Thursday, November 15, 2012

Set to Celebrate


As I write, I'm transitioning from mad floral designer to Garden Club Socialite.  OK, so Garden Club Socialite is both a stretch and exaggeration, but mad floral designer is not! My husband and I are going to the preview party this evening which sets off Set to Celebrate after I spent the morning designing a floral centerpiece for the event. Set to Celebrate is a show house of types- held at the Town and County Club in Hartford, Connecticut. The club is filled with beautifully decorated table tops.  All of the money raised from the event is put towards to preservation of the Heritage Rose Garden at Elizabeth Park.

My kitchen floor as I was designing my centerpiece this morning. Yikes!

There is still time to buy tickets- Click HERE to see the Set to Celebrate web site. 

A work in progress- real grapes, clementines and a pomegranate!
 I'm excited to share that I've collaborated with the Mark Twain House and have created the floral centerpiece on the table that features the Clemens' breakfast china and silver.  Thank you, Olivia and Sam Clemens for giving me a beautiful set of china to work off of.  I hope you would be proud!  


The Twain Table, set for breakfast!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Ready, Set, Plant Bulbs!!!


If you find the task of planting spring flowering bulbs daunting. Don't.  Ok, it totally can be if you plant each bulb one by one with a bulb trowel.  Believe me, I've been there and done that.  And sometimes, it just must be done that way.  However, if you are planting a whole bunch in one spot to make some serious impact in May, I have a trick to share that will change your world (and save your back!)
The 2012 Catalogue

In Three Steps

My favorite bulb company, Colorblends teases that you can plant 100 bulbs in 30 minutes if you follow their method.  100 bulbs in 30 minutes- are you kidding me?  I had to try it.  Click HERE to watch me put this trick to the test as I did for WFSB's Better Connecticut.

You can be sure that little editing was done- I'm out of breath and you can probably hear my sniffles from the chilly fall air- there was no fancy camera work here. 
This is what we have to look forward to!

Truly, the only difficult part about gardening with bulbs is waiting until spring to see those magnificent blooms.  So, now, I wait.
A mass planting of Colorblend bulbs that I did a few years ago


A few fragrant (perennial!!) Hyacinth in my garden

Deer-proof Daffodils that get better in my garden every year