The Arkansas Governor’s Mansion

The very first stop of the Garden 2 Blog experience was the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.
This Georgian Colonial mansion is nestled in a quiet neighborhood and the gardens are exquisite. Eleven of Arkansas forty five governors have lived in the mansion including President Bill Clinton.

P. Allen Smith gives a brief history of the mansion

I was glad to learn that Allen has a huge love of history. He didn’t have to tell anyone. You can hear it in his voice when he speaks. You can tell he is passionate about preserving the past and making the most of every moment we have in the present.

The SeedKeeper Girls
Carol & Kerrie

While most of us were ohhhing and ahhhing over the splendid collection of azeleas, iris and roses the SeedKeeper girls, Carol & Kerrie enjoyed a relaxing moment on the first lady of Arkansas’ swing……

Beautiful flowers

I loved these structures Allen used in this garden for the roses to climb on….

Beautiful Wrought Iron Fountain

Southern mansions seems to bring out the need for big “pocketbooks” and wide brim floppy hats. Carri Stokes  and Mary Ann Newcomer were happy to oblige. Notice the rose on the arbor; “New Dawn” I believe. They were everywhere on the streets of Little Rock….

New dawn Roses abound in Little Rock

More New Dawn roses about to burst forth with color

Chelsea Clinton’s Playhouse

When Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas, Chelsea was just a little girl.  The good Governor had this playhouse constructed for his daughter. It even has its own landscaping… Details are everything…..

Great raised bed vegetable garden

The Governor and family enjoy fresh veggies from the raised bed garden. Everything from apples to tomatoes and strawberries were planted here. This garden is tended with the help of the Arkansas Master Gardener’s Association.

Carolyn Binder, Myself & Mary Beth Shaddix

Here I am with two of the sweetest vegetable gardeners I know: Carolyn Binder of Cowlick Cottage Farm & Mary Beth Shaddix of Bonnie Plants

P. Allen Smith & First Lady Ginger Beebe

A most gracious hostess, First Lady of Arkansas Ginger Beebe was a delightful person. A most delicious luncheon was served. Check out the beautiful centerpieces

Yellow roses welcomed us to lunch

Our luncheon was concluded with the presentation of three beautiful shrubs of ‘Sunny Knockout‘ roses to be added to the gardens at the mansion.

We were then treated to a presentation by Erik Deckers, a noted expert on Social Media.

Pie!

The conclusion of our visit was with pie. Y’all know i’m partial to dessert. This one was extra delicious and this first stop on our adventure, most enjoyable.

Caroline Binder & Steve Asbell @ G2B13

Caroline blogs at Cowlick Cottage Farm is a super talented writer, photographer & foodie
Steve Asbell blogs at The Rainforest Garden is an illustrator, writer and a great friend

Barbara Wise awaiting buckwheat pancakes

Barbara Wise is the master of the container garden and blogs at BWiseGardening. She has a new book out, Container Gardening for all Seasons

Jenny Peterson sips coffee and enjoys the company of friends

Jenny Peterson is a talented Garden Designer and she blogs at J Peterson Garden Design. Her new book, a collaboration with another gardening pal, Kylee Baumle is entitled Indoor Plant Decor

Diane LaSauce & Teresa Byington

Diane LaSauce blogs at Home, Garden, Life and is such a sweet soul. Many of you have read about Teresa Byington. We host RoseChat Radio together each week on BlogTalkRadio. Many do not know that until now, we have never met in person.

Mallory Colliflower & Lynn Coulter

I met Mallory Colliflower on the plane. She manages Social Media for HGTV Gardens. Check out they awesome new website HGTVGardens.com Lynn Coulter blogs at the GardenClub for Home Depot and spoke many words of encouragement to me during this event.

