Exploring the Passion for Ornamental Grasses at MetroHort

The first meeting of the New York MetroHort professional group featured Bill Kolvek, nursery owner, member of the Perennial Plant Association, frequent lecturer and New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) and Bergen Community College, teacher about perennials and ornamental grasses. 

Kolvek offered a fast-paced presentation because it was clear he has a lot to say and share.  The audience warms to a speaker who had lots and lots of images to share, and Kolvek didn’t disappoint.  Full-color images of regal, fashionable, architectural, pretty grasses flowed like models on the runway.  And not so coincidently, elicited a few oohs and ahh’s along the way. Take that Victoria Secret!

Kolvek’s insight and knowledge of the grasses and grass-like plants was evident.  He made the lecture fun – with lots of anecdotes and background and real-life experience with growing and maintenance, that is all so important to the hort professionals in attendance.  After all, we have to live with more than the pretty catalog picture… Our clients’ gardens are living art that we manage over seasons.

The variety of ornamental grasses, sedges and rushes is astounding.  And the recent introductions make these plants a must-have addition in the garden and as part of any container garden composition.  Grasses provide a lucky extra in the garden: they offer four-season interest, color, winter beauty and food for pollinators.  Kolvek pointed out that many grasses now thrive in shade.  We also learned about many native grasses including the Carex pennsylvanica.  Nice flowering too. 

I liked the looks of ‘Goldband’ and while I couldn’t quite see it, Kolvek enthused about the plant’s olive green color.  That shade of green is a welcome addition to a garden designer’s palette. Overall, the plant was described as showing with lots of winter interest. The Carex elate 'Aurea' is a startlingly beautiful accessory to the blues and green grasses in the garden.

Love the Aurea with daisies

The Muhlenbergia capillaris grass was hands-down glamorous. Its showy pink plumes are pretty pink tutus that leave one swooning.  

There was mention of its inability to sustain our northeastern US zone 5, 6, 7 and thanks to global warming, 8.  I thought I heard mention this ballerina like grass is good to zone 5.  It’s a tender perennial…

However, I will tell you that I tried twice to include these beauties in Garden State gardens back in ’05 and ’06 and met with little success, even given a southwestern microclimate situation where the grasses were planted next to the house – giving added heat/warmth.   

I would so love to use this beauty (I still have the grower’s postcard in my home garden design office simply because it’s so pretty….

If anyone has other experiences or advice on this, please share.

Kolvek went on to say the Panicum virgatum ‘Dallas Blues’ are the “coolest grass” he’s worked with. 

I love them too and have used them in several clients’ garden designs. 

Especially one in Spring Lake (aka “the Irish Riviera”) in the Garden State. 

Six years ago, I chose to include this grass as an elongated “S” border on one side of the small yard because of its beauty, no doubt – the color complemented the blue house color – but also because of its size and structure and flowering charm.

Panicum amarum ‘Dewey Blue’ was a new one to me and I very much liked the look.  I will surely use these in future garden designs.

Some exciting new introductions that left the audience as breathless as international fashion buyers included the Panicums ‘Thundercloud’ and ‘Ruby Ribbons’  

along with the Pennisetums ‘Fireworks,’ ‘Sky Rocket’ and ‘Cherry Sparkler’  – all with incredible foliage.   

Not hardy in colder climates but I will use as spectacular tender perennials in garden design and container compositions.

There was a pointed inclusion about bamboo – it’s a true grass, after all.

I do feel bamboo is an overlooked design element because too many are afraid of its invasive qualities. However, if you or the garden designer chooses wisely, bamboo is an elegant, unmatched addition to a garden: in containers – if too invasive – or in the landscape. Homeowners too often don’t know the difference. There are those that are indeed invasive (oy are they! We are in a constant battle with one neighbor’s creeping bamboo) and those that are just elegant grasses. I have often frequented Little Acre Farm (www.littleacrefarm.com) to secure such grasses as Fargesia nitidia (grows to about six or seven feet).  

The variegated leaves of the Pleioblastus variegatus is like garden magic – the leaves turn beige in the winter and back to green in the summer.  Just be sure to keep this morphing maven in a contained space – it is one of the bamboos that will take over the garden.   

