Filoli: Big and Bright and not Your Average Old Estate
As I write my recap of the Filoli Flower Show (which took place May 10th-13th) I must say — I never tire of Filoli. Every time I go there’s something new and fun going on.
- The Sunken Gardens at Filoli
This year’s Flower Show had the theme “The Secret Garden, Discover the Magic,” and it sure was magical because all the flowers were all in bloom — just in time for a perfect Mother’s Day Weekend!
Every year the show honors a special contributor, and the event this year honored Tom Rodgers, the Filoli Curator from 1998-2011. Tom is well respected, and his love and passion for the Filoli Estate will never die.
- Tom Rogers. Photo via The Examiner
Something funny that I realized at the show is that Tom and I have something in common! What, you make ask? Well, both of us are “Curators”!
Being a Curator is a big job. To have the responsibility of collecting and showcasing things (whether they’re flower displays or online products) people will like a huge undertaking, and I now have more respect for Tom than ever before.
Anyways, while I was at Filoli, I took a few snapshots (you may have seen them on Twitter) for those that couldn’t attend. Enjoy!
(Above) A unique floral arrangement using stacked cardboard by Sogetsu Ikebana School.
(Above) Another shot of the Sunken Garden. I was trying to make it look old fashioned!
(Above) A mini arrangement. You might not be able to tell in this photo, but this arrangement was only about 3 inches tall!
(Above) This arrangement, on the other hand, was so big that it demanded its own room!
Garden Wisdom: “How Much Should I Spend on My Garden?”
I hear the same story from friends all the time… Their garden is looking tired and needs some fixing up, but their mind is flooded with pesky questions like: How much should I spend re-doing my yard? Will I get that money back when I sell the house?
These are all completely understandable questions, so let me share with you a few things I’ve learned:
- Photo via darwinwebb.com
First – Remodeling your your garden costs much less than remodeling your home. If a quick “facelift” is what you’re after, I’d suggest doing some landscaping over remodeling your home. Where I live in the Bay Area, a home remodel can cost $300-$500 per square foot, whereas the average cost for landscaping runs $25-$40 per square foot.
Imagine the beauty below is your home. While it’s obviously run-down and outdated, picture what it would look like with a fresh coat of paint and neatly landscaped front yard — not too shabby, right?
Here are some other facts to consider:
- Landscaping can add 7-15% to a home’s value (The Gallup Poll)
- Landscaping can bring a recovery value of 100-200% at selling time. Kitchen remodels bring only a 75-125% recovery value (Money Magazine)
- Plants and trees grow, and thus appreciate over time
- Photo via Sunset.com
But now to the main question: How much should you spend on your garden?
Well, a while back, Money Magazine stated that you should spend 4% of the value of your home on landscape — and you should get all that back when it’s time to sell.
Here are the best returns:
- Plants, and especially trees (CNN Money)
- Irrigation to protect your investment — you know you’re not going to hand water everything!
- A landscape plan (As stated by Bob Vila). Landscape plans help you avoid a mish-mosh, random looking yard.
And don’t fall for the pool trap — pools don’t actually have very good returns compared to landscaping.
Now that you know exactly how much to spend on your garden, don’t forget to factor in what a new garden will mean to you. If a new garden will mean more outside play time for the kids, more barbeques with friends and more relaxing evenings sipping wine outside — it just might be worth it to spend a few extra bucks 
Reminder: You can use Habitat Design to design your dream garden online for the fraction of the price the pro’s charge. Learn more here >
This Week in the Bay: Two events for garden newbies
This week there are two great events going on for garden newbies, and gardeners wanting to expand their repertoire. Check ‘em out:
- Photo via sfbotanicalsociety.org
1. ”Beginning Gardening – From Scratch. No Experience Necessary!” on Wed., May 16th in San Jose: At this event hosted by the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, join Master Gardener Byddi Lee to go over the basic principles of gardening, clearing weeds, planting and more. More info here >
2. ”South African Plants for Calfornia Gardens and How to Grow Them” on Sat., May 19th in San Francisco: In this presentation by San Francisco State Greenhouse Manager Martin Grantham, you’ll learn about the most beautiful and best performing South African plants, and how to successfully grow them here in the Bay Area. More info here >
Mother’s Day Brunch: Bloody Mary’s, Spinach & Ricotta Pie and Retro Fruit Salad
Assuming you’ve already made your mom the perfect DIY Mother’s Day gift, let’s talk Mother’s Day brunch. Luckily for us, Bonnie is an excellent cook and has three incredibly delicious recipes to share with us for the ultimate mom-pleasing brunch.
First up: Momma needs a Bloody Mary!
- Photo via WhiteOnRiceCouple.com
What you need:
- 1 – 16 Ounce glass: Fill with ice
- 1 lemon wedge
- 1 celery stalk
Recipe:
2 oz. Kettle One Citroen Vodka (or your favorite Citroen vodka)
2 dashes black pepper
4 dashes Lea & Perrin Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes A1 Steak Sauce (Bold & Spicy)
3 dashes celery salt
¼ teaspoon horseradish
1 squeeze fresh-squeezed lemon
Top off with the best tomato juice you can find. My favorite is Knudsen’s.
Instructions:
- Shake the first 7 ingredients with a cocktail shaker
- Strain into an ice-filled glass
- Garnish with the lemon slice and celery
- Serve some Tabasco on the side (in case mom doesn’t like it too hot) and a chaser of fine beer!
Next: Spinach & Ricotta Pie
- Photo via bos-bowl.com
What you need:
- 1 unbaked 9” pie crust
Recipe:
18 oz. bag of frozen chopped spinach (or you may use fresh)
1 small white onion, chopped and rinsed
3 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash of black pepper
1 (15 ounce) container of ricotta cheese
1 cup light cream
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup feta cheese
3 eggs lightly beaten (low cholesterol Egg Beaters is fine, too)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick pie shell and prebake in hot oven for 5-8 minutes until golden brown. Turn oven down to 350 when pie crust is done.
- Cook spinach until thawed and warm. Drain really well — squeezing excess water with your hands. And if you use fresh spinach you don’t need to precook it.
- Saute onion in butter and stir in spinach, salt, nutmeg and black pepper.
- In separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cream, cheeses and eggs and blend well.
- Add spinach and mix well.
- Pour into prebaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
- Garnish with finely chopped parsley, a bit of feta and a small cherry tomato.
- Maybe be served hot or at room temperature.
PS: Gluten-free? Simply put the mixture into a ramekin (sans pie crust) and bake it.
And on the side: Retro Fruit Salad (this is a judge-free zone, right?)
- Photo via flourpowerblog.com
Recipe:
1 (20 ounce can) of crushed pineapple with juice
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (12 ounce) container whipped topping thawed
2 large bananas sliced (soak in pineapple juice so they don’t turn brown)
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (15.25 ounce) can Fruit Cocktail or the Tropical Fruit Salad, drained
1 (11 ounce) can of mandarin oranges, drained
Instructions:
- Put the pudding mix into a large bowl. Add pineapple and mix well.
- Stir in non-dairy whipped topping. Stir in bananas, marshmallow, fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges.
- Cover and stick in fridge until chilled.
Now go show mom a great Mother’s Day!
The Perfect DIY Mother’s Day Gift: A Mini-Garden!
While rose bouquets are great, it’s nice to get Mom something that will last a little longer. Scratch that — don’t get her anything, make her something!
- Photo via Illinois.edu
I know from experience that moms love getting living arrangements that will flower and bloom for years to come. When it comes to designing your own, living arrangements follows pretty much the same principles as plant design in a garden.
- Photo via Giftree.com
A quick primer on how to make your own Mother’s Day living basket:
When creating your arrangement, the basic principles are shape, height and color differences. The example above accomplishes all three: different leaf shapes, different shades of green and different plant heights.
About height: You’ll always have an attractive result when one plant is tall, one medium, and one drapes down over the pot. I usually put flowering plants in the middle region. That way, the foliage stays year-round and your Mom can sub out the flowering plant by season.
- Photo via aspencountry.com
Different styles of pots:
Now that you have the basic principles down, have fun with the pot! For a Mom that loves cottage style-accents, the teacup above is a really cute idea.
- Photo via simplyfunstuff.blogspot.com
For a mom who’s a fan of the contemporary beach look, use sand instead of mulch — and even throw in a little driftwood too!
- Photo via the awesome bloggers @ Faroutflora.com
Of course, succulents are all the rage these days and will last both indoors and outdoors (and are pretty easy to maintain!)
- Photo via Decoist.com
Finally, does mom lean toward the Zen aesthetic? Make her ‘ohmmmmm’ with a water garden like the one above.
Whatever arrangement you choose, Mom will love it no matter what. It comes with the territory!
This Week in the Bay: Debra Prinzing (The 50 Mile Bouquet) Talks at Flora Grubb
This Sunday (which is Mother’s Day — don’t forget!), Debra Prinzing, author of The 50 Mile Bouquet is speaking at Flora Grubb in San Francisco.
- Photo via NYTimes.com
The 50 Mile Bouquet is the first book to spotlight the “slow flower” movement, and introduces the people involved: organic flower farmers, sustainably-motivated floral designers, and flower enthusiasts who care about where their flowers come from.
It should be a fantastic talk — and it’s free!
Where it’s taking place:
Flora Grubb Gardens
1634 Jerrold Ave.
San Francisco
415.626.7256
Design the Ultimate Outdoor Entertaining Space
It’s May, and you know what that means: summer is just around the corner! If you’re like me, you tend to move most meals and social gatherings outside — to enjoy the warm summer breeze, the burgers that taste so much better when you barbecue them, and the occasional shooting star.
Since it’s not scorching out yet, May is the perfect time to revamp your garden and make it the ultimate outdoor entertaining space.
Here’s How, in 3 Easy Steps:
- Photo via arcadianhome.com
1. Take control of the sun
The sun goes down late in summertime, so it’s often still sunny when you sit down for dinner. With the hot sun beating down and bright light blinding everyone, it’s sometimes hard to fully relax. So you have two choices: you can use an umbrella (this is the route most take) or you can create a more natural effect with an arbor of trees or vines (my favorite option).
- Photo via linenandlavender.blogspot.com
The pergola above uses very simple materials, but creates a gorgeous effect. When planting for a pergola or arbor, use deciduous vines (vines that lose leaves seasonally) so that your eating area is shaded in the summer, but open in the cooler winter months.
- Photo via Sunset.com
Another great option for sun protection is a grove of trees. You can use them to create a natural canopy with a strong cooling effect. The trick to making this look good is to use the same type of trees and plant them close together.
- Photo via Modfire
2. Provide warmth for nighttime entertaining
I don’t know about you, but my friends often forget to bring jackets and sweaters to dinner during the summer months. So, it’s always good to keep a few blankets and jackets on hand — but an even better solution are heat lamps. Having two heat lamps strategically placed at a table will provide heat for everyone. I love the contemporary ModFire outdoor fireplaces pictured above (and we happen to carry them in our online store!)
- Photo via Tomono.hubpages.com
Another great outdoor fireplace option is the chimney-style fireplace. These are actually my favorite type of fireplace because they’re portable, attractive and they do a great job. There are all sorts of style available too — not just the adobe type.
3. Light it up!
Not only does everyone look better in candlelight — but so does your garden!
A few accent candles create a wonderful glow, but it’s great to supplement them with additional lighting so your guests can actually see their food. A well designed low voltage lighting plan will create the effect of subtle moonlight. These systems are easy to install and are well worth the cost if you’re using your garden at night.
- Photo via Favim.com
And that’s it! Outfit your backyard with shade, a fireplace and some great lighting and the only thing you’re missing is a group of fun-loving friends!
Bonnie’s Pick: Concrete Table by Artefact Design & Salvage
My find of the day is a great creation by Dave Allen of Artefact Design & Salvage in Sonoma, CA.
In my search for an outdoor-friendly, reclaimed wood table to use in the upcoming Sunset Magazine BluHome (to be built in Healdsburg, CA), I came across this beauty!
- (above) A BluHome
The tabletop is made of cast natural concrete that is polished for maximum stain resistance. The trestle base is made from clean reclaimed redwood railroad ties (say that 10 times fast!) salvaged from an 1870′s California Gold Country railway track.
And this is amazing — Dave told me that the table is available for up to 12′ long! It would make the perfect table for a huge room (and obviously an outdoor space!)
I can’t wait to see how it looks at the house.
Just so you know: each table is made to order, so it may take 6-8 weeks for delivery. But it would be well worth the wait!
Bonnie’s necessities for a desert garden (with some help from an AZ resident)
While I’ve never actually lived in a desert, my mother-in-law lives in Carefree, Arizona (outside Scottsdale) and had some great advice to give me for this post. Here are her top three desert garden necessities:
- Photo via ArtByJack on Etsy.com
1. In Arizona, the Kokopelli is huge! In many Native American cultures, Kokopelli is both the fertility deity and the spirit of music. He’s also thought of as being a jokester, and is the presider over childbirth and agriculture. Always holding a flute, the Kokopelli design is a fun accent that’s one of the biggest trends in Arizona gardens.
I love these rusted steel Kokopelli garden stakes by ArtByJack on Etsy — they’re sturdy and have a natural, modern look to them. Plus, since they’re steel, they’ll last forever! Get yours here >
2. If you really want to get the most use out of your desert garden, you’ll want to enjoy it during the day and night. So it’s important to remember that even though it might get up to 105 in the afternoon, it will get nippy come nightfall. That’s why it’s important to have a stylish fireplace!
My favorite outdoor fireplaces right now are these ModFire fireplaces. With their high-temp clear coat finish, they can withstand the beating sun and the cool desert breeze. Get yours here >
- Photo via radiusgarden.com
3. Finally, if you live in a desert area, you most likely encounter the occasional sun-loving snake! So quite possibly the most important garden accessory you should have is a snake killing (or shooing-away) device.
Here’s an Arizona favorite that doesn’t involve bullets: an ergonomically designed flat spade. Easy for a man or woman to use, you can use the spade to direct that rattlesnake off of you deck or out from under your BBQ! (We’re obviously talking from experience here.) Get yours here >
Photo collection: Springs Preserve outside Las Vegas, NV
Back in February we took a jaunt to Las Vegas to attend the Las Vegas Home & Gift Show. While we were there, we toured the Springs Preserve, located 15 minutes from the Strip.
It was a lovely visit. Beautiful grounds, educational tips on how to conserve water and a kid-friendly atmosphere. If you’re ever in Vegas and need a little break from the casinos, we highly suggest a visit to the Springs Preserve.
Here are a few more photos we took while we were there…
- It’s a huge facility. Rooms for conferences, field trips, and even a restaurant!
- The grounds.
- Bird nest!
- Cauliflower
- Gorgeous cactus container garden.
