Don’t Be Like the White Rabbit: Late for this Very Important Date ~ NYBG Premieres "Wonderland: Curious Nature," May 18th: Sneak Preview Here!

 

It all starts with the Victorians.  (Not with Disney or Tim Burton!) 

While many think of these denizens as straight-laced, if not downright repressed, perhaps we’ve been a bit hasty. A closer look reveals their unbridled passion for discovery; the zeal for cataloging and classifying the world around them.  Budding, irrepressible Naturalists and Taxonomists! Plus, Victorians’ curiosity introduced new worlds of art, technology, culture, science and nature, not to mention the very notion of a childhood.  It was an “Age of Wonder.”

Our own sense of discovery and fantasy is ignited by NYBG’s latest show: Wonderland: Curious Nature, opening May 18th.  Join me as we head Down the Rabbit Hole… 

The Met Gala Celebrates Fashion Art Inspired by The Garden of Time ~ What to Watch on the Red Carpet

 

Tonight’s Met Gala benefit, premiering the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newest exhibit in the Costume Institute, is touted as bringing “to life four centuries of extraordinary garments and accessories inspired by the natural world.”  

Clearly, spring cleaning is not the same at the Met Fifth Avenue as are our closet cleanses!  

Seriously, the approximately 250 garments and accessories that have been curated for the 2024 exhibit will be out-dazzled by this evening’s fantasy red carpet costumes worn by the stars of the art world, finance, sports, and business. 

The suggested dress is inspired by the literary work: The Garden of Time. Florals and arcadian fantasy are sure to inspire! 

 

Derby-Worthy Food and Drink Recipes: Watch The Kentucky Derby in Style

 First held in 1875, The Kentucky Derby is the longest continuously-held sporting event in America. 

It’s one of the most prestigious horse races in the world.

The Derby is touted as “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” but everyone knows it’s the day-long Derby Day spirits - cocktails inspired by the rich tradition of Churchill Downs, and the state of Kentucky that gave the world that rare, sweet elixir: bourbon that makes for a memorable event.   

And the Hats!  The glorious chapeaus.

So get those fanciers, bonnets and exotic hats ready and start muddling the mint. 

Celebrate Earth Day 2024 With Ideas & Actions to Choose Our Planet vs. Plastics

                                                      

When one is a gardener and landscape designer, as well as a passionate naturalist as I am, everyday is Earth Day. However, marking the day April 22 as the official Earth Day, is important.  This year’s theme is one that is particularly close to my passion, as I hope it is yours: “Planet vs. Plastics.”

Read on to learn about the dangers of plastics and what we can do to safeguard ourselves and our planet. Now it’s personal… 

A Fierce Advocate for Animal Conservation ~ April Kelly Inspires Us to Be a Friend to Nature in a Special Way

 

In befriending April Kelly, I can readily appreciate how the planet’s wildlife has found their “forever friend.” 

Golly, I was so honored that April wrote on the Ladies Who Lunch Conversations post: You are the perfect example of "women supporting women," and I am proud to call you a friend. 🥰🙏

Awww. We all need such a special, unconditional friendship…

That April is a fierce advocate for wildlife conservation and sustainable habitat demonstrates her uncompromising, virtuous, chivalric code.  Allow me to explain an extraordinary passion project:

Spring Cleaning? Choose The Cleanest, Skincare & Eco-Friendly Makeup: Beautycounter ~ & Your Very Own Consultant!

 

Spring and cleaning go together like peanut butter and Jelly. Or like Thelma and Louise. So many great pairings 👯 Yet, I daresay that few if any duos are aligned with their very own season!  And with all due respect to Marie Kondo and tossing things that don’t bring you joy, there’s a way more important Clean to attend to. Don’t you agree that skin cleansing & selfcare bests disposing of a college sweatshirt?!  

I can’t wait to share just the transformative, squeaky~clean solutions you’ll want to ADD to your tidy beauty routine.  Let’s reassess our decluttering: 

Cosmic Cocktails For Celestial Canoodling ~ Eclipse Drink Recipes for a Galactic Party

There’s no doubt that Total Eclipse 2024 is surely helping to “eclipse” all the, ahem, other “galactic” happenings that seem to be streaming in from other planets or outer space of late. Huge storms, today’s very abnormal earthquake for these parts, just for starters… So many puns on this phenomena. Plus a pun is also called a “paronomasia” which in itself seems like a sure-fire paranormal state! 