Tried and true wonders that Kolvek (and me) love include Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ and ‘Little Bunny’ – good to zone 6 but could be ok in zone 5 due to our climate change… These stalwarts of the garden provide consistent texture, color and drama especially for smaller spaces.   Same is true for the variety of Miscanthus.  New to me was the ‘Gold Bar.”  Brilliant color for all-season interest.

Kolvek did warn about the self-sowing of the popular Moudry grasses

A cute highlight was when Kolvek showed how his puppy equally loves grasses and snuggled in this beauty, the clumping ‘Ice Dance’ along with his bone. 

As an adult dog, he still loves his bone-hiding grass! 

Light shade and moisture was suggested for the Carex (more light requires more moisture is a good rule of thumb.)

I loved the Rushes Kolvek previewed, including the Juncus ‘Twisted Arrows’ and ‘Unicorn!’  What fun for a zoo garden. 

I can see an evening solar light illuminating these twisting architectural specimens.

I use Liriope often and don’t feel they are overused when incorporated into a design appropriately and not just plopped all over.  They are hardy, require minimal maintenance and provide color and foliage options that give the garden a four-season interest. 

The new ‘Peedee Ingot’ is adorable.  And the color of preppy green and purple is exciting – I can’t wait to use this beauty.

The Lazula ‘Ruby Stilleto’ gave me a jolt of garden design inspiration just looking at the image! 

I used the Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Arabicus’ in a garden design back in ’01.  Because of the high cost of the Mondo Grass at that time, we used very few to line a walkway in front of dwarf  Nandina.  Over the years, we have divided the clumps with much success.  The black color fronting the winter red nandina and the light to dark green in spring and summer is outstanding.  There are very few black plants for us to use and I adore this one.   

I also use the Hakonechloa macra “Aureola’ and ‘All Gold’ frequently.  All season color and the texture are key. I love the way it feathers and fluffs in the breeze, too.  These grasses looked particularly stunning fronting dwarf Joe Pye Weed. The pink and glowing bright greens made a hit in the garden and with the client.

There was a short, lively Q&A following the exciting lecture with questions included “What kind of grass would you suggest for a 40^th floor rooftop garden in New York City?” Answer:  short ones!  

Kolvek provided the MetroHort attendees a full plant list.  My NYBG friend and all things Horticulture, Charles Yurgalevitch, Ph.D., Director School of Professional Horticulture The New York Botanical Garden, and MetroHort Secretary (and all things Italian) was a true gentleman and shared his plant list with me.  Thank you.

Readers can go directly to the Kolvek Perennial Plants website:

http://www.bkperennials.com/

The native plant list (found on the home page) is a godsend.  Be sure to use this helpful list.  You will be adding not just natural beauty and sustainability to the garden but you will be aiding our native pollinators by using natives and not invasive ornamentals. 

I couldn’t help but notice the lovely botanical art on the Kolvek Perennial home page is an Illustration by Anne Kolvek.  What a talented family!  Thank you for sharing your love of plants and celebrating the art of the Garden!

Home Renovation Update and Tips

Did you ever see a Taper?  They are the most curious of creatures… They look like something out of the movie, “Avatar!”

They walk on stilts in order to tape the sheetrock. 

I love the way they work: so agile and confident on those metal stilts.  There should be some kind of Olympics or Reality Show for construction trades.  I would cheer for this team.

Every trade team has their own unique work style and character. Not unlike major sports teams.

Our Garden State home renovation continues and I have more than a few observations and updates.  Crazy that all this effort marches right through the holidays. 

We are in the midst of the ongoing scenario that reminds me of the Peanuts’ “Pig-Pen” – meaning balls of dust everywhere we step, no matter what one does to ameliorate the “dust.” 

Before - and with some cleanup!

I couldn’t take the disorganization or dust a minute more, so right before Christmas – and before the sheetrock team even did their work, er, dust contribution -- I had to make some sense of it all and put what is now the home office: soon to be the water view side of the master suite back to some kind of order.  

