Garden Glamour Tablescapes and Holiday Door Decor

One of the seasonal songs that keeps ringing in my head is the refrain, “It’s the most wonderful time … of the year.”

While it can be somewhat unnerving for us horticulturists in the northern temperate climates when the season demands we change out our sunscreen for windscreen and bandanas for winter scarves, I honestly embrace the opportunity to design something different than the garden beds brimming with perennials, annuals, trees and shrubs for my garden client’s exterior -- and bring the garden to the interior designs.

I’m excited to create seasonal container compositions, entrance decor, and tablescapes -- showcasing the beauty of the garden and how plants -- and bit of fantasy -- can help tell their personal and family stories.

Every design is different. No two garden clients’ look is the same -- each is unique because we are all special in our own way -- just as a plant or blossom is..

This season, one of my dearest garden design clients --and a muse -- needed to prepare for a one-two series of family gatherings: for both Thanksgiving and again for Christmas and Hannukah. What good fortune!
So too, there was a series of design and work stages in a series to produce the look she was hoping for.

We started by walking the property and noting where she wanted to change and boost the look. That turned into establishing a border garden on one side of the circular driveway (curiously, the other sides all possessed border beds of mixed plantings.)

Wow -- this area would be brought up to par. More on this later.

Welcome Entrance Design
In terms of the welcome entrance decor, I started by creating a private Pinterest board for my client to respond to. I selected a number of images that we could use -- a little of this, a little of that, and of course, adding our own personal touch and her special personality and taste -- that is her love of beauty.

Once we had a working composition, I set out to source the material to create the design.
That included the floral district in New York City -- those that Martha and Ralph Lauren use for their compositions - not far from my Gotham apartment - in addition to local craft stores, our own backyards and gardens, too.

My client and I determined we’d use/repurpose lanterns I suggested and she purchase some years ago from Restoration Hardware to highlight the pool.

I placed two of the lanterns on each side of the door, filled the bottoms with unpopped popcorn, and loaned my flameless candles that work on timers.
That was backed by two very large flameless candles that my client already had.

In addition, I made three sheave designs for each side of the door -- two each of wheat-color stalks of cereal grass and the center was her favorite color (besides white) of a potato vine bright green.

It was an elegant composition even before I did the posts and door frame! 

 

Later, I wrapped the posts in a spiral of burlap ribbons overlaid with gold silk flowers and berries. Over the door we hung faux Chinese Bittersweet berries -- that glorious, rich, cinnabar, smash-pumpkin hue. Brilliant -- and glowed off client’s signature hair color.


The door was caressed / wrapped in a kind of spun white and gold microfiber that has a life of it’s own -- all the better to nestle sweet moss-covered little bird’s nests and gold and white feathery little birds, perched in the nests and looking to welcome guests in a regal “love-bird” kind of way. 

The custom-made pumpkin topiaries are tiered like a three-layer cake.



For the designer pumpkins I used ghost, Cotton Candy, Blue Moon, Pump Ke Mon (white with green or yellowish stripes), white, the Tiger Tiger and very stylish Brode Galeux d’Eysines -- an heirloom pumpkin from France that boasts a pebbly texture that makes you want to almost pet the pumpkin!



I chose a mix of pumpkin styles with each layer a smaller size to create four distinct pumpkin topiaries.



We created this layered look by drilling a hole into each of the pumpkins in a set, then inserting a rod to hold the topiary together. 

I then “gilded the lily” -- hot glueing a mix of adornments: silk, seasonal flowers, leaves, ribbon, acorns from the property, grass head plumes, and ivy. 

Cinderella should’ve had it so good!


We anchored silk leaf “ropes” around the bespoke address light posts on the street side.

And wrapped a bit of it around the statue of Alice in the Alice in Wonderland garden (all dressed for the occasion to greet her former mistress, the client’s talented granddaughter). 

The entranceway was special, seasonally-appropriate and looks good in the day or glowing at night.

Tablescapes
In the same way, when asked to create a tablescape for the dining table using a crystal vase that measured just shy of a foot tall, I started by selecting some photos to post to the private Pinterest board in order to gauge the client’s reaction to a look and style.

I knew we should do a mix of ornamental and edible - given it was for a Thanksgiving celebration - so it should be about the harvest. 

 
I also knew the flora from both silk and fresh can be maximized.   This means the look can be de-constructed as the fresh flowers wane and the guests depart for home (whichever comes first!)

I created a series of low vases to surround the tall centerpiece (they can take away that away to foster easy table conversation) and still keep a pretty, glamorous, tablescape.


For the centerpiece it was a