Wednesday, August 4, 2021

How to Build an International Food Brand: Inspiring Story from Natalia Ravida, Sicily's Award-Winning Family Olive Oil Maker

 

It was my first International Ladies Who Lunch Conversation. 

I pursued Natalia Ravida as a special guest to talk about her successful career in the food industry, building a global brand and her adherence to high quality.  From the first time I met Natalia as part of the European Union’s outreach here in the US where she joined two other key industry leaders as part of the Italian Consortium, CEQ Italia, along with the Spanish EVOO Association QVExtra! International.  I worked for the Consortium, and I couldn’t help but be impressed with her confident, cool-handed smarts and her cosmopolitan style.   

Natalia Ravida is president and owner of RAVIDA' Azienda Agricola, an Italian olive oil producer just west of Menfi and she linked in from her family’s farm estate. As part of the Ladies Who Lunch Conversation, I asked her about her career trajectory, and she explained how she left a career as an international print, radio and television journalist to develop a quality olive oil brand, RAVIDA, out of the oil produced on the family estate in Menfi, Sicily. Natalia works full time in her family’s olive oil business, combining brand promotion with farm tours, olive oil tastings and cooking classes.

I asked her about how she built her family’s brand “empire” - and she laughed a bit saying it’s not exactly an empire but rather a small business run by her and her sisters. I’ll add that I love it all even more knowing that a family team of women make this magic.  

Later I asked her how she fared in this business as a woman. You’ll be charmed by her description of how having no sibling brothers - the first time in 13 generations - contributed to her fearless prowess in business, perhaps.  

You’ll enjoy the background story of how she grew up and went to schools in Kenya, Rome, and London (hence her charming British “accent.”)  And how she convinced her engineer father to take over the reins of the farm from her grandfather when he wanted to hand over the business. The family farm at La Gurra has been in the Ravida family since 1770! All I could think was thank goodness Natalia and her sisters kept this jewel of legacy. Maybe not surprising, she tells how her engineer father made some modernizing upgrades to the farm’s operations. That and his love and respect for nature, especially for those old trees  - set them up for future success. When they finally won their first award - and Sicily’s first for olive oil, then he threw his full support behind the business.  And the awards never stopped coming.  Recently, Natalia and her sisters introduced a limited edition blend as an homage to their father: Nicolo’s Blend.  I can imagine the love that went into this special release and can’t wait to taste it. 

I asked Natalie what she knew about the olive oil business when they started their reign at the farm.  “Nothing,” she replied with a smile.  “But I knew I loved it!” she added enthusiastically.  (Olive oil, that is.)

She tells how in the early days she would always carry bottles back on the plane with her to London and friends would ask, “What is this?!”  The taste was so unique to them. Quite different from the store bought stuff, I am willing to bet.  Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s it was really the wine producers who started producing good olive oil.  When I asked how folks got their olive oil, Natalie described how in the south of Italy - people would go to the olive oil presses bringing their jars with them and would buy say, 50 litres  -  enough for most of the year.  So good olive oil was had at home in Italy but nothing for the  international customer. There were  just the cheap supermarket brands. This bad industrial olive oil paved the way for such product misunderstanding for so long that that the high-quality olive oil producers work assiduously to debunk - decades later.  

Estate olive oil like Ravida’s is grown on the farm, overlooking the beautiful and pristine Mediterranean Sea, in a sanctuary of preserved flora and wildlife, and hand-picked at the harvest - a process much like vintners growing grapes for their wines.

You’ll hear Natalia describe how important all this is for the taste of their olive oil - how a good quality olive oil will have a mild, medium, or intense grassy nose; a long peppery taste in the back of the throat and a beautiful, Ravida finish is very clean. Not greasy on lips. It tastes of fresh grass or leaves, lemons, salt and/or artichokes. 