That meant vacuuming multiple times, followed by an equal number of the companion effort of washing the wood floors. Then vacuum then wash, then…

I put some of the books and garden design tools back out from under the tarps.

After cleanup reorg

Then like some inspired, reverse-order Scarlett O’Hara, I staple-gunned sheets to the newly installed windows to create window treatments.  

We felt almost human…

Guest room temporary reorg with Scarlett drapes!

Then two days later, just like Scarlett, I had to rip them down. 

The sheetrock team was here.

And they move the rooms full of sheetrock like a shopping contestant on a timed clock.

They move muy rapido:  Sheet rock hauled into every room from where it was piled like books in the library.

I couldn’t believe this truck wasn’t going to smash into the house when the sheetrock was delivered! 

A big Wii game-like control panel, allows the delivery man, slash tech editor and manager, to expertly and adroitly take on Power Ranger arms to swing these babies inside and stack ‘em up.  

   

The sheetrockers cut the boards, a nail gun drives in the nails to secure the boards and then onto the next spot.  Almost a staccato musical with the swish, swish, zoom, zip, zoom…

Amazing time and motion study.

   

Then the aforementioned Avatar Tapers come in and tape the sheetrock’s seams.

Paste, smooth. Paste, smooth.  Repeated with skill and patience.

Avatar Tapers

At the same time, the siding continued and the front and back covered porch pillars went in and up. 

Trying to keep the workmen’s sharp objects off the newly crafted front porch was a challenge.

Here, UPS delivered the highly anticipated spray foam insulation onto the newly laid bluestone porch. 

Wouldn’t  you think the universal, yellow caution tape oh-so-obviously communicating that it was not OK to go onto the front porch would’ve prevented this drop off on this spot? 

Later, after Christmas, my husband donned a hazmet suit to spray the foam insulation into the roof of the new back covered porch.  Yikes!  This stuff is very scary.  And try “gently” peeling specs off the face – even though hats, goggles and face guard were worn.

It’s times like this one wonders if it’s all worth it.

Then you see the new front door complete xx and you get downright giddy. Especially after you receive wowsy texts from the neighbors applauding the look. 

Me trying out the key on the new front door!

Or you see the sun streaming in and making what look like illuminated floral patterns on the wall.  A magical miracle of sunshine and glass! 

We’ve had the masons complete the reassembly of the back terrace and a new step, allowing egress out of the dining room.   

The electrician has installed some lights (hello 20^th Century. We’re getting there) and the plumber visited too.

We are managing the GC work now ourselves.  We needed to part ways with the one we had due to terms that were laid out to us that we couldn’t meet.

And the relationship had turned ever so swiftly to one that was filled with ill will and recriminations and name calling, of all things, on top of some serious arithmetic errors and budget sleight of hand…. 

We have saved for about ten years to renovate our home. We knew it would be a big deal, a lot of inconvenience and loss of privacy – and money J   but we are patient, modest people.  We never expected the biggest issue to be one of lack of good, decent communication from someone who is supposed to be an advocate for us – one who is paid to work for us.  After the term demands couldn’t have been met, we agreed it was best for us to operate in a more peaceful, respectful way.

I will get a shaman to come in and remove the bad spirits and energies. Just have to find one that is local.

By the way, I do a lot of garden design for my clients utilizing the principles of feng shui and, of course, will do so for us too. I am also applying many of the good energy practices to the house/home design.  I love what is recommended for the front door alone. More on that later.

In an effort to help others pondering or embarking on a home renovation, we offer a few suggestions.

Our Tips for Choosing a GC:

• Do not just check references, but also check other work contacts. Ask the other trades. And/or the competition. Reputations are made and lost on the ability to sustain client relationships and often one or two good jobs, just completed, do not give the full picture.  Look online for reports of abuse.
• Determine the work style of the GC.  If you are the type of person who requires back up and transparency, do not just look at a finished home project to choose your GC. It may have been hell to get there.  Too often homeowners look at the finished pictures in a portfolio and do not gauge how the GC manages the process of the work.  Those of us accustomed to teamwork and corporate work structures cannot abide sloppy, poorly managed and error prone work documents and processes.  Interview the entire work style – not just the finished home work project.
• Ask if the GC has a line of credit. I do. I pay my teams most often way before my client pays me and could use this if needed. Our GC always complained loudly that she did not have any money to pay her teams if we didn’t submit a check immediately.  An established, credible GC should have enough working capital to pay the team(s) until you write the check.  Plus the GC gets their 10-15% from you straight away – and that could help cover the team cost if it is so necessary, right?
• Establish a work process that suits you – the client  - and ask if the proposed GC can work within these guidelines. Say I will prefer meeting notes, emails and/or text and phone updates.  Document it as part of the working contract.   Meeting notes, especially, help clarify what was decided and who is responsible. Keep up the reports even after construction starts.  So many of ours fell to me to do early on and then afterwards meetings turned into an ATM – merely an opportunity to tell us, “I need these checks and now… “ 
• Make certain the GC understands they are responsible for the Spreadsheets and managing of the budget. They are your advocate and need to manage to your stated budget even if that is a working aspirational budget.  They need to update accordingly and be held accountable to meeting the approved working budget.  And share this with you.  You are working the home renovation project together.
• Establish weekly or bi weekly meeting updates that are more about the design and the workflow than about writing checks.  Walk the construction site. See what manifests itself – the space and rooms look different once the work commences than when it was on the blueprint. We only made a few design changes from the start – adding two windows.  But if we had focused on the design work rather than check writing at the meetings, we could all have discovered the need for the windows sooner.  My cousin pointed out to us it might be nice to add the one, and the window in the loft was my idea once I saw the room framed out… I’ve heard of many home renovations going spectacularly over budget due to design changes requiring massive change orders. We didn’t have that.  But do walk the site and see if the work in progress suggests something else you might do at that time and save money later.  Or add something you just can’t live without now that you See it.
• Establish payment schedules. While it is true that most construction trades require a deposit and one can plan for that, there is simply no need for immediate payments and the high drama that goes with demanding checks as soon as the request is sent.  Most every business operates on net-30 or 60 days and there is no reason for home construction to be any different.  Our GC was always in a high drama mode waving pieces of paper with a number on it or emailing demands.  We had to manage our monies and move from various accounts so the immediate turn around didn’t work nor was it necessary.  I found a huge error when I took the time to review the spreadsheet and proposals from the trades.  Further, permits and weather often modify even the best work schedule so payments based on work are not always established as set in stone. 
• But it is always preferred to provide an invoice with the original budget proposal, the back up and the invoice. This standard operating procedure and should be provided with courtesy and clarity.  With proper notice and back up, payment can readily be made with confidence  -- within a week, 30 days, (or a day) whatever is agreed to.  We have continued to pay our excellent trades and craftspeople on this weekly and monthly schedule. No problems. No drama.
• Review the proposals and spreadsheet before signing the contract. Review repeatedly.  Overbudget occurred to us due to sloppy, mis-management errors and no detailed itemized list of necessary items on the proposed and final budget proposal and spreadsheet.
• Establish a realistic timeline for the work.  This way you know you will be moving things for not just “a few weeks” but for a year  -- or whatever.  Demand that you get more than a few weeks’ (or in our case, days – notice – especially if you travel for work) about moving the household items so that you can pack and store with respect and assurance and will know where items are for the duration of the work project.
• Update the workflow and timeline as the work progresses.
• Courtesy and preferred client relations should be a given, but it’s not.  So establish what you need up front.  Everything. Not just the construction work.  Interview many points of contact.  Make it a joyful, blissful project. After all, it’s your dream house.

Landscape Re-Design: How to Install A Parking Court In a Small Front Garden

In late autumn, I got the email from the husband and wife that are two of my most favorite garden design clients, saying they wanted to put in a “driveway.”

They are a charming couple and their too adorable, too smart, modern day Shirley Temple daughter (but better); own a home worthy of a Dwell magazine spread. 

The house is perched on the edge of the Highlands, NJ terrain, with the back side decks and windows looking out to that incomparable view to Sandy Hook, New York’s Brooklyn, Long Island and the glittering Manhattan diamond-studded skyline as only seen from the Garden State.

