Thursday, March 15, 2018

Metro Hort Group Elects New President: Charles M. Yurgalevitch, Ph.D

Charles M. Yurgalevitch, Newly Elected Metro Hort President 
Recently, Metro Hort Group Inc, the Mid-Atlantic association of horticulture professionals elected Charles M. Yurgalevitch, Ph.D. as its new president to lead the organization for a three-year term, the first such tenure in its history. Previously, Yurgalevitch served as Secretary on the Metro Hort Board Member since 2004.
By all counts, Yurgalevitch is the seventh president since the group was founded.

The brainchild of three professional horticulturists in 1986, Metro Hort launched its first meeting of “charter members” and established its Planning Board in 1987.

Soon to follow its incorporation as a 501 (c) in 1988, the Metro Hort Guest speaker series launched - and still held at winter meetings along with the seasonal field trips to all variety of horticultural venues including private gardens, parks, zoos, cemeteries, botanical gardens and nurseries. Workshops began in 1993 taught “by professionals, for professionals” on topics ranging from garden photography to rooftop gardening, pruning, CAD technology, and more. The signature horticultural trade show and symposium, Plant-O-Rama was launched in 1997.

During a recent interview, Yurgalevitch talked about his vision and upcoming agenda for Metro Hort moving forward.

In a macro sense, he is looking to lend Metro Hort’s expertise to help shape a community-wide agenda to influence greener, healthier, environmental attitudes and behaviours. “We can further establish Metro Hort’s leadership and its advocacy for sustainable practices in business and government,” Yurgalevitch explained. “We have a unique platform to affect a determined path to a plant-based, sustainable way of life, especially in a world that is increasingly urban. Plants and horticulture touch every vital element of our lives from food to water resources, pollution management, to architecture and art -- to the very air we breath,” he continued.

In turn, this outlook will increasingly appeal to the next generation - upcoming green professionals who seek to be vital members of Metro Hort.

Yurgalevitch has been a pioneer in leading younger, green industry professionals from his position as Director of the School of Professional Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden and as the creator of the now annual, Green Industry Intern Field Day - affectionately referred to as “Hortie Hoopla.”

“We see burgeoning activists in our ranks who want to make changes in the way we interact with our parks and gardens, how we grow and harvest our food, how we safeguard our shores and wetlands and preserve the flora and fauna for future generations, especially in a world of climate chaos and science skeptics,” he added.

With a determined effort to develop “Plant Ambassadors,” Yurgalevitch will seek to challenge Metro Hort’s members and solicit new members with exciting, trailblazing programs and updated processes.

Membership goals also include an effort to revise, revamp, and refresh the organization’s web site and social media practices, including more visuals and video to engage its members and the wider, public community.

Already, the group has added a Local Events Calendar where anyone - members as well as non-members - can post horticultural events of interest, gratis.

The networking and educational talks and workshops and field trips will continue its tradition of excellence with the added objective of highlighting topics of import and interest - meaning those issues that are salient to today’s diverse and fast-moving culture, including aquaponics, technology in horticulture and design, plant propagation and care especially given today’s increasing dramatic climate swings, and visits to innovative and enterprising hort-based initiatives and businesses that are sure to spark learning and collaboration.


The group’s website provides its background description:


Metro Hort Group, Inc. is an association of horticulture professionals practicing in the New York City and tri-state region. Members are active in the worlds of public and private horticulture; we are landscape architects, designers, arborists, growers, educators, contractors, garden writers and every specialty in between. We create and deliver a greener New York. The professional sponsor meetings, lectures, workshops and field trips geared to common interests, with a focus on education, networking and socializing.

Metro Hort members gather to share ideas, information and employment opportunities. Each member receives a detailed listing in our online membership directory, an invaluable resource for horticulture professionals. Membership in Metro Hort Group offers the opportunity to stay connected in these challenging economic times.