Depending on the variety, olive oil and the extra virgin olive oil has its own distinct character – fruity or aromatic, sweet or bitter, with differing intensity of the spicy aftertaste. These extra virgin olive oils all have their own nuances, contrasts and flavors, but what they have in common is that their production has been closely controlled – from the flower to the bottle – with the main aim of providing the highest possible quality.
 

Did you know the terroir and the variety affects the taste of a good olive oil?  Again, like vintners, the soil and the climate affects the taste. Natalia made us all pea-green when she tells us their farm looks out on the Mediterranean - so there’s the effect of salt air in the olives.  They also grow in the mountains nearby and those olives have a milder taste. 

Do you know how long olive trees can live?  Tune in to find out :)  Natalie reveals the longevity of these astonishing trees - whose trunks can look like elephant feet. And describes the three Sicilian native tree varieties they nurture. 

I asked Natalia for some pearls of wisdom about a career in the food business. Hear how she explains her love of food. “As Italians, in Sicily, it’s a way of sharing.” Seasonal ingredients are the base of everything they do. And they don’t use a drizzle of olive oil. No, they let the ingredients take up that oil!  I can personally attest to this! “If the olive oil is a good quality, it adds taste & flavor,” she noted. Natalia gives a few of her cooking experiences before making her family’s award-winning olive oil ~ and after, in order to amplify the point. Some are funny ones we can all relate to.  I admire and respect that Natalia is a kind of her own focus group and test kitchen. Because she’s both a prolific and a good cook; she has the gravitas to teach us how to use the olive oil in the best way - to make our dishes and recipes soar.  

We then moved on from the exquisite taste to the health benefits of good olive oil.  This liquid gold checks all the boxes: high antioxidants, higher nutritional value, helps prevent heart disease and there’s studies about its effect on doing likewise for dementia.  She told us about her father “just knew” the olive oil had high levels of vitamin D; so she is planning to test this theory.  Wonderful!  I can think of many women and ederly folks who will very much appreciate knowing that olive oil can help support healthy bone density. 

Never one to sit on their success with “just” the olive oil, not too long ago, Ravida also started harvesting salt from the nearby sea and offering different flavors, including fennel and oregano sea salt as part of their collection.  Brand extension!  Again, Natalia focused on simple, natural, seasonal ingredients that she uses, i.e. olive oil and local salt, to add to seasonal fruits and vegetables especially, like chopped tomatoes.  See below for one of her recipes. 


I asked Natalia to showcase her book and she held it up, turning some pages to some of her favorite dishes, including sardines with pine nuts and salt and olive oil.  Sounded just heavenly to me.  Bill? Not so much.  Ha.   

In all seriousness, we are advocating that the publisher, New Holland, reprints her book, Seasons of Sicily 

Don’t you just love this tempting cover food art? Talk about “eating with your eyes first…” The book is brimming with Natalia’s simple, delicious family and regional recipes. 


Natalia then shows the viewer each of her olive oils from the Ravida collection. The bottles are as pretty as a still-life, too. Not unlike using their nearby sea salt, her family saw opportunity with their orange and lemon trees, Pressing and extracting  into their EVOO. You can mix with their marsala vinegar, she suggested or use the mandarin orange with duck, lamb, tomatoes. Or on mozzarella.  They go with so much.  She noted that the lemon EVOO just won an award in the UK. 

I am over the moon happy to share the news that at the time of the Ladies Who Lunch Conversation with Natalia, she broke the news that RAVIDA had just obtained GOLD at the prestigious New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) ~ their 33rd award in 30 years of business.

In the Olive Oil Times, Natalia was quoted as saying, "Reaching the top ranks of the world’s leading olive oil contest confirms our commitment to offering the final consumer an excellent quality oil. It's a must have harvest! Grassy, peppery, elegant: RAVIDA at its best!” 

Where to Find Ravida's Olive Oil

You can shop the Ravida website for everything at www.ravida.it and in the US from www.Olio2 Go.com Williams Sonoma, Formaggio Kitchen in Boston and many other outlets coming up soon. Bill and I have long purchased our RAVIDA Olive Oil at Sickles Market when we are at our country house in the Garden State. Natalia promised that this year’s blends are excellent due to a great harvest!   

I sincerely hope you learn from the Conversation: about the different plants - olive tree plants and how they account for different taste characteristics, production methods and standards, benefits and the role of extra virgin olive oil in the Mediterranean diet, key elements in determining quality, how terroir influences flavor profiles, and how to cook with olive oil and EVOO. I also hope you will be inspired by a remarkable, successful woman...

Here is the link to the Ladies Who Lunch Conversations with Natalia 

And just as we were wrapping up, the tech gremlins had their way. Yet, not to be cheated out of a proper goodbye sign-off, Natalia demonstrated her attention to detail and the appropriate way to end a conversation by jumping right back on a linked call. What a professional! A truly inspiring woman...

I noted, “We are polite people,” and of course, wanted to bring Natalia back. 

So, just like in a novel’s dramatic resolution, here is the Denouement of my Ladies Who Lunch with Natalia Ravida - from her farm in Sicily ~ completing the part about the old tree varietals.  (Denouement means, “untying the knot” ~ the conclusion after a narrative. So it’s really a perfect resolution.)

We could honestly toast arrivederci and grazie mille/molte grazie..  

Too much for just one video conversation (ha!); please enjoy the two video Conversations with Natalia and me!  

Food News & Recipes

For her Happy May posting on her website, Natalia tells how she put together “a special sea salt gift to uplift your daily meals wherever you are. Be it a mango and avocado salad, a gently poached or fried egg, a sprinkling of natural sea salt combined with our wonderful, luscious olive oil can turn a simple meal into a gourmet affair.  Natalia recommends you “make sure to have this magnesium rich flavor enhancer in your cupboard alongside a fresh bottle of olive oil.”  Not surprisingly, she says it’s what she uses in her kitchen everyday.  On top of this, being a natural unrefined sea salt (with no additives), you need so much less to achieve your final flavor profile.

And did you know olive oil oxidizes in contact with oxygen, heat and light?

Natalia explains: “Olive oil is a delicate product that needs to be properly stored.

The high level of natural antioxidants (found in quality olive oils) will give it a longer shelf  life maintaining its flavor and taste.

Yet, she writes, that these wonderful characteristics will slowly disappear once the bottle is left open, near a source of heat, its top greasy with oil that has been poured out. Gradually, the oxidation process sets off destroying all those divine flavors and precious nutritional properties.”

To store olive oil in total absence of light and oxygen, back in 1993 we introduced the Oilbox to the world of olive oil. See where she keeps her Oilbox? Handy for all her cooking. Its spout is flexible and the box equally handy, she describes how she can readily pour oil on a slice of bread from her Oilbox.   I confess, as I was writing this and read Natalia’s tips, I had to take a break and go tear off a piece of my mother’s delicious homemade bread ~ now referred to as “Ginny’s Bread,” thanks to Wendy and Ken's sweet moniker.  I took a piece of the heel of the bread and christened the bread with some of Ravida’s liquid gold on it.  Mmmmmm…. 




Recipe          

Here is her favorite tomato salad recipe. Bright, red..the color of love. 

To make the salad, Natalia says: 

  • start by cutting half an onion into slivers and marinate 5-10 minutes with a cup of water and 1 tbsp of RAVIDA's wonderfully aromatic Marsala Wine Vinegar.

  • Meanwhile chop 8/10 sun-ripened cherry tomatoes in half or quarters.

  • Squeeze excess water from the onion, add to the tomatoes and season with a pinch of RAVIDA Oregano Sea Salt to taste, 2 tbsp of RAVIDA Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and a dash more RAVIDA Vinegar.

Enjoy Sicily on your plate!


Olive Oil Cocktail

And back in the “Before Times” ~ in 2018 to be exact ~ the year I first started working on the two-year project with the Consortium, I was inspired to create an olive oil cocktail as a delicious homage.  