Yes, the grass IS greener on the other side…   

I am not sure just when Americans determined small was not “good” for a home or even what constitutes small. 

I, for one, am a card-carrying opponent of the McMansion for more reasons than readers will care to hear.  Tearing out farmland to build houses with oh so many rooms that are never used (trust me, I have garden clients that share this scenario) and the use of plants and a watering system that rivals USGA grounds keeping – i.e. tooo much water pounding the yard, non-native plants and -- ooops. I said I would I wouldn’t go into all that.

What I am a fan of is the charm of the couple’s yes, smallish home and yes, its postage stamp sized garden.   

But think Europe or San Francisco or Charleston or other urban gardens and suddenly, one doesn’t feel so constrained but rather inspired. 

And I was.

From the time I met the couple and learned of their garden dreams – for the two of them, the home and especially for their young daughter. 

It was a challenge I cherished.  To bring design and charm to the garden for the family and neighbors to enjoy.

To create garden rooms that would bring pollinators for all to enjoy.  After all, in this part of the Garden State, we are right in the thick of the butterfly path. 

How glamorous!

The front garden was designed and installed in 2008 – just in time for their daughter’s birthday.  Upon completion, it was a TV moment not unlike the “move that truck” Home Improvement branded whoop that characterizes the renovation drama.  The birthday party guests were arriving just as we finished.

It was a squealing moment for us too as the pride of a job well done -- the owners poured champagne for the landscape team.

And the daughter tickled the latent flower buds of the Golden Rain Tree happy in her new flower and plant kingdom…

My Duchess Designs team has helped maintain the garden through spring wake ups and putting the bed to sleep for winters sleep. zzzzzz

But nothing prepared me for the request to add a “driveway” to the yard. 

The back story is the town had agreed to pay for/provide “aprons” to driveways for homeowners as part of the deal to compensate for the Sandy Hook bridge issue (don’t even think that I’m going to write the explanation story behind this disaster.  Let’s just say that the couple and the Highlands town handled this follow up payback masterfully.)

Besides taking advantage of the fact the town was covering the cost for the driveway aprons, the residents -- and in particular, my clients -- saw the opportunity to create a space that their cars could be safe from the demons of the snow plows that lock in the autos more than the natural snow does. 

The utility of the need was what helped drive my garden design concepts.

recycled, colored plastic

I spent time to develop the design concepts and much time researching materials, including colored recycled “rubber”/plastic and stones and what we finally went with, Turf Stone®  

I thought this paver was particularly suited for this design because we could preserve a garden look while establishing a solid parking court area for the cars that will respect the grade of the land and the garden design.

We met, reviewed the design concept options, budget estimates I’d researched and a plan for moving forward.

There was about 16 feet in front of the raised stone bed we created in 2008 where the cars would drive up to. 

Later we determined we’d “take” two additional feet of that raised bed for the parking court. 

We also stole a sizable chunk of the garden for the width to accommodate a car or two, also.  Just about 11’ wide.

All this “stealing” and removing green might have depressed another garden designer.

However, I thought of it as a zen-like garden design challenge to create something from “nothing.”

It was a further challenge to secure the landscaper who could execute the work according to the design, within the budget.

The work was like surgery given the size and scope and grade of the yard.

I did my due diligence and met with three landscapers.

My vote – and heart -- was always with T. Burke Honnold Landscapers. http://www.duchess-designs.com/NewJerseyLandscapeDesigner.html

Burke and his team did the extraordinary work on the garden with the first design.

I have worked with him and his top-notch team since I first started doing landscape design.  I have joyfully sung their praise and the integrity of their craft in news articles and in the feature pieces about me and Duchess Designs in Caroline Seebohm’s book, Cottages and Mansions of the Jersey Shore

http://www.amazon.com/Cottages-Mansions-Jersey-Caroline-Seebohm/dp/081354016X

We were most fortunate Burke agreed to take on the project.  We were set.

It took about three days of work for three men.  There was the removal of the raised beds, taking care with the blue stone in order to recreate “pinched” raised beds with the stones.  Plants were removed to be relocated later. 

The steps leading down to the side of the house were collapsed in order to maintain the grade and allow for the utility of the stairs. The stone stairs were measured and fixed with less of a riser.  This is a feat of engineering and labor. I had pangs of complete respect watching the men wield their level and only after much checking and consulting with one another, did they strap the stone and then lift to its new position. Wow.   

Once the front picket fence was cut – to be re-used as the side of the yard, and the area was cleared of the beds and grass and the sprinkler hoses were moved to the side where new heads in the spring will spray the grass that will grow up in the Turf Stone pavers, 

the team brought the layers of gravel and fine black sand to lay down prior to the pavers.

An oversight on my part led to having to do this work in two stages.  Upon discovery of this, I was overwrought that we lost time on this part of the projectt.  This never happened before… I should have seen the width was not as far over, flush with the side of the house.  I was working in the beds and thought it was being extended accordingly… Nevertheless, a Saturday powwow with the team and client followed and Burke and his team just jumped on it and got the job done. 

True Pros.

And work was executed perfectly, too.

I drove around to three nurseries/garden centers to secure the additional few pavers to complete the job.

The team laid in the pavers: then they marked for cutting, using the level over and over almost like a scraper. Then surgically installed the custom-cut pavers – like pieces in a puzzle.  

Methodically, with pride and precision.

Amazing.

Then the soil went back down, pushed in by hand with a pole and then smoothed over.  Grass seed went in at client’s request and will be followed by seed in the spring…

The fence work hit a snag, literally – at just the exact spot where the fence post was to go in, we discovered a huge, indigenous peanut stone, er boulder.   It was so large it had to be cut, not dug up.  The team was soon back on track and got the line of fence in, anchoring the posts with cement.  The gate was positioned across from where the car door might be once parked.

The plants that were removed were relocated in the new beds and in new spots around the house.

Neighbors started to compliment as early as Saturday morning while the work was being completed.

It is indeed a good design and a solid piece of landscape craftsmanship.  Altogether, it will make the client’s lifestyle better and I daresay increase the value of their home.

The main thing is that even at this time of year in the Northeast US, garden design dreams can come true.  And ultimately, the clients are happy with end result. 

And that makes it worth all the work. 

Put a big red bow on it!

Happy Holidays.

Gingerbread Fantasies Sparkle the Holidays & Botanic Gardens

There is surely no better marriage than that of the garden’s plant parts and the kitchen baker than gingerbread -- with the enduring love interest swirled up by the pixie dust of unbridled culinary imagination. 

Take the spicy ingredients that come from roots, tree bark, flowers and seeds, mix in sweet sugar and molasses, along with some other things to stir the senses and cook up a holiday tradition that takes on shape-shifting forms and designs to dazzle all those sugar plum fairies – and confection dreams in all of us.

It’s no wonder that garden centers and botanical gardens turn to a gingerbread theme for sweet and magical inspiration during the holidays.

Botanical Gardens

Longwood Gardens

Sponsored and produced by Sickles Market recently-launched garden and food tours, a trip to Longwood Gardens revealed an elegant gingerbread-inspired theme. 

According to our favorite garden guide, John Bertram, Longwood boasts 30,000 "Construction Grade" gingerbread ornaments; 10,000 gingerbread cookies, made by local baker Liz Marden, www.lizmarden.com

John also explained the food has a long tradition at Longwood, starting with the DuPont family. (Did you know DuPont is French for "of the bridge?"  That is a perfect metaphor for Longwood Gardens too, as it "bridges" the worlds of edible gardens, display gardens and entertaining.
And January 1st remains "Calling Day"  - a heritage that honors the family women who bake the gingerbread for the community and the men who call on the neighbors to share the holiday home-baked treats.

“This year Christmas at Longwood is sweeter than ever as the gardens are transformed into a gingerbread fantasyland featuring fanciful and imaginative displays.

Longwood landmarks recreated in gingerbread stand beneath towering trees adorned with gingerbread ornaments and the candy-laden Music Room overflows with sweet and colorful holiday cheer that look like crayola-colored ornaments in the jars stacked on candy store shelves behind,” according to Longwood.    