To learn more about becoming a member of the Metro Hort Group, visit the membership page.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

The New York Botanical Garden Unveils Commissioned Installations by Renowned Belgian Floral Artist, Daniel Ost, for their 16th Annual Orchid Show Launching March 3













Yesterday was the annual Press Preview for The New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) premiere exhibit, the Orchid Show. Orchids are the “eye candy” of the plant world and I’d be hard-pressed to name a single soul that doesn’t find them completely irresistible.

Their dazzling colors, shapes, “faces,” fragrance, mystery, and sheer beauty have captivated cultures around the world, as well as plant explorers, writers, fine artists -- painters and photographers and jewelry makers - - and of course, visitors to this annual blockbuster.

We just can’t get enough of orchids.

I for one, just recently trekked up to the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest (from where I was working at Hacienda Cusin in San Pablo, near Otavalo) where there are more orchids than anywhere due to the country’s biological diversity. This Andean paradise boasts more than 30,000 wild orchids so far identified -- almost 25% percent of Ecuador’s flora. I’ll provide a complete cloud forest and orchid discovery posting about that soon.

Closer to home, the annual Orchid Show at NYBG has gained a much-deserved reputation for strutting the orchid’s glamorous good looks as well as teaching us about the orchid plant’s diversity and cultural significance to a number of countries, including last year’s inspiring Thailand-themed exhibit or previously, the dazzling and “uplifting” chandelier installations that compelled you to look up in 2015 or the take-your-breath away beauty of the 2013 show .

This year, it was quite evident how much professional respect and love and mutual admiration there is between the NYBG Horticultural staff and the revered Daniel Ost and his team.



Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections & Daniel Ost at press preview

Scores of the press in attendance were swooning over Ost and past features they’ve been honored to write.

I saw that my botanical artist friend, Ellen Hovercamp (I own three of her fabulous pieces, featured in our bedroom; Ellen collaborates with horticultural expert, designer, and author, Ken Druse, most notably in the book, Natural Companions ) had retrieved Ost’s book Floral Art and The Beauty of Impermanence - a stunning compilation of the artist’s unparalleled floral designs.
Botanical Artist Ellen Hovercamp with her Daniel Ost book ready for autograph 

No less CBS has described him as "the world's leading flower designer," while the New York Times says that "to call him a master flower designer is akin to calling Annie Leibovitz a shutterbug.”

NYBG notes “Ost is celebrated worldwide for his eye-catching installations in private and public spaces, working with both living and cut flowers.

His large-scale artwork has drawn comparison to that of renowned sculptors Anish Kapoor, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Goldsworthy. In Belgium he has been called “the Picasso of flower arranging,” and in France he was touted as “the international star of floral decoration.” Daniel Ost lives and works in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, where he was born and raised.

Mr. Ost’s recent YouTube interview for the Garden helps explain his approach to the installation. Many orchids are epiphytes -- meaning they grow on the surface of another plant or tree, getting their nutrients from the air, rain, and water. And Ost says he was very much drawn to the orchid’s ability to grow like this.

He also explains why he chose the clear, plastic tubes that the orchid blossoms are attached to “like vines,” he says - throughout the three key installations in the show.

There is a huge funnel-like structure in the Palms of the World Gallery, right near the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory where the Orchid event is located at NYBG.

Rather than seeing a breathtaking display reflected in the moody black water of the pool here - the towering design in the Conservatory’s Palms of the World Gallery, is an 18-foot-tall sculpture by Ost that is meant to complement the height of the 90-foot-tall dome overhead.




“In the Seasonal Exhibition Galleries, his designs speak to the architecture of the glasshouse.”

There are two more site specific living art installations: a bamboo dome that holds an array of color-coordinated fiery yellows, oranges and red orchids.




The other is a hanging bamboo structure that runs the length of the central axis and is filled with Kodedama -- hanging orchids planted in moss.



I do love these and have been successfully growing one made by floral designer and landscape architect, EunYoung Sebazco and graduate of the Gardens School of Professional Horticulture, that I got at the “Nature in Art” show I curated not too long ago.

Within this area there are also kaleidoscopes of drop-dead gorgeous orchids and companion plants. These “orchid companions” include croton, dracaena, and more.

I especially liked the unique kalanchoe - Kalanchoe, Vrisea, Phormium on display that picked up the soft, subtle greens and flamingo pinks of the orchids.