Myself, Carol Niec, Teresa Byington, Kerrie Rosenthal & the irrepressible Mimi San Pedro

The SeedKeeper Girls: Carol & Kerrie were just as I thought them to be a barrel of fun with hearts of gold. They are on a mission to help school children get in the garden and GROW something with seeds. Their handy SeedKeeper helps me keep my seeds organized. They are also the developers of burlap girdles that are all the rage on Paris runways this spring… LOL Actually, that’s a post for another day….. Mimi San Pedro is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for P. Allen Smith. Her drive and energy is contagious.

Beautiful roses in the lobby of the Capital Hotel, Little Rock, Arkansas

I couldn’t possibly sum up this event in one blog post. What is described here in word and photos barely moves past the first hour of the event.

I read a quote long ago that sums it up in a sentence:

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. – Marcel Proust

Tomorrow: We’ll met our host, P. Allen Smith, take a garden tour and enjoy lunch at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.

Garden 2 Blog 2013

Each year garden designer and lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith assembles a group of bloggers at his beautiful home for two days of gardening, learning, laughter and good growing fun with some of the garden bloggers I have come to know and admire such as Carolyn Binder of Cowlick Cottage Farm, The SeedKeeper Girls & the fine folks at Star Roses & Plants just to name a few.

Many of you who listen to Rose Chat Radio may not know that though we host this popular show on-air together, Teresa Byington and I have never actually met. Nor have I met Annie Haven, of Haven Brand Soil Conditioners. It seems that this will be our year! We are all on the invite list and will meet in person.

We will tour gardens, lunch at the Governor’s Mansion,  and take an in-depth look at Moss Mountain Farm; Allen’s 600 acre sustainable farm as well as participate in a day of intensive workshops with topics ranging from Soil to of course, roses!

I am particularly excited to see the rose garden Allen designed. Here is a video clip on the rose garden dedication ceremony from 2012.  This garden should be in her flush during our visit and I can’t wait to see it.

I’ll have my trusty camera phone with me to snap lots of pictures and I can’t wait to share this adventure with everyone.

Single chair – bottom already removed
Suki, the wonder beagle is always on hand to help!

Purchased two 15″ coco liners from local home center. A perfect fit.

I purchased a roll of chicken wire from the home center and stretched it over the area I wanted to cover. It was pretty easy to work with.

I began to press and bend the wire to form a lip around the edge of the chair. I cut off the excess wire with snips. You have to allow enough chicken wire to form a cup for the coco liner…

Pressing gently to form a cup for the liner to sit in, the basket begins to take shape.

I then inserted the coco liner and again gently pressed to form fit the liner.

I stapled the chicken wire around the top of the chair to secure it in place.

Viola! One Chair Completed!

In less than 45 minutes, I had both completed. (Chris helped a little)

I planted two types of coleus and a dark red calibrachoa (million bells). This will fill out the chair in the weeks to come and will spill over the edges.

The completed look. A very easy project.

Do you have an old chair you can try this in? Would love to see what you’ve created.
I must give a big shout out to Annie Haven of Haven Brand Soil Conditioners. I use her moo poo teas on all my annuals and perennials with magnificent results.

Tall Bearded Iris

The second rose in my garden to bloom this year is a China rose called  ’Old Blush’. It dates back to the 1700′s and is an awesome rose to have in any garden. It’s also very easy to propagate.

‘Old Blush’ China Rose

We also had a surprise in the garden. I have never remembered having or planting yellow irises. Yet, this week several have appeared in our garden bed. Lovely blooms, just not sure how they got there…..  Do you ever have surprise flowers appear in your garden?

Surprise Iris Bloom

I spoke at the Greater Atlanta Rose Society last night and I must say that this was a very welcoming bunch of folks! I even met on of my blogging buddies: Mia of Modern Mia Gardening. It’s been an eventful week! What’s happening in your garden this week?

I can tell y’all that I was mighty proud to see these first blooms of the year. We have many buds on other roses and some just about to burst forth. Stay tuned for the forthcoming rose parade!