker's Workshop

(4) Diana K. Weiner

A snowy morning in the Catskills.  It is just beautiful.  I am so grateful to have many trees in my new backyard and in all the backyards that surround mine.

(4) Diana K. Weiner

Finishing the Horse Race

Forcing plants for the Philadelphia International Flower Show is like running a horse race in reverse.  They all start at different times and have to cross the finish line together.

So, this week is the last week of the race and the finish line is within sight. 

 

Below is the behind the scenes pictures from Peace Tree Farm, where the action is happening.

Vegetative Salvia 'Sallyfun Blue'

Rudbeckia



Argyranthemum 'Butterfly'

No Plants Yet!

I am really looking forward to his weekend.  My Valentine will arrive and bring more plants!  Today I will see if I can get some plants in my office. 

No Plants Yet

Hopefully today the company horticulturist will have found a plant for my office. 

I intend to bring my Ledebouria collection in as soon as temps rise and I am not schlepping clothes and other household good to Liberty.

It is icy here today.  Spring can't be far away!

Last night I reconnected with dear friends from decades go!  Shared a lovely lamb stew with our conversation.  Went outside to the chicken coop to meet the rest of the family!   I left with a dozen brightly colored fresh eggs and a full soul and heart.

On to the Tree Keepers meeting at the Mamakating Town Hall in Wurtsboro.

I need to share some great resources with them and help those Boy Scouts get to work. 

I connected with the Manzas!  They own a Family Farm in Montgomery and support many community projects with plants from their company.

Let's see what Tuesday brings....it is snowing big fat flakes this morning.

Week 2 - Horticulture Coordinator

The wind chills are clocking in at -2 below zero today folks.  No plants can travel to the office.

We did move books and pictures in on Saturday.  I think my Sanseveria collection will be the best candidate for the windowsill.  I will bring it up ASAP...waiting on Mother Nature and Old Man Winter to discuss spring!  I am very grateful that Pete did not see his shadow and he has confirmed that spring is on its way!

The succulents I did bring up to my apartment are doing very well on the windowsill above the kitchen sink.  The orchid is happy in the guest room

On Wednesday evening towns and villages with ideas for grants will come to see us and then I can start to apply my knowledge to my new position.

Happy first week of February!

Annual Conference & Expo

My first day at Sullivan Renaissance was jam packed with activity...from HR to IT to the hospital for a drug test to a video conference and more!  Next thing I knew, it was 5 pm!

Day 2  is meeting day....it is fascinating to work in a building with 4 identities.  Lots of action.  I am so thrilled!  This is for me!

Silk Plants Be Gone–Real Plants Search Is On!

My new apartment is fabulous!  It is decorated so beautifully by my landlord Helen an incredible interior designer.
The only problem is every vessel has a silk something in it. We have Silk English Ivy, Silk Schefflera, Silk Hydrangeas, Silk Swedish Ivy, Silk Roses, Silk Ferns (and I will stop there, you get the picture.)
This probably wouldn’t bother most people but there is a story….(hence the name of this blog!)
Back in 1978 I worked in a small corner flower shop (Blossom Flower Shop, one of a family owned chain of 4 in Westchester and the Bronx.)   One day one of the employees from a side business my boss Tommy invested in came in to see me, hearing I knew something about real plants and not just flowers.  He accompanied me to several accounts in NYC where the plants were dying….that started my lust for foliage and some major steps in my career.  I serviced Brooks Brothers, Fortunoff, One World Trade Center, etc.
Thank you David Weiner…
I digress though, from there I worked for John Mini Indoor Landscapes in City Island servicing Exxon/Mobile, Magic Pans, First Boston (watering hanging baskets on the 140th floor nof the World Trade Center!)
We moved to Chicagoland and I worked for Fancy Plants servicing atriums in office buildings.
I learned my foliage, from ID to proper care.
So my mission now is to replace every silk plant in my personal space with the real thing.
Now I just need to find a good greenhouse in the area! 
My adventure now that I am back in NY continues! 
Stayed tuned!

The Plant Story

From Garden Plot to Kitchen Pot : Finally, I did it!: Well, for a few years now I have considered writing down the crazy thoughts in my head but never got around to it. So here is Blog #1 from...

Finally, I did it!

Well, for a few years now I have considered writing down the crazy thoughts in my head but never got around to it.

So here is Blog #1 from me to you.

The name of the Blog is from Garden Plot to Kitchen Pot because that is the name of the cookbook I published with my dear Master Gardeners back in the 1990's.

Stay tuned for random recipes, plant notes, inspirations and tribulations.  As my friend +Sharee Solow  says..."It's All Good"!