We were told that Ost spotted these within the Garden’s Collection and insisted he wanted to have them in the installation. What a great eye for harmony the master has ...



I do recommend you go to see and experience the Orchid Show - and moreover, all the special collateral, orchid-themed events the Garden has lined up.

This show underscores the fact that art is provocative - it moves us and touches each of us in unique and profound ways. For me, I didn’t care for the clear tubes woven in and about the orchids like so many skeins of yarn. It looked like life support tubes in a medical environment and detracted from the simple elegance and sheer beauty of the orchid plants. I know. I know. I get the narrative and the artful back story. I have more than respect for Ost and his informed and impressive floral art installation. I write this with hesitation. I don’t want to be arbitrary or a spoiler. But I must be honest. It’s just that I prefer to see the orchids. In a more pristine or pretty design.  This appears “messy” to me.
I had a challenge getting past the plastic tubes...

When I got on the subway this morning I saw an image that was reminiscent of the installation's tubes ...



Don’t hate me because I see the link with the Ost orchid tubes …

In years’ past, the orchids help tell the story of a culture or environmental diversity but at the same time were set in a tableau or “living picture” that was more sensual and inviting. And well, to be frank and honest, it was more glamorous and elegant.

Though, I do like the artist’s dreamy rendering: (there was just a lot more tubing in the final look).


Floral Artist Daniel Ost A Daniel Ost conceptual rendering for The Orchid Show

I’m sure that evenings in the show will be spectacular and help to showcase the blooms.

During “Orchid Evenings throughout the run of the exhibition, visitors experience music, tours, and special performances, with cash bars offering for purchase beer, wine, and cocktails, including the Dancing Lady, especially created for Orchid Evenings by Edible Bronx’s head mixologist.” The Garden notes “You can warm up around fire pits on Conservatory Plaza, then head into the glasshouse to explore the exhibition. Live performers add extra flair to the stunning displays of orchids, while curated music by a live DJ creates the perfect atmosphere to explore The Orchid Show. Alice Farkey’s whimsical Orchid Ladies roam the Conservatory.

Orchid Evenings are from 6:30– 9:30 p.m. on March 17, 24, and 31, April 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, and 21, and are for adults 21 and over.

Back to the floral art displays. We were told the clear tubes capture the sunlight and reflect… But I thought it was a bit of the Emperor’s New Clothes… There was the inarguable fact that there is a lot of plastic tubing to look at. I don’t like plastic. I was doomed.

The Ost-designed installations were also disappointing to me because while there were three, they are similar in style using clear tubing and bamboo as structural elements with the orchids featured on that. No reveal or aha or heart-clutching mystery…

While there are more orchids on display this year I was told, it didn’t create that impact or visual...

Let me know what you think after you experience the show.

The overwhelming element is: the orchids are sublime. 
Go for the plants!





This year, NYBG’s 16th Annual Orchid Show Runs from March 3 through April 22, 2018

News on the show from the NYBG team: “The 2018 edition of The Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden, exhibiting commissioned works by Daniel Ost, opens on March 3 and runs through April 22, 2018. Entering its16th year, the popular exhibition, showcasing thousands of dramatically displayed orchids in the Botanical Garden’s historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

One of the world’s leading floral designers, Ost uses flowers as a means of expression. He identifies himself as a bloembinder, the Dutch term for an artist who works with flowers. His large-scale artworks have been tailored to the unique environment of the landmark Victorian- style Haupt Conservatory, complementing the architecture of the building while creating a transformative, dazzling spectacle of color, form, and texture. Bamboo arranged in grids and calling to mind the glass grids of the Conservatory, and clear tubing meant to both evoke water and connect to the Conservatory’s glass, are among the materials employed in his artful installations to which individual orchids are attached so that each flower and form can be seen and appreciated. The works pay homage to his training in ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. In ikebana, artists value the ideas of wabi-sabi, a philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection, asymmetry, and impermanence.