The ingredients included in my crafted Olive Oil cocktail is made with blood orange infused olive oil,  Salerno, Aperol, orange blossom water, and either Pelligrino (or any other sparkling water).  


Please email me for the recipe. It's a delicious keeper.

*Images of Ravida Estate, Farm, Natalia in her kitchen and products are courtesy of Ravida web site. Screen shots and the beautiful Natalia and olive oil cocktail are mine. 

Saturday, May 29, 2021

A Fantasy Tea Party Celebration Interview Showcases How to Balance Family, Career, & Community, Plus Tablescape & Menu Ideas

 

It seems like almost yesterday that my dear Homegrown friend, Nancy Valarella, reached out to me to suggest that she and her culinary cohort, Myra Naseem, be interview guests on my recently-launched Ladies Who Lunch Conversations show on Facebook. 

She had me at Tea Party!

Nancy suggested our upcoming interview segment feature a Mother’s Day Tea Party theme. 

Oh the possibilities!  I was transported to visions of elegant Bridgerton, Barry Lyndon, and whimsical Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter for a fantasy tablescape and fashions ....

Meanwhile, Nancy was explaining that Myra is affectionately known as “Mama” Myra by her family and close friends. This prompted me to invite my own Mother, Virginia, to co-host the special Mother’s Day Ladies Who Lunch tea party with me. 

This was to be my first "Double Feature" interview, meaning two ladies to interview on the guest side, and in turn, two at my table: Me and Mother. Just to balance things out. And allow me to showcase my beautiful Mother :)

I know Nancy from my Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook. As you will see and hear in the Ladies Who Lunch interview, we have had a few Thelma & Louise adventures! 

From the start, Nancy was abuzz with the food and drink possibilities and ideas about their pretty table design to highlight the springtime tea party. See, Nancy possesses not only a culinary cachet but also a “look-book” styling talent that embellishes an entertaining composition, in every season. From the get-go, the stars were aligning portending this was going to be a truly elegant episode. 

From her first postings on social media, Nancy showcased the incredibly beautiful, antique china sets her father-in-law brought back from Japan where  he was stationed while in the service.  

 

I was gobsmacked. Not only for their delicate charm and macaron colors but also because they are still in pristine condition. Not a broken handle or chip in any of the pieces!  That’s surely tender loving care and respect for the entertaining tableware…

You can view Nancy’s china art sets on her Facebook page: @What’sCookinLongIslandLocavore and at her Instagram: @lilocavore495 to see her museum-worthy china art. 

We also owe deep gratitude to SerendipiTea   

Flavour Fields, and Hither Brook Floral & Gift BoutiqueNancy, Myra, and me thank you from the bottom of our homegrown hearts for sharing your exquisite products - the best ingredients ~ that elevated our cocktail and food recipes. We unabashedly recommend these tea blends. And don’t get me started about Flavour Fields’ microgreens, herbs, spices, and be-still-my-finishing-touches heart: edible flowers. Please check out these inspired growers and small business wonders. 

Speaking of wonders, during the Ladies Who Lunch episode, we learned how Myra acquired her “Mama Myra moniker.” (Wow. I always love a kind of alliteration but I think this is a first for me to showcase three!) and how her B.S. in Home Economics from SUNY and a master’s degree from NYU, and teaching job in Patchogue High School all continue to contribute to what is now her decades-on success in her catering and cooking classes career. Listen to how she describes her teaching and instructional pedigree… 

Along with her partner, Neil, Elegant Eating has been a catering gem in the Smithtown/Stony Brook area for over three decades. 

Nancy noted that “Elegant Eating food tastes as good as it looks. In addition to putting food in our bellies and smiles on our faces, both Neil and Myra have been actively supporting the community. In 2017, Myra and the team were honored by the Smithtown Children’s Foundation for their effort and support within the Smithtown community.”

This fall, 2021, the Smithtown Historical Society is honoring “Mama” Myra for her steadfast support and will be recognized with the “Rockwell Award.” 

Here’s a bit of context for the Rockwell Award: 

The Rockwell Award honors the memory of Charles Embree Rockwell, who through his generous donation of Roseneath Cottage and the surrounding property has enabled the Society to grow and become an integral part of the community. This year’s recipient Myra Naseem, co-owner of Elegant Eating demonstrates this same generous spirit through her contributions of goods and services to the Smithtown Historical Society’s many events. By donating numerous culinary creations and exquisite tablescapes as well as providing top level service, Myra has helped to make our events beautiful and successful. It was because of Myra’s generosity and talent for adapting during the pandemic, that the Historical Society was able to hold a compliant celebration of our 2020 honorees this past October. Myra has also generously provided delicious treats for other events such as our Honoree Breakfast and our Evening with a Star Interview series; garnering praise and appreciation from attendees. Additionally, Myra has brought many new sponsors to the Historical Society and it is for this generosity of spirit and willingness to work for the good of the Society that we wish to thank Myra.

Please view the Ladies Who Lunch episode to understand better Myra’s advice for female entrepreneurs looking to start and grow a burgeoning business…“If you are willing to put the time and effort into it, anything is possible” are some of Myra’s pearls of wisdom and inspiration.

Nancy, too, is an inspiring woman. After a career in technology, Nancy became a full-time Mother and caregiver to her three daughters. When the youngest entered middle school, the desire to re-enter the world was fulfilled by food writing and volunteer work.

While writing for hyper-local publications, she was asked to chair fundraising events for Stony Brook University’s Nutrition Department and the Smithtown Children’s Foundation. Nancy later became an Advisory Board Member and Public Relations contact for the Smithtown Children’s Foundation.

You can purchase Myra’s cookbook and help support this effective community Foundation. In 2015 Nancy was honored with the Inspirational Community Leader Award given by the Smithtown Children’s Foundation.

Nancy is proud to note that she has had the honor of cooking alongside regionally renowned Chefs Guy Reuge and Tom Schaudel, has rubbed elbows and has shared banter with culinary icons Martha Stewart, Chefs Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, Michael Symon and restaurateur extraordinaire, Danny Meyer.

Nancy’s foodie chops include: recipe development, cooking contests winner.  I regret that I only recently learned she had a recipe featured in the Wall Street Journal!  


Nancy also had a recipe featured in Newsday for her Spiralized Zucchini Noodles with Poached Chicken Tenders.  

I so love that Nancy wrote that she has stopped counting the number of cookbooks in her collection. We all need more cookbooks!

In fact, as you’ll hear on the Ladies Who Lunch Conversations I am going to strongly advocate that a smart publisher take on Nancy to create a Polish inspired cookbook, with a kind of deconstructed or derivative take on some classic dishes.  I think this style of ethnic recipes is ready for its moment! All good, healthy, traditional comfort food with a twist of updated elegance and style. 

Don’t you agree? 


Nancy has also been a catalyst for all things local in her environ as a Farmers’ Market Manager & Cooking Demonstrator at Long Island Greenmarkets. In addition to numerous local publications, Nancy’s writing has been published regionally in Edible Long Island and the Long Island Press. 

Nancy and Myra are truly inspirational: managing family, career, and community. We salute these great dames and I’m proud to have had the opportunity to explore their journeys.  Not to be outdone, my mother Virginia also shares her ability to balance a career as a registered nurse with raising a family.  

I’ve always admired that Ginger Rogers’ quote about “doing everything backwards in high heels” to emphasize that ladies make it look easy in spite of difficulty.  

I bow to you inspired ladies. I salute you.  And really ~ every day is Mother’s Day.   Thank you, Nancy, Myra, and Mother!  It is a lovely Tea Party indeed. And you not only inspired my early-May tablescape but you also prompted me to showcase my childhood tea party set! Girls love tea parties.