The conservatory and original Du Pont homestead are lovingly rendered in a gingerbread house that will leave viewers breathless with their heart stopping architecture and spun sugar and “Cookie Construction!

Gingerbread wreaths hang with sweet dignity and gingerbread cookies drip from almost every tree and floral display at Longwood Gardens. 

Docents are on hand with spicy samples to describe and delight visitors about gingerbread’s starring role.   

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/christmas.html

Kirsty Dougherty, Director of Tours and Training, and Natale Siclare, Sickles Market, sprinkled a bit of their own pixie dust on the second luxury trip to Longwood in as many months.  And could a man whose name means Christmas (Natale) not be the ideal holiday garden tour guide?! He located everything from unique garden plants to secret doors!

Red Twigged Dogwood allee fronting the English Yew

Our favorite expert Longwood Garden Tour Guide, John Bertram, who volunteered just for us. How much do you love that bald cypress  mulch - and John! His garden tales & historical references make the Garden ever more exciting & interesting.

Along with Bob and Tori Sickles, and a chorus of Sickles elves, er staff, the trip was masterfully managed with just the right elixir to set the fa, la, la merry tone for holiday garden and food cheer. 

Who better than Sickles’ expert cheesemonger, Cheri Scolari to lead the fun wine and cheese tasting on the trip home.  After a delightful day strolling Longwood’s gingerbread-laden holiday horticultural displays,  travel guests were snugly ensconced on the bus, and were soon astonished to receive a box of treats, courtesy of Sickles’ food elves.  Oohs and ahhs soon led to mmmmm. 

Cheri guided eager guests to discover  a variety of three cheeses, and a choice of two wines. 

For the Holiday wine and cheese tasting led by Cheri, the gifted treats included:

            The Garden State’s Cherry Grove Buttercup Brie, soft ripened cow's milk

            Zamorano, aged raw sheep's milk, Spain (like Manchengo but better)

            Parmigiano Reggiano – aged raw cow's milk, Italy (Aged two years, from grass fed cows in the DOC = District Controlled Cheese, as authorized by the Italian governement.)

Accompanied by Marcona almonds and dried figs (be still my heart!)

            Pasticceri Filippi panettone artisanal handcrafted and wrapped in Vincenza, Italy.  Full story here by Cheri on Sickles’ blog: http://bit.ly/rpX2op

A show of hands voted the Reggiano the favorite. My hands-down winning taste favorite

is the Lawrenceville, NJ grass-fed happy cow-in-the-pasture petite, creamy, buttery brie.  This was especially good with chardonnay or a Fume Blanc, according to Cheri.  She is a treasure trove of knowledge about wine and cheese pairings and food stories and legends and recipes. Don't miss her blogs or her feature piece in www.currentsNJ.com -- "Wine and Cheese: A Marriage Made in Heaven."
And she is just someone you want to have to dinner to enjoy her food bliss!

Sickles' Natale Siclare & Maria Steinberg

My garden design client and muse, Maria Steinberg, took home the raffle winning Sickles confection, Gingerbread house, re-gifted by Lucy Matchett, our garden friend!  

And the good will didn’t stop there.

I received this gorgeous paperwhite composition designed by Natale, that “clever clogs” as Kirsty says.  And now the fragrance is in full, sweet throttle. I love paperwhites. 

I know there are those who find the smell too heady. But not me. It just spells Christmas in a stately, in-your-senses kind of way.

Sickles Paperwhites floral design & look at the glamorous gift bag!

And then, just when it couldn’t get any better, I received an email from Maria, saying she was going to Sickles to get all the tasting treats and would I want her to pick me up some?

You bet, I reply. 

On the following Saturday, Maria gives me the full foodie treat “treatment” (hmm, maybe that’s the genesis of that word!).  In any event, I was the lucky, lucky, happy recipient of the wine and cheese tasting – times two!  Every cheese and the hand bow-tied panettone is superlative.

New York Botanical Garden (www.nybg.org) visitors should make a second stop after the Holiday Train show to indulge in the Gingerbread Adventures found a short walk away in the Everett Children’s Garden. Families shouldn’t miss the display of gingerbread houses.

This reporter launched the gingerbread house holiday program while working at NYBG – beginning with the Soutine Bakery from the upper west side in Manhattan – and am thrilled to see the special gingerbread display has taken on a tradition all its own.

According to NYBG: “Some of New York’s best and most imaginative bakers prepare an exhibit of whimsical, one-of-a-kind gingerbread creations sure to capture the imaginations of children and adults alike, while evoking all the wonder of the winter holiday season. 

The bakers who are creating themed “Gingerbread Fantasy Houses” this year are: Lauri DiTunno, Cake Alchemy, Manhattan www.cakealchemy.com/

Irina Brandler, Sugar and Spice Bake Shop, the Bronx www.sugarandspiceonline.com/

 Kaye and Liv Hansen, Riviera Bakehouse, Ardsley, NY www.thewhimsicalbakehouse.com/

and Kate Sullivan, Cake Power, Manhattan www.cakepower.com/

Other botanical gardens featuring gingerbread holiday houses and displays include Cleveland Botanic Garden (www.cbgarden.org), Boerner Botanical Gardens in Wisconsin and Huntsville Botanic Gardens (www.hsvbg.org)

The United States Botanic Garden http://www.usbg.gov/  and the garden even provides gingerbread house templates online: http://www.usbg.gov/whats-happening/exhibits/upload/Green-Roof-Gingerbread-House.pdf

Look for gingerbread displays in local hotels and restaurants too.

Who better to get a classic gingerbread recipe from than the award-winning, best-selling cookbook author Claudia Fleming?  The following gingerbread recipe will be featured in this my soon to be published “Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.”

Recipes

North Fork Table and Inn, Claudia Fleming, Pastry Chef: (http://www.northforktableandinn.com/)

North Fork Table and Inn GINGERBREAD

STOUT BEER                   1 CUP                       

MOLLASSES                    1 CUP                       

BAKING SODA                ½ TBLS           

WHOLE EGGS 3 EA

WHITE GRAN SUGAR ½ CUP

DARK BROWN SUGAR ½ CUP

VEGETABLE OIL ¾ CUP

FRESH GRATED GINGER 2 ½ TBLS

AP FLOUR 2 CUPS

BAKING POWDER ½ TBLS

GROUND GINGER 2 TBLS

CINNAMON ¾ TSP

CLOVES 1/4TSP

NUTMEG ¼ TSP

CARDOMON 1/8 TSP

1.  SET OVEN TO  350 DEGREES. COMBINE BEER AND MOLLASSES IN SAUCEPAN, BRING TO BOIL. ADD BAKING SODA. (USE A LARGE POT, IT WILL FOAM UP) ALLOW TO COME TO ROOM TEMPERATURE
2. IN A LARGE BOWL, COMBINE FLOUR AND SPICES.
3. WHISK TOGETHER SUGAR AND EGGS, ADD OIL, WHISK WELL. ADD BEER/MOLLASSES MIXTURE, WHISK WELL.
4. ADD LIQUID TO DRY SLOWLY, MIXING WELL. MIX IN FRESH GINGER.
5. BUTTER (WELL) AND FLOUR A BUNDT PAN. POUR MIXTURE INTO PREPARED PAN BAKE APPROX 45 MIN – 1HR. UNTIL CAKE SPRINGS BACK TO THE TOUCH.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES

And from the “all things food and garden gurus at Sickles, is the following gingerbread recipe:

Sickles Market Gingerbread Cookies

3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)

1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

Royal Icing

1 egg white

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)

Method

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.

Royal Icing

The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat egg whites and lemon juice together, adding the powdered sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks. With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs, you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, heat in a microwave until the mixture's temperature is 160°F. Then remove from microwave, and beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 Tbsp egg white powder with 2 Tbsp water. Proceed as you would otherwise. (Raw egg white alternatives from the 2006 Joy of Cooking)

If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag with the icing to pipe out into different shapes. (Or use a plastic sandwich bag, with the tip of one corner of the bag cut off.) Keep the icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.

http://sicklesmarket.com/a/make-gingerbread-cookies