Ost trained in Belgium and the Netherlands before visiting Japan for the first time in 1983 where he befriended Noboru Kurisaki, one of the most prominent grand masters of ikebana, who became his mentor and teacher. He taught Ost that a single flower used the right way can be more impactful than thousands of flowers used en masse. This concept is particularly evident in one of Ost’s designs on view in The Orchid Show.

The Hudson Garden Grill is open for meals and light bits before Orchid Evening festivities.

Dining options include Hudson Garden Grill, NYBG’s full-service restaurant, and at the Pine Tree Café.

Orchid Show visitors may select from thousands of top-quality orchids, from exotic, hard-to- find specimens for connoisseurs to elegant yet easy-to-grow varieties for beginners, available for purchase at NYBG Shop, along with orchid products and books. Along with plenty of other, plant-inspired objets d’art, tablescape accessories, fashion, fragrance, and hostess gifts.

Orchids are eternally fascinating and have so much to teach us. Adult Education at NYBG gas thoughtfully produced and curated a number of classes you’ll enjoy participating in. See the lineup here:

PHALAENOPSIS CARE
Myths abound about how hard it is to care for this ever-popular orchid. Jim Freeman dispels those myths with plenty of sensible advice on how to treat your phalaenopsis so that it blooms year after year. Light, water, nutrients, repotting, and root care are all key. Walk away feeling confident and equipped with the knowledge to make your orchids thrive.

Saturday, March 17; 11 a.m.–2 p.m., NYBG Instructor: Jim Freeman



ORCHIDS: DIVIDE, REPOT, REJUVENATE!

Frank Guida, beloved Botanical Art teacher and orchid aficionado, shows you what he’s learned from years of helping out in NYBG’s Nolen Greenhouses, demonstrating when and how to divide and repot your orchids without trauma (to you or the plants!). Learn about different types of containers and potting media and making your own bark mix.

Saturday, March 24; 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m., NYBG Instructor: Frank Guida



ORCHID MOUNTING (image from orchids made easy)

Show off the exquisite beauty of an orchid by mounting it on cork. Not only is this a showstopping piece of living décor, it is also healthy for the plant, mimicking the way epiphytic orchids grow in nature. Frank Guida, botanical artist and orchid aficionado, will discuss which species thrive on mounts and how to care for your newly mounted orchid.

aturday, March 24; 2–4:30 p.m., NYBG Instructor: Frank Guida

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY: THE ORCHID SHOW
Get an exclusive opportunity to photograph The Orchid Show using your DSLR 100- 300mm telephoto lens, and dedicated speedlights. Master techniques to achieve

the best lighting and exposure for these vibrant flowers without the use of tripods or monopods. Afterward, return to the classroom for a review and critique of your images.

Required Equipment: DSLR, zoom telephoto lens (100-300mm focal length), other lenses if you desire, lens hood, dedicated speedlight, brackets, hotshoe cable or remote, and lunch.

Tuesday, April 3; 9 a.m.–3 p.m., NYBG Instructor: Jeffrey Falk


LIVING DÉCOR: TERRARIUMS WITH AIR PLANTS & ORCHIDS! (image from wanelo.co)


Create a mini rainforest with air plants and orchids in an open-style terrarium. Maria Colletti, author of Terrariums, will guide you as you design your own, and provide instruction on the care and maintenance of your miniature plant world.

Wednesday, April 4; 6:30–8:30 p.m., NYBG Monday, May 21; 6:30–8:30 p.m., Midtown Center Instructor: Maria Colletti

DESKTOP ORCHIDS
Get pro tips on how to care for orchids in less than optimal environments. Barbara Schmidt, award-winning exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show and author of Orchid Care: For the Beginner, will walk you through which orchid genus will fare best in your indoor environment, as well as how to ensure your orchids have what they need to grow and bloom. Optional: Bring Your Own Orchid so Barbara can help you identify and/or troubleshoot its problems.

Saturday, April 14; 11 a.m.–1 p.m., NYBG Instructor: Barbara Schmidt

Register for classes at www.nybg.org/adulted

For more information about The Orchid Show and to purchase tickets, please visit the Garden’s Web site, www.nybg.org


Some last minute prep by the Hort staff proved to almost be the best part of the orchid show. 
Thank you.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Valentine's Flowers: Roses & Orchids, Champagne, Cocktails, Kissing, Dining Out & Love...


I’m thinking there is no more enduring, more classic, more romantic way to say “I love you” and to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with champagne, roses, and - I thought a new twist on the classic - with orchids.

Incredibly, as I was writing this loving holiday blog post, my husband, Bill, came home and surprised me with a floral arrangement of blossoms and fragrant blooms in luscious colors - that he selected from the florist.



And guess what? The composition included those very same blooms I was dreaming - er, writing about!



I don’t know about you but my experience with floral design has not been one where these two exotic and beloved blooms have been natural partners.
I did a Google search to confirm my curiosity - and by and large - it’s true.

Orchids

Orchids are love. They elicit emotions.

Did you know there are more than 28,000 distinct species of orchids? Ecuador - with only 0.21% of the world’s landmass is home to approximately 4,000 orchids. (The US has fewer than 200) -- according to a wonderful book, “Birds, Butterflies, and Orchids - A Life in the Cloud Forest,” authored - and autographed - by Carlos Zorrilla.

I chose to include the orchids because - well - they are the jewels of the plant world.
Orchids are eye candy. And The New York Botanical Garden will premiere its Orchid Show soon - I’m looking forward to the press premiere in a week or so.

And even more significant - I’ve just returned from this year’s garden design and horticulture work at Hacienda Cusin in Ecuador -- a kind of plant paradise to say the least.

And while there, I scooted up to the Cloud Forest to not only meet Sandy - my Spanish instructor -- (we do Facebook classes but I’d never met her in person - and she runs an Air BnB there as El Refugio de Intag ), but to see and discover the incredible and rare orchids there in the Intag. Sandy and her husband gave part of their land to Ecuador for the reserve where the orchids grow. More on this in another post but by way of reference - orchids have really been on my mind as of late, as you can imagine.

Here are a few of the images from my rare orchids discovery adventure in the Cloud Forest.









Many see faces in their glamorous blooms and love in their expressions.

 

This is a monkey orchid!

Most folks don’t know that Vanilla is an orchid.

It’s a legendary plant and flavor; loved the world over.

You can combine almost any orchid in your flower arrangement and a vanilla flavor in Valentine’s Day cocktails.

A rare breed of a gold orchid can also be enjoyed in tea or broth or as part of a facial spa skin treatment. Dendrobium has a wonderful taste of honey. Or use the rare orchids that have been artfully crafted intp a special fragrance to be gifted to your loved one.

Sustainable Flowers

Veriflora® Sustainably Grown certification assures that cut flowers meet the very strictest standards of environmental and social responsibility.

So when you give flowers this year, you can tell your loved one that you are also taking care of the environment, farmworkers, and farm communities.

This is the “gold” standard in sustainability certification for ornamental horticulture. Third-party certification assures buyers and consumers that cut flowers and potted plants have been produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way, with practices that achieve the highest level of product quality.

I asked the ladies at Veriflora a few questions about the certification, costs, and if the certificate is US only.
In less time than you can say Dendrobium or Trichophilia fragrans they were back with answers. I’m was happy to learn the certification program has been active since about 2003. And embarrassed I hadn’t had this on my radar until now. (why is that?!)

Veriflora certifies domestic and imported flowers, as well as potted plants. And, to the best of their knowledge, these flowers are not more expensive than non-certified so that makes it a no-brainer to ask for them at your local florist.
Their clients are certified across the U.S., as well as in Columbia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

Up until this year, visitors to Hacienda Cusin where I work every January doing garden design, could explore the nearby rose plantations and operations. The Sierra in Ecuador is known for its roses and dairy. A few years ago, I wrote about “Spanking Your Flowers! and the Symbols and Meaning for Valentine’s Day Blooms & Blossoms” that was, in part, inspired by the rose-growing in Ecuador where they grow an abundance of the world’s roses -- and not surprisingly, the end of January is crazy busy time as they line up the rainbow of roses for the world.