How to mark this once in a lifetime event?  With Cosmic Cocktails 🍸 Here are some “heavenly” drink recipes to celebrate the cosmic intimacy.  And to wear your Corona crown with style.

Are You A Plant Lover? Are You Food Curious? Special Guest, Dr. Cassandra Quave, "The Plant Hunter," Reveals Her Search for Healing Plants & Her Inspiring Life

 

One of the first impressions I had when I discovered Dr. Cassandra Quave Ph.D, is that she is so approachable ~ so girlfriend-ready!  The fact that she is a kind of plant polymath: a world-renowned scientist, author, speaker, podcast host, wife, mother, explorer who leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature, and professor at Emory University School of Medicine was rather intimidating, to be honest.  Yet her genuine goodness is undeniably  crystalline. She is a force of nature!  Naturally 😀

I was in awe of her work as a leading ethnobotanist; I was keen to host her as a special guest for my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations videocast. Would she say yes? 

Celebrate The Academy Awards With Two Oscar-Worthy, Starring Cocktail Recipes Saluting Artists & Oscar History

 

The Oscars call for a few good cocktails to celebrate Hollywood’s big night of fashion, film, and more than brief moments of frisson. 

From the standards ~ “The envelope please,” to “I want to thank God/Mother” to the astonishing (the Slap), Oscar night is a glamorous, fun evening of entertainment. 

Here’s a bit of Oscar history and lore, and two fabulous Cocktails inspired by two of this year’s big blockbuster movies: "BarbenHeimer."

Cocktails, just like movies, need a good story to be a star.

Winners Announced Today for 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show “United by Flowers”

 

While I could argue that everyone is a winner of the The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show “United by Flowers” because, in the end, we are all champions who benefit from engaging with the beauty of the horticultural presentations and exhibits; the PHS today announced the formal winners as judged by their expert teams.

Here’s the list of the winners who showcased their unique perspectives and will set the style for garden and floral design this year. And if you plan to visit, you can use the list as your special passport:

PHS Flower Show Preview: United By Flowers is A Floral Fantasy!

 

Like the sirens of the movie screen who knew just how to make a dramatic entry, the first garden you see at the PHS Flower Show opening tomorrow, “Edges and Reflections” takes your breath away.  Your Flower Show visit begins with this aquatic floral spectacle, boasting the Flower Show's largest body of water ever created and vibrant floral sculptures suspended like floral clouds. Here’s your sneak peek into this massive, immersive Flower Show: 

Leap Year Bonus Day Ideas To Inspire Your Gift of An Extra Day

 

As if a genie appears out of the lamp offering you a magical gift of a day ~ an entire extra day 🌞 ~ this year we are blessed with a Leap Year bonus. 

There’s no question we greatly value time.  Time Idioms abound: “Better Late Than Never;” “Time and Tide Wait for None;” “Time is Money;” or “Have the Time of your Life.” 

What will you do with your extra time?  Here are a few suggestions for your consideration to Celebrate the gift of an extra day:

Here's How to Style An Elegant Pink and Green Tablescape Look To Delight Your Guests

 

With the joyful blessing of two special occasions on the calendar, I was looking to design a table setting that would work for the different occasions.

With a mirific sense of sophisticated style and garden glamour, of course.

Here's how to delight your guests with an elegant combination of nature's favorite colors: pink and green.

Florals in Fashion: Orchids Dazzle Fleek Fashion Runway at NYBG Orchid Show

If fashion runways ~ Catwalks ~ are meant to grab attention for introducing new fashion lines, then the 21st edition of the iconic orchid exhibition at The New York Botanical Garden, The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion, is a heart-stopping, fashion-inspired celebration of all things orchid that you can’t take your eyes off of.

What does the intersection of “Hort-Couture” and “Haute Couture” look like? 

You won’t believe this orchid-inspired “Collection” style.  Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll see at this year’s Orchid Show: 

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon With An Abundant, Elegant, Colorful Tablescape Design: Here's How to Layer the Look

Celebrate the Lucky Year of the Dragon this Lunar New Year with a tablescape design that is festive, romantic, and elegant. 🐉💚🐉

Here are a few table decor suggestions to bring out the Dragon's divinity, power, nobility and good luck.