This episode fueled a unique, fun, Bridgerton meets Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter tea party tablescape! You all can see a video capture on my YouTube. (and subscribe too, please.) wink. 

Entertaining table decor and inspiring women is a potent combination for fun and fantasy and all good things…. Cheers. 

 

 


Thursday, April 29, 2021

Check This Out: New York Botanical Garden's Antique Garden Furniture 1st Dibs Preview Party is Virtual Tonight; Followed by Weeklong Events with Exhibitors & Superb Garden Programs


 

I love(d) this event in the "before times," where all The Who's Who in the garden and exterior design world gathered and hobnobbed for cocktails, conversations, and getting their first dibs on rare and unusual gotta' have plants for your collection, as well as the chance to discover and score a perfect antique and/or piece of exterior design for their garden rooms.

A few years back, one of my most delightful and favorite garden design clients set her eye for beauty on these charming, Four-Season Cherubs that nowgive sanctuary and grace her white marble parking courts.

  

Festivities for this year's show begin on Thursday, April 29, 2021, with a Preview Party Featuring the Collectors’ Plant Auction.

Public Access to the Fair Runs from Saturday, May 1 to Friday, May 7, 2021.

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) will present its much-anticipated Antique Garden Furniture Fair virtually this year in a weeklong event from Thursday, April 29 to Friday, May 7, 2021, featuring unique offerings from leading antique dealers, including classic furniture and fine garden antiques—some with a modern twist, both elegant and inspiring—for the home and garden.

Festivities begin on Thursday, April 29, with an exclusive Preview Party Featuring the Collectors’ Plant Auction, from 4 to 7 p.m. Ticket holders will receive a special early access link that will allow them to purchase objects from the Fair exhibitors’ offerings and bid on a curated collection of exquisite and beautifully grown garden plants handpicked by NYBG’s horticultural staff. Proceeds support NYBG and its premier horticultural programs. 

For Preview Party tickets and information, please e-mail Thao Phan at tphan@nybg.org or call 718.817.8774.



The Antique Garden Furniture Fair is the ideal virtual venue for finding design inspiration for the home and garden, learning about garden antiques, and building personal collections. 

Public access to the Fair begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, when a link to the exhibitors’ offerings will be posted on the Fair’s webpage. The exhibitors’ online showcases will remain accessible for purchases until 12 p.m. on Friday, May 7.


During the Fair, a selection of virtual programs will be available on the Fair’s webpage, including short videos spotlighting some of this year’s exhibitors, lectures by leading designers, a special documentary screening, and a floral design demonstration. The lineup of programs, which will be available to Preview Party ticket holders on Thursday, April 29, and to the general public beginning Saturday, May 1, features the following:
  •   Spotlight on Exhibitors videos, providing insight into the world of antiques through the perspectives of six exhibitors (Find Weatherly, Westport, Conn.; Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, Katonah, N.Y.; Milne’s At Home Antiques, New York, N.Y., and Kingston, N.Y.; New England Garden Company, Sudbury, Mass.; Pagoda Red, Chicago, Ill.; and Jeffrey Tillou Antiques, Litchfield, Conn.)

  •   Cultivating a Creative Life, a lecture by potter, gardener, cook, and entrepreneur Frances Palmer, who centers her creative life—and daily photo shoots—in an airy studio inside her Connecticut barn with a focus on determination, routine, prioritization, perseverance, and perspective.

  •   An Eye for Designa lecture by Kathryn Herman, founding principal of Kathryn Herman Design in New Canaan, Conn., who brings a strong horticultural background and intense interest in architecture to her international residential and commercial landscape design work.

  •   Beatrix Farrand’s American Landscapes, the 2019 documentary by director Stephen Ives and horticulturist Anne Cleves Symmes, which explores the life and innovative ideas of one of the most influential and creative garden designers of the early 20th century whose work includes NYBG’s Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.

  •   A floral demonstration video in which celebrated designers Michael and Darroch Putnam of Putnam & Putnam will create a centerpiece in keeping with their signature opulent and densely layered style, using color as the guiding principle.

    *Antique Garden Furniture Fair and Preview Party sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts

ANTIQUE GARDEN FURNITURE FAIR 2021 EXHIBITOR LISTING (In formation)page2image45607616

David Bell Antiques
Brennan & Mouilleseaux Antiques Dinan & Chighine Ltd
Find Weatherly
Finnegan Gallery
Garvey Rita Art & Antiques
Hawthorne Fine Art
Barbara Israel Garden Antiques Richard Kazarian Antiques
Glen Leroux Antiques
Milne’s At Home Antiques
New England Garden Company Pagoda Red
Francis J. Purcell
Rayon Roskar
Red Fox Fine Art
Thistlethwaite Americana
Jeffrey Tillou Antiques
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge Inc.
 

Van Roÿen Antiques & Objects 

Withington & Company





The New York Botanical Garden is located at 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10458. It is easy to reach by Metro-North Railroad, bus, or subway. NYBG is open year-round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit nybg.org

Sunday, April 25, 2021

FREE Floratopia Garden Book Autographed by Author Jan Johnsen, Plus My Floratopia Book Review


As the landscape designer, artist, and author, Jan Johnsen quotes in her latest book, Floratopia, “More than anything, I must have flowers, always, always.” And who am I to argue with that master of extraordinary flower paintings, Claude Monet?

In fact, I couldn’t agree more. Flowers are our muses, too.

I think it’s safe to say that flowers are the reason why we garden in the first place. We are irresistibly drawn to the color, the scent, the texture.

Never mind that all that beauty is meant to attract pollinators!

The fact is, flowers inspire so many artful craftspeople: jewelry designers, musicians, chef and cooks, painters, textile and fashion designers, interior designers, lighting designers, poets, writers, and of course, gardeners.

No matter who is doing the rendering, flowers symbolize beauty, and love…

Speaking of love, in reviewing Jan’s Floratopia, I couldn’t help but feel the love of her craft and her passion for designing landscapes featuring the allure of flowers ~ that connection to their seductive charm but also the respect for their role in “sustainable and eco-friendly gardens” that jumps off every page.

So it should come as no surprise that I, in turn, love this book! It’s so very inspiring.

The only difficult part was not re-reading the tips and looking at the great color photos from Jan’s portfolio of landscape designs that are featured on every page while I was writing this post! Ha. Like flowers, the book lures you; tempts you with its creativity, design compositions, and practical advice.

Recently, Jan was an honored guest on my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations Facebook event ~ thank you so very much Jan! We learned so much about your fascinating journey to becoming a leading landscape designer and garden author of so many successful books.

With regard to Floratopia, I commented how I especially loved that you use the first-person in the book. You seemed a wee bit surprised saying that no one else had noted that. I find this especially 5-star worthy, because when reading the tips and your “Green Thoughts” musings, your voice is authoritative; reassuring. It adds a level of intimacy and trust that so many other garden books lack. Thank you for that important detail.

Win a Free Floratopia book! A Floratopia Book Giveaway
For Garden Glamour readers and viewers of Ladies Who Lunch, Jan and her publisher, The Countryman Press, have generously and graciously agreed to gift a Floratopia book ~ autographed by Jan ~ to a lucky flower and garden enthusiast.

Please email me your answer to the questions:
  1. What is your favorite flower? 
  2. What is the flower combination you can’t live without? (e.g.: Dusty Miller soft grey, purple Angelonia, and pink Vinca or Siberian Bugloss and Purple Pansies; as Jan shows in Floratopia. The colors and textures are fabulous!)
  3. Where do you garden? Planters? Window Boxes, Borders? Community Garden? 
Too busy gardening to answer? Please just email me. (smile)

Email to: Leeann@Duchess-Designs.com

I’ll review the entries and let you all know who the lucky flower-lover is! So exciting…

If you can’t wait for the Giveaway ~ and who could blame you ~ please order from the above link and share the good news about your Floratopia purchase. Whether looking for that hands-on, voice of experience or if you just want to pursue an aspirational garden lifestyle, you will embrace the artful looks and prose in Floratopia. It might not surprise you that, as Jan revealed on our Ladies Who Lunch Conversation, she was a painter and architectural student and enthusiast early in her career. Her artful approach to landscape design is evident throughout her book.

There’s another inspiring quote that touched my garden soul that Jan features as the head note on her Flowers are Living Things: “Flowers are the music of the ground from earth’s lips spoken without a sound.” Edwin Curran. She expresses the point that “artistic expression and growing healthy flowers are not mutually exclusive. They are one together. That is the essence of great flower garden design.” Indeed…

Floratopia is brimming with ideas and techniques. I can see these pretty cut flowers and more in a pretty cachepot.
You can learn from the master about the importance of soil to become as she coins it, a “Rake Master'' in the Art of Raking; the need to weed, designing and working with Nature and your zone to achieve Drought-Resistant Gardens, or letting the lawn go and getting the flowers to come back (hello, clover, dandelions and wild violets. Oh, and I just read a great recipe for dandelion wine!) 

Jan even includes tips on planting annuals which I’ve rarely seen in horticultural or garden design books. Most “serious” garden experts pooh-pooh any mention of this leaving it the local nursery or … We love that pop of summer color and so appreciate Jan’s wise garden suggestions to using these “floral workhorses'' as she describes them in the chapter devoted to annual.

An entire chapter!

Floratopia is that rare combination of a garden book: serious and grounded in its advice yet a fun, joyful read ~ a real garden tour. Whether you have a green thumb or are all-thumbs.

We in the horticultural, garden design world revere Jan. You can see why…
As if you needed more convincing about Jan’s bonafides (what, you can’t take my word alone? ha), here is Jan’s bio, flush with her special garden design and plant pedigree.

Jan Johnsen began her professional life in Japan in a landscape architecture office. She has been a principal in a landscape design-and-build firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, based in Westchester, New York, for more than 40 years.

Her natural design approach is evident in the landscapes that she shares in her books: Heaven Is a Garden, The Spirit of Stone, Floratopia and Gardentopia.

Jan Johnsen’s latest book, Floratopia: 110 Flower Garden Ideas for Your Yard, Patio, or Balcony showcases beautiful flower varieties and offers illustrated design ideas that will have you seeing the potential for colorful flowers, both annual and perennial, in all kinds of outdoor spaces, large or small.

Essential advice―such as "Hot Weather Flower Garden Tips," "Tiny Space, Tiny Garden," and "Tips for Layering with Flowers"―is accompanied by lush photos and informative captions. Selected growing tips―such as "Become a Rake Master" and "Should I Cut Back in Winter?"―answer common questions and ensure success for gardeners of all skill levels.

Floratopia both inspires and enlightens; it underscores the role of flowers as pollinator magnets and encourages the appreciation of flowers throughout their entire lifecycle.

Choice tips for butterfly gardens, combining grasses and flowers, and deer-resistant combinations also include recommended cultivars and suggested soil conditions. This engaging book is divided into six chapters:
  1. Flowers in Pots and Planters
  2. Flower Garden Planting Tips
  3. Flower Garden Design Tips and Green Thoughts
  4. Themes for Flower Gardens
  5. A Few Choice Perennial Flowers to Try
  6. A Selection of Favorite Annual Flowers.
Floratopia appeals to gardeners and flower lovers alike. Jan’s encouraging voice, experience, and contagious passion for flower garden designs will inspire you to plant joyful blossoms, wherever you live.

I recommend Floratopia as a true Garden Glamour guide to beautiful, flower-filled gardens.


* All photos courtesy of Jan Johnsen except for the Ladies Who Lunch Conversations screen shot