Champagne
Coco Chanel once said “I only drink champagne on two occasions: when I am single and when I am not.”

Coco is not just my fashion hero - but I have blissfully inherited her name as my nickname - so christened by friends/associates at The New York Botanical Garden and garden clients, too. I love it.

And love the Coco quote…

I’ve selected a few champagne infused cocktails here for your celebration - today and well, every day that Cupid strikes…

The Siren by Ingi R. Sigurdsson

Photo courtesy of Reyka

Ingredients:

1.5 fresh Lemon juice

1 oz simple (1:1)

1 oz St. Germain

3 oz Reyka vodka

6 oz champagne

Method:

Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker except champagne.

Shake, top with the champagne - or prosecco - garnish and serve in a Bordeaux/Burgundy wine glass over flower ice cubes.

How to Make the Flower Ice Cubes:

Recipe for 2 cranberry juice cubes/2 grapefruit juice cubes/ 1 large simple syrup ice cube with orange blossom water, rose water, frozen edible Sonja orchid.

Ingredients for flower ice cube liquid:

4 liters - or a little more than a gallon of water

24 oz simple syrup 1:1

10 droppers Orange flower water

10 droppers rose water

Method:

Stir till all ingredients combined

Freeze in 1x1 molds with the Sonia Orchids

I adore champagne - and maple syrup - nectars of the goddesses and gods.  So when I was sent this recipe by the Maple Guild, I did a double blink back. Too good to be true!
Photo courtesy of the Maple Guild

Beau & Arrow by The Maple Guild

Ingredients:

1 oz vodka

½ oz creme de cassis

¾ oz champagne

1 tsp The Maple Guild Vanilla Bean maple syrup

Method:
Shake all but champagne in the cocktail shaker. Pour into a coupe glass. Top with the champagne.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry or raspberry or chocolate maple candy from that box that you probably just opened.

Winter Rose

Photo courtesy of Vivanco 
Ingredients:

2 oz Vivanco Rosado Wine

2 oz Brut Champagne

.5 oz Elderflower Syrup

Splash of Pressed Clementine Juice

Garnish with Halved Fresh Cranberries

Sprinkle of Ground Clove

* Build over Ice


French 75

The French 75 is one of two cocktails named after the French 75mm field gun, which was commonly used in World War I.

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin

1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Champagne or sparkling wine

Garnish: long thin lemon spiral and cocktail cherry

Method:

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar in a cocktail shaker until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute.

Top with champagne. Stir gently, garnish with a long, thin lemon spiral and a cocktail cherry.

If you plan to drink your champagne straight - please choose a quality sparkling wine. It’s a special occasion, after all. I researched and found this complete guide to champagne from Wine Folly that sorts out all the different brands at every price point.

Kissing

Pucker up -- kissing is a sweet exercise just made for Valentine’s Day. Hugging is another romantic “workout” along with hand-holding and …. Well, all this food and drink are mere aphrodisiacs, no?

Because lot’s of kissing is surely in order, it is important to keep your lips healthy and moisturized -- year-round -- but now that the year’s most kissable holiday is here, the lips can use some extra care. And my friend Trish Alkaitis has a sweet offer.
Check this out: Alkaitis gifting you a free 'Love Your Lips' Organic Lip Treatment with any online purchase of $89 on alkaitis.com

The Organic Lip Treatment gives your lips that shiny attractive glow while protecting and nourishing them, providing a long lasting deep treatment.

Dining out

If you you’re in Gotham, you might relish a four-course meal from Irvington at W Union Square. Dishes like Arctic Char Crudo and Chestnut Agnolotti are on the the $65 pre-fixe menu, as well as a dessert platter for two.

Even sweeter? There’s a $55 champagne pairing available as well, including Domaine Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon and Moët Rose.

Midtown? Check out Kingside in Viceroy Central Park is offering up an À la carte Valentine’s Day menu with dishes like ravioli and a Moulard Duck dish for two. Top the meal off with $55 champagne tasting featuring luxe selections like Veuve Clicquot and Moët Rose.

