Stop and Smell The Roses

If the late winter snow and rain has you feeling blue, you’ll be in the pink just by taking a stroll along the New York City's Park Avenue mall from 57^th to 67^th Street!

Artist Will Ryman has created red and pink rose sculptures that take your eyes soaring up, along with your spirits.  

You can’t help but smile at the 25’ blooms that seem to have sprouted in the planting beds, like something out of Gulliver’s Travels. 

From cows to roses, The Sculpture Committee of the Fund for Park Avenue and the New York City Parks and Recreation Art Program have their finger on the pulse of public art displays to be enjoyed by all, with the few with big wallets buying the one-of-a-kind art to help fund programs.  This year more than 30 rose art sculptures are already spoken for.  Take that David Austin!

While a rose by another name may smell as sweet, these loooongg stemmed beauties are made of stainless steel and fiber glass resin.  

The artist Ryman is quoted as saying he hoped the rose art sculptures offer an escape to city dwellers and visitors.  

They do. 

They are transporting – taking you into a Dr. Sueissical, fantasy world, even if it’s just for the time it takes to cross the wide street.  

You may have to rub your eyes – this is New York, after all, where dreams are made and anything is possible.

So while a tree may grown in Brooklyn; roses are in bloom on Manhattan’s Park Avenue until May 31st.

The Rose Sculptures as reported by Examiner.com Culture reporter:

http://tiny.cc/ebtku

Girls Night Out At Sickles Market

I will be the Garden Expert and Author featured at Sickles Market Second Annual Girls Night Out!  

This is a joyful, fun, educational girl friendly evening that is a benefit for the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center.

The women who attend are amazing: so eager and keen to support their community. And to learn about wellness and gardens and food and -- to kick up their kitten heels and have a good time too.

I am honored to have been asked to return to participate in this extraordinary event.  

Thank you, Bob and Tori Sickles and Karen Irvine. 

Sickles Market is unmatched for food, entertaining objects and party items, and garden plants and objets of art.  I am all too often there buying unique plants for my garden clients, including topiary and herbs and container pots.  The cheeses and farm fresh food are too tempting and I am seduced more times than I can count.  I wrote in the Introduction to my first book, "Homegrown Long Island" how I had scooted over to get my buffalo mozzarella one Saturday only to be told by the cheesemonger that she'd sold the last one.  I sighed (or was it screetched??) to high heaven, whereupon she admonished, "You have to fight for your food!"  I was stopped dead in my high drama.  It is true.  Good food is worth going to the mat for.  And Sickles is THE place.  

I learned my lesson.

I write about food and drink for Examiner.com and also on my blogs: Garden Glamour and Master Chefs and Their Gardens (http://celebritychefsandtheirgardens.blogspot.com).  There is just too much news about the edible landscape and homegrown food and food issues and gardens -- so I Twitter with both Chefsgardens and GardenGlamour too!

I am completing the Homegrown Long Island cookbook and will be talking about the inspired gardens that help the "Field to Table" and "Fin to Fork" Chefs I selected for the book create delicious recipes that are made from fresh, succulent, just picked and just caught fish.  

The book is an intimate profile of each chef - 28 chefs in all.  The book also includes four exciting, seasonal, locavore recipes from each chef, drop-dead luscious color photos of the chefs in the kitchen, of the plated food, and of the chefs with their farmers or in their gardens. I render their gardens in a garden design water color and provide a plant list for every garden and farm, too.  It's an informative cookbook you can use in the kitchen, in the garden -- and display on the coffee table!

For Girls Night Out, I will be signing the two Caroline Seebohm books that feature my garden designs and input:  Cottages and Mansions of the Jersey Shore                 

It’s always a thrill to open this gorgeous book and see all the great houses and gardens, especially my two garden designs:  Joe DiMattina -- and now Uncle Bob :) in Atlantic Highlands; and Mary Rogowski in Monmouth Beach. Two beautiful, enduring gardens that get better every year

And Great Houses and Gardens of New Jersey   

I will also provide a handout for the goody bags :) with four recipes from some of my female chefs featured in the book - a sneak peak!  shhhh...

In addition, I have put together a list of some of my favorite plants to inspire seasonal garden designs.  All blue-ribbon beauties. 

The award-winning Sickles Market is on Facebook and Twitter ad on the web at http://shop.sicklesmarket.com/ 

Menu

Appetizers

Alexian Pâtés & Terrines

  

 Crab Cakes with Chipotle Aioli

 Mini Shrimp Cocktail

 Grilled Petit Filet with Tzatziki

 Black Bean Fritters with Guacamole

 White Bean & Spinach Quesadillas

 Braised Shitake & Leek Crostini

 Smoked Salmon Blini with Crème Frâiché

Vegetable Ratatouille

Cheese

  A Selection of Fine Cheese & Accompaniments 

Brebirousse D'Argental

France Sheep

Accompanied by

ChocoLove Cherries & Almonds in Dark Chocolate

Parmigiano Reggiano

Italy Raw Cow

Accompanied by

Pink Moscatel Grapes

Point Reyes Farmstead Blue

California  Raw Cow

Accompanied by

Herbertsville Honey Co. Walnuts in Honey

Montchevré

Wisconsin     Goat

Accompanied by

Fourth Creek Sweet Red Pepper Relish

Dessert

Sickles' Own Cakepops

Vanilla & chocolate cake dipped in white chocolate

Daisy Chocolates

A mix of chocolate pretzels and cookies

Wine Bar Provided by Rumson Wine & Spirits

Services, Door Prizes, Giveaways, and Treats from:

 Milagro Spa at The Atlantic Club

Mini facials, mini massages, mini makeovers

Leeann Lavin, Garden Expert & Author

Tips on gardening & landscape design

Brad Wolff, Ph.D., P.A. and Certified Life Coach

Relaxation demos & tools for "living your best life"

Salon Concrete

Hair care secrets

Elizabeth Ebner, M.S., R.D. 

Medical Nutrition Therapy

New Balance Shrewsbury

New Spring collection

Switchflops by Lindsay Phillips

Spring trends in fashion footwear

Halia Fashion Jewelry

Latest looks in "add-on" jewelry

Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center

Health assessment checklist

Sickles Market

Fresh herb tasting & tips for growing

Flipping Fun

Photobook favors

6 Degrees of Celebration, LLC.

Fabulous Door Prize

________________________________________________

Many thanks for supporting the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center.

We'll see you Friday, March 18th!