Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz April 8th, 2008

Those Austin folks sure know how to show hospitality!

Pam (Digging), MSS (Zanthan Gardens), Diana (Sharing Nature’s Garden) and Bonnie (Kiss of Sun) hosted nearly 40 garden bloggers from 12 states at the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling. They spent months organizing tours of public and private gardens, soliciting prizes and gifts for welcome packages and communicating all the details about the event. They even offered their guest rooms and drove us all around Austin from garden to nursery to restaurant. I can’t imagine how many hours went into planning this event for a bunch of virtual strangers.

Laura (Greenfish Artist and Gardener), Diana (Sharing Nature’s Garden) and Kathy (Cold Climate Gardening)

Pam told me that when they first thought of the idea the big question was, “Do you think anyone would come?” Well, it seems to me that the question for next year’s organizing team should be “How will we deal with all the people who will come?” Because I can guarantee that come hell or high water I’ll be there. And after all the photos that I and the other garen bloggers will be showing you over the next few days, you’ll want to start a garden blog (if you don’t have one) so you can join us.

You know, I almost didn’t go? But when Kathy at Cold Climate Gardening mentioned in an email (yes, bloggers communicate off-blog too) that she was going, I couldn’t pass up the chance to meet her and so many of the other people I feel like I have come to know, just a bit.

Susan (Garden Rant), Suzanne (Verte), Vicki (Playin’ Outside) and Gail (Clay and Limestone)

Still, heading into this event I felt like I was going on a blind date–with 40 people. Would I have to talk about plants in their Latin names the whole time? What if someone asked me a gardening question and I couldn’t answer?

Well, I needn’t have worried. And, really, I did already “virtually” know some of the folks.

Among those folks that I “virtually” knew, I “actually” met Laura, from Greenfish Artist and Gardener. I had purchased three fabulous watercolors from Laura’s Etsy store and learned we share a love of tea.

Diana and Dee (Red Dirt Ramblings)

I also met Dee from Red Dirt Ramblings. I remember when Dee started her blog and have always admired her country home.

There was also Elizabeth and Susan (another Maryland gardener!) from Garden Rant, one of my favorite blogs because of its provocative posts.

And, of course, I met Kathy, who reminded me to go, and also Carol from May Dreams Gardens. I was grateful that Carol didn’t seem to think I am a raving lunatic for leaving a huffy post about the responsibility of owning a dog in response to her comparing getting a tree to getting a puppy. Or maybe she did think I’m a raving lunatic, but she’s just too nice to let it show. (Now that I think about it, she did mention it.)

So what are garden bloggers like? Well, as it turns out, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all our gardens (and children) are above average.

Thanks again to all my new friends from Spring Fling!

Posted In: Blogging, Gardening, Travel

Bzzzz March 31st, 2008

At the risk of flogging a dead horse (a hideous expression, don’t you think?)…

I want to make an appeal to those well-meaning but misguided folks who assemble the bouquets at our corner florist shops. And I especially appeal to the corporate creative department at FTD, which fuels and/or dictates much of the design aesthetics for these small business owners.

You know the people. They make things that look like this…

Or this…

Or even this…

In the name of God, please STOP!

What you are doing is an abomination. It is a blasphemy against the laws of nature and how God intended plants to grow. Have you ever visited a garden? If so, did you EVER see all of these plants lined up uniformly in a symmetrical orb with no stems, leaves or branches–resembling a basketball? Must you reduce Baby’s Breath and ferns to an afterthought? And why must containers be so very sweet? Do we really need flower arrangements that look like ice cream sundaes? Carnations colored into fluorescent hues of green or orange? Teddy bears hugging our tulips?

Mr. or Ms. Florist, can you please pick up a couple of design magazines and see what is au courant? It’s not this tightly packed, overly-colorful, cheap flower arrangement that are the equivalent of the super-tight permanent wave cranked out at smelly “beauty parlors” in small towns in our fair land.

We have a local florist that my husband, until recently, faithfully visited for my birthday, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and other important occasions, including when he was in the Dog Haus. I dropped by recently because they had a sign advertising a good deal on tulips. Frankly, I can only conclude that these people do not actually LIKE flowers.

As I entered, I had to pass all manner of “arrangements” that would make the average weekend gardener convulse. It was like entering a flower torture chamber. They were packed, crammed, twisted and contorted into every manner of unnatural pose imaginable. When I finally made it to the bargain tulips, I could hardly breath.

“Let me out of here. You’re hurting me!”

To be sure, the FTD folks seemed to have hired at least one younger-than-80 creative person. They now offer minimalist arrangements by Todd Oldham and Vera Wang. But, really. $110 for an orchid that I can buy at Lowe’s for $20? There is a way to go before you’re there, FTD.

Let me recommend a book for your education and edification. It’s called Zen Flowers, by Brenda Berkley and Anulka Kitamura. It is filled with examples of airy, simple and tasteful arrangements that honor the original plants and do not involve torture devices or demeaning containers.

And guess what? The author actually owns–a FLOWER SHOP! And she makes a living selling designs such as this…

And imagine a home with flower that look like this…

I know that Ikebana may not be for everyone. And I acknowledge the commenter from my previous post on the topic who said that there are some flower-buyers who expect quantity rather than quality. But I also believe that it is incumbent on florists to help educate their customers on nature and taste. Do you reall WANT to torture all those tulips? Pervert those petunias? Wrestle those roses?

But I am hoping that someday we can banish mounds of ice cream sundae flower arrangements or flowers in yellow smiley face cups. I hope that as gardeners we can help educate our friends and families that a simple arrangement in a humble, but natural container, is more aesthetically pleasing than a tacky ceramic container made in China. I would prefer some spring daffodils in a recyclable aluminum can to the overly-wrought arrangements that contort and distort nature.

Please, oh please. Let’s make the pledge now. No more hideous and unnatural flower arrangements…

(Okay, I acknowledge that I seem to be a wee bit cranky right now. Mi dispiace. I seem to be time-stressed, which is completely contrary to my continuous improvement efforts to simplify and slow down. That said, in the way of excuses, I have a lot of travel ahead in April–my prime gardening month. I am heading to Austin for the garden bloggers Spring Fling after which I head directly to San Francisco for some focus groups. I land home for barely a week before heading off to Geneva, Switzerland, for more focus groups. I know…sounds great until you contemplate my client’s coach-fare policy and the fact that my garden needs some serious remedial work in April. Oh, quit it with your tiny little violins…I’m serious here. This time.)

Posted In: Flower Arranging, Flowers