If you’re planning to go out, here’s a splendid spot in Gotham: bar Sardine, Gabriel Stulman's intimate Greenwich Village neighborhood gastropub.

Managing Partner/resident cocktail guru Brian Bartels has crafted a special NOLA-inspired drink menu for the occasion of Mardi Gras/Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day (sort of a hat-trick of holy occasions), featuring smart cocktails like the Big Freedia 63 (a take on the French 75 with singani, lillet, lemon, lavender, prosecco... and twerking) and Forgive me Father, For I Have Pimmed -- it is Ash Wednesday, after all. This one is inspired by the classic Pimm's Cup with rye, becherovka, amaro, and Pimms. I love most everything with a good amaro.

Dining In

Be sure to create a tablescape worthy of your loves: friends, family, food, drink - and entertaining. 
I am creating one for a Ladies Who Lunch Valentine’s / Lunar New Year celebration next week. It’s the Year of the Dog!

Here’s the work in progress: (details to follow)

Photo courtesy of Virginia Popik


Photo courtesy of Virginia Popik 

Kisses and hugs for a sweet Valentine’s Day celebration filled with glamorous flowers, drink, food, and lots and lots of love.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Mark Your Garden Calendars: Wave Hill's Annual Lecture Series features Sarah Raven 2/21; Timothy Young 3/21







Sarah Raven, Photo Credit: Jonathan Buckley

The 2018 Wave Hill Horticultural Lectures are devoted to the subject of garden design and the meaning of our interactions with plants and the natural world, offering the opportunity to enjoy three evenings -- two remain on the schedule - with speakers distinguished in their fields.

I always enjoy these artful garden lectures - the speakers are world-class and the content of the talks are all about the world of gardens - but not strictly in a horticultural perspective.

Plus, the venue is a good one - relaxed, sophisticated, and easy to get to.
Held at the New York School of Interior Design in Manhattan, the annual series is hosted by Wave Hill's Senior Director of Horticulture and the Friends of Horticulture Committee.

Sarah Raven: The Cutting Garden is the second in this year’s series.

An inspirational and passionate teacher and award-winning author, Sarah Raven has been running cooking, flower arranging, growing and gardening courses at Perch Hill—her farm in East Sussex—and across England, since 1999.

Her talk is all about how to prepare, plant, maintain and harvest buckets of flowers from your garden—from March to November—with her best sowing and growing techniques. Raven has written for The Saturday Telegraph, Country Living, Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden and more.




The final lecture of the series takes place on March 21, when Timothy Young focuses on the archival legacies of several 20th-century writers and artists who built gardens.

Timothy Young: Paper Trails−Writers and Gardens in the Archives
The stories of great gardens are told in their physical presence—and on paper. Archives show the planning and execution of gardens through journals and sketches. They also reveal the philosophy of the gardener.

This lecture focuses on the archival legacies of several 20th-century writers and artists who built gardens, including Vita Sackville-West, Robert Dash and Rupert Barneby and Dwight Ripley. Timothy Young holds the title of Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts at Beinecke Library at Yale University.

Where:
New York School of Interior Design
170 East 70th Street · New York, NY 10021

When:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018, and Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 6–7:30PM

Tickets:
Single Lecture: $25/$20 Wave Hill Member or student

Seating is limited, and advance reservations are recommended, online.

Enjoy the garden glamour in this special series.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS: Open all year, Tuesday–Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–4:30PM; Mar 15–Oct 31, closes 5:30 PM

ADMISSION TO THE GROUNDS: $8 adults, $4 students and senior 65+, $2 children 6-18. Free Tuesdays and Saturdays until noon. Free to members, children under 6.

DIRECTIONS: Getting to Wave Hill is easy - and kind of fun - because you pass my favorite train station stop: Spuyten Duyvil -- (I just love saying that name - maybe because it harkens back to my Dutch ancestors…) and also because Wave Hill actually picks you up in a van - so you feel like a star!

Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from their front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, the W. 242 Street stop on the #1 subway line, and to and from our free offsite parking lot. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Complete directions and shuttle van schedule at wavehill.org.