Garden Shows are a great way to meet national garden experts and your favorite book authors. I will have a chance to interview the following 5 garden experts at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle for Nest In Style’s upcoming podcasts. Each expert has their own garden focus, so here’s your chance to get your questions answered without having to leave the comfort of your computer chair.
Submit your questions to me, Jayme Jenkins, by Thursday evening, February 4. Yes, that’s tomorrow night!
- Email me: NestInStyle @ gmail.com
- Twitter me: @NestInStyle
- Facebook me: Nest In Style Fan Page
- Leave a comment below
 Nan Sterman will be one of our special guests for our Starting from Seed Podcast later this February. Nan is one of California’s leading authorities on: low water gardens, growing organic fruits, vegetables and fruit, and No-Lawn gardens. She is the author of California Gardener’s Guide and currently writes for Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union Tribune, Sunset Magazine and Pacific Horticulture. I first met Nan at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show last March, where she presented on plant propagation. My handout was littered with useful tips by the end of her talk. No worries, Nan’s expertise stretches way beyond California’s borders. Nan’s NW Flower & Garden Show Speaking Schedule. |
 Joe Lamp’l, you know him, the guy in the orange shirt who wrote the book, Green Gardener’s Guide, and TV host of the upcoming PBS series Growing a Greener World. As an extension of our Social Media & Garden Expert interviews from January, I’ll be talking with Joe about the influence of 2010’s garden trends and social media on garden TV shows. Catch the inside scoop and the behind-the-scenes action on the show’s Facebook Fan Page Growing a Greener World. Joe’s NW Flower & Garden Show Speaking Schedule. |
 Steve Aitken. What gardener hasn’t picked up a copy of Fine Gardening Magazine? I’ll be catching up with Steve Aitken, THE editor of Fine Gardening, at the NW Flower & Garden Show to discuss how garden “trends” and social media has influenced what we read either on the web or in magazines. Steve’s writing on FineGardening.com reflects his dry sense of humor personality, from The Hard Truths of Gardening, to Green Roof Plants, to The Worst Plant Tag Ever. Besides being a funny guy to talk to, he’s pretty knowledgeable about garden stuff, but please hold the questions about houseplants, he openly admits to killing them. |
 Debra Lee Baldwin. If you love succulents as much as I do and spend an ounce of time on the Internet, then you’ve heard about Debra Lee Baldwin’s new book Succulent Container Gardens. After a few short weeks, her book is currently #5 on Amazon’s list of the top 10 bestselling gardening books. I will be interviewing Debra about succulents, obviously, for our May podcast about Saving Water in the Garden. Yes, it’s a long ways off, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to interview Debra in person and shower her with praise and admiration. Debra’s NW Flower & Garden Show Speaking Schedule. |
 Christina Salwitz. What is a Garden Coach? Where did the term come from? What’s the difference between a “coach” and landscape designer? Christina Salwitz, of Personal Garden Coach based in Renton, Washington, will be answering those questions and more during our interview at the NW Flower & Garden Show. Teresa and I plan to air Christina’s segment during Nest In Style’s March podcast, so stay tuned. For now, look for Christina on Twitter @Arcadia1 or on her Personal Garden Coach blog. |
Spring is right around the corner. In fact, spring will be here sooner than you think … according to the old traditional calendars. This episode reveals strange facts about the start of spring and weather predictions – and provides ideas for your garden this year.
Hear about hot 2010 garden trends released by Suzi McCoy of Garden Media Group/IMPACT Marketing & PR, as well as Jenny Peterson of J Peterson Garden Design, an Austin-based landscape designer.
To get started, click the orange button on the audio bar to listen. Be patient, takes a couple seconds to load the audio. Don’t forget: your comments, questions and topics are always welcome (email us at NestInStyle @ gmail.com). Thanks for all the input so far.
January Podcast by NestInStyle
Plus, we kick off a two-part report with some of the hottest names in garden books, television, magazines and garden shows, all talking about what to expect in 2010 and the impact of social media.
Don’t miss our interview with Jean Ann Van Krevelen of Cool Springs Press. She’s the first social media director in the garden book publishing world. Hear how Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are effecting garden books, and why that’s not a bad thing.
Nest in Style also talks with Laura Schaub of the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. She tells listeners how garden shows have become leading sources of horticultural seminars, gardening ideas and exciting new products. And she gives the “inside scoop” on what to expect at the San Mateo Event Center, March 24-28, 2010.
Listen to the Interviews
Short on time? Click on the orange buttons below to listen to Teresa O’Connor’s interviews with Jean Ann Van Krevelen and Laura Schaub.
Jean Ann Van Krevelen by NestInStyle
Laura Schaub by NestInStyle
Resources Mentioned
- Suzi McCoy’s Garden Trend Report and on Twitter @TheGardenPlot
- Jenny Peterson’s Top 5 Garden Trends of 2010 and on Twitter @MulchMaven
- San Francisco Flower & Garden Show; become a Facebook fan; and on Twitter @Interleafer (Laura Schaub)
- Laura Schaub’s guest post on aHa! Modern Living How to Get the Most From a Garden Show
- More on Flower and Gardens Shows around the nation
- Cool Springs Press; Grocery Gardening book; and on Twitter @JeanAnnVK (Jean Ann Van Krevelen)
- More history on how Grocery Gardening used social media
- The Green Gardener’s Guide book review (video)
Start of Spring – Select Sources
More on Equinox: The Spring Equinox occurs each year around March 21. (As Teresa meant to say, of course. Not May 21.) In 2010, the equinox occurs March 20 at 1:32 p.m. EDT. Here’s more information.
Welcome to our first Nest In Style podcast! Your hosts: Jayme Jenkins (that’s me) of aHa! Modern Living and Teresa O’Connor of Seasonal Wisdom. Nest In Style will bring you the latest in home and garden trends with a twist of the past.
In this episode, you’ll find lots of strange facts about the holidays. For example, did you know that Christmas was once outlawed? You’ll also receive great gift giving tips from folks around the nation. We also share special holiday traditions from others that help add magic to this time of year.
So let’s get started. Press the orange button below to hear the podcast. Be sure to drop us a line in the comment section and let us know what you think. Enjoy!
Resources Mentioned in the Podcast
- Teresa O’Connor’s aHa! Modern Living guest blog, Earth-Friendly Ways to Recycle Christmas Tree.
- Grocery Gardening Book
- Good Enough Gardening Podcast
From left: Flickr photos by lakeborgne and Jayme 28
Guest Post by Katie Elzer-Peters of Garden of Words
Turn on the Today Show at 9:00, sharp, and you’ll be treated to their daily “Wise Money” (or something like that) segment. Even Vogue magazine has sections on shopping thrift. For Vogue, that means spending $200 instead of $600 on jeans, but for some of their readers, that’s economizing. Gardeners, writers, and media types blog constantly about how to garden, decorate, gift, and exist without spending any money, or very little. That’s all well and good. However, most of the ideas forwarded to the public involve gardening with whatever is around-beauty or not. That’s perfectly fine, depending upon your aim: Need to grow food, fast, without benefit of special equipment? Want flowers to grace your table, but you’re low on cash? Need just a bit of green and life outside your balcony? Cuttings, rooted in takeout Chinese soup containers will do the trick. But, there still must be room for art.
During this recession, I think there has been a race to the bottom of design taste and a whole-hearted embrace of dull. And, I ask the question: is that race to the bottom really necessary? And, is it good for the bottom line? The future of gardening? I would argue, no.
The Invention of Lying
Bowl made from recycled washers
A couple of events precipitated this blog. 1) I had a conversation with Jayme Jenkins, owner of aHa! Modern Living about the place of pretty garden products in the current economy, and 2) I went to see the movie The Invention of Lying, written by and starring Ricky Gervais. Jayme and I discussed a feeling of unease after reading many different gardening blogs lately. The militant stance regarding “the way to garden,” on many blogs seems to look down on the spending of actual money on anything. Money is, in our opinion, portrayed as the root of all evil, particularly in gardening and garden marketing. A weird thing to ponder if you own a garden shop, no?
Here’s where Lying comes in. I liked the movie. It provided much food for thought. In particular, I noticed the lack of art in the sets. Drab colors, no paintings, no movies, no novels. Movies are simply scripts describing actual events, read by on-screen personalities (though that word seems a bit strong), sitting in velvet easy chairs. The conceit posits that “making art” means “making things up” which means “lying.” So, there’s no art. There’s only dreary reality. No metaphor, no finger paintings, no stained glass windows that look like the ocean. I would hate to live in a world without art.
by Etsy artist ghiland
Who doesn’t like to dress up their refrigerator with photos of friends and family, cute and cuddly pets, grocery lists, stupidly silly cartoons and provocative newspaper clippings? I’ve always been drawn to magnets that express my style, interests and personality. These Floral Magnets, made of lucite cabochons (many of which are Japanese vintage) by Etsy.com artist Gina Hiland, are the perfect magnet to express your flair for simple, modern style and love of the garden.
A Great Gift Idea
My readers know I fancy anything garden related that oozes modern style. These floral magnets may be vintage but I think the colors and simplicity add a hint of modern.
- Garden Lover great as a stocking stuffer for the holidays, birthdays, or simple “I appreciate you” gift moments.
- Teachers delightful gift for any teacher who loves nature. What teacher couldn’t use a cute set of magnets?
- Magnet Lover this may be a new group of gift recipients but I’m a sucker for a cool set of magnets.
- Mothers Day this is the perfect gift accompaniment for any mother to post photos of family or precious grandchildren
Apartment Therapy is a great source for simple, stylish projects for the everyday do-it-yourselfer. Check out this modern succulent wall made of 12″ cynderblocks by Annette Guttierez with Pot-ted, a nursery and patioscape shop based in Los Angelos. This wall would also look great planted with various kitchen herbs or cut-and-grow lettuces. Whatever the size your balcony or patio may be, you can easily make this planter wall any size to accommodate any outdoor space. Keep the wall at about hip height to avoid the wall falling over without supports. Safety first!
How fabulous is this idea? DWR (Design Within Reach) sent 5 of their outdoor planters to 5 different landscape designers throughout various gardening regions in the United States. Each of them were asked to design a modern planting scheme using native plants from their region. Explore each designer’s planting project and get ideas for your own modern outdoor or indoor spaces. Click on each photo to learn more about each designer’s planting choices.
Flora Grubb Designs
read more…
I have been a huge fan of Apartment Therapy for quite some time now (see the link on our Resources page). I was pleasantly surprised, okay, I freaked when I saw my Do-It-Yourself Modern Trellis on their website. I am currently thinking of a way to celebrate my excitement with everyone, so stay tuned for some sort of giveaway details.
What’s so cool about Apartment Therapy?
Design inspiration galore! They have teams of contributors from major cities across the United States including New York, Los Angelos, San Francisco, Chicago, DC and Boston, the find the most unique stores, products and room designs. I personally love the slant towards modern and contemporary decor styles, easy decorating tips, easy on the reading (you won’t find long blocks of text on this site!), and an over abundance of my favorite obsession…RESOURCES.
Have a fellow garden buddy with a summer birthday or someone else deserving of a thoughtful gift? Why not put together a veggie basket instead of buying flowers and a card, or worse yet, a gift certificate they’ll most likely end up losing.
Summer is a great time to harvest some really colorful fruits and veggies. A nice deep, purple eggplant adds even more color options, along with various shades of fresh snipped herbs for arromatic accents.
Do you hate watering? Then dive into the succulent family for easy maintenance and cool plant textures. Oscularia deltoides is a unique-looking plant ideal for hot, sunny rock gardens. The plant only reaches 4 inches in height making it a great ground cover in front of the border.
Oscularia creates a dramatic color contrast planted beneath black plants, like this Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’, with its grey-green leaves and pink blush stems.