How Can Your Garden Adapt to a Changing Environment? 7+ Ways to Manage Horticultural Futurism According to Thomas Rainier

   

Unlike the oft-quoted French saying, “Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose,” in horticulture things really do change. Especially given the impact of Climate “Change”  

The keynote speaker at this year’s Metro Hort plant symposium, Thomas Rainer, highlighted the “Hot Mess” we’re in; yet offered sustainable gardening solutions. 

What does this cutting edge leader of Ecological Landscape Design have to say about garden designs in our changing world?  You’re in for a Plant-Centric garden discovery.

Little Month / Big Celebrations: Fabulous February Boasts 100+ Special Holidays, Especially Love-Filled Ones

 

Wave goodbye to January and the promise of all beginnings and possibilities.  

Kiss hello and welcome February, where the rubber hits the road for fresh starts and resolutions.

February is the shortest month but just jam-packed with holidays, festivals, LOVE; plus 2024 is a LEAP Year! 

WIth no less than nearly 110 Observances this month, we’ve not a moment to lose. See what’s on the calendar to celebrate:

First Glimpse of the Exciting, Must-See 2024 PHS Philadelphia Flower & Garden Show, “United by Flowers”

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) revealed new details for its 2024 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, “United by Flowers,” offering a first glimpse/behind-the-scenes of what the Show will look like and what guests like us can anticipate. I attended the Zoom press conference so I can bring you the highlights of what to expect from the March show ~ the nation's largest, and the world’s longest-running horticultural event. Check out details on the exciting lineup events, exhibitors.  And Flowers! 

Garden Avatar? Garden Fairy? AI is Coming to Your Garden. See What Smart Technology Can Do

 

What is your Garden Avatar?  This is mine!  Being ever at the zeitgeist, I just created her.  I’m always happily laboring in the garden, so I felt quite compatible/in simpatico (!) and together, I look forward to working in harmony with her.  

If you had to choose an image that will help you to cultivate your garden dreams for 2024, what would it be?  

This post is a quick click into the world of gardening AI. It’s the talk of the town.  

Just like gardens, AI is ever-evolving.  Here’s a sneak preview of what to expect this year and how you can use garden AI: 

Viewpoints: Observations Looking In The 2023 Rearview Mirror & Looking Ahead: 2024 Perspectives For Home & Garden Style

 

Around this time of year, I like to take stock of the world around me ~ those things that in the past year, I dealt with, confronted and, looking ahead, embrace.  

This isn’t a list of resolutions or “What’s In/What’s Out,” nor is it a "peeve poll"~ it's more a reflection on those cultural touchstones in my areas of expertise I’ve observed that I hope are fading in the rearview mirror and those that I hope we can all embrace in this monumental year ahead. Some are just fun.

I hope you enjoy perusing my list of what to “Let Go Of” and what I predict we'll “Welcome:"

Top Reads ~ Book Reviews For Your Consideration From My 2023 Goodreads Year In Books

It was a good year for bibliophiles. 

There were so very many good books to thrill me, teach me, make me cry, surprise me, guide me, challenge me, and delight me. You? How did your bookbag fare in 2023? 

Here is my Year in Books as recorded from the Goodreads Challenge.  

I get a kick out of how they tally, analyze, and create lists kind of like those high school superlatives.  I hope you’ll find some stimulating suggestions from my 47. Following is kind of movie trailer books review:

Celebrate National Whipped Cream Day with these Delicious, Frothy Drink Recipes!

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What could be more glamorous and fun than to celebrate today ~ it’s National Whipped Cream Day! Call it Chantilly cream or creme Chantilly, milk snow, or snow cream. 

Add a little extra something special to desserts to celebrate on January 5 for National Whipped Cream Day. Not only does it add creaminess and a bit of pizzaz, but it also makes the difference between the ho-hum or a celebration kind of beverage or dessert. 

Here are a few delicious drink recipes to toast this glamorous day. 

The Dramatic, Theatrical Dessert to Serve Post-Holiday: Easy-To-Make Baked Alaska Recipe to Wow Your Guests

 

Baked Alaska - photo courtesy Bernzomatic Blowtorches

If entertaining and dining is not only homegrown, seasonal, and delicious -- but also a bit of theater - then, think about making Baked Alaska for your next dinner party.  

After all, you’ll need a bit of a sparkly topper after all the holiday desserts. 

This fire and ice dessert never fails to add drama; sure to elicit gasps of delight - and applause - from your guests.  

That this elegant dessert is oh-so-easy to make - is a behind the stage secret. Here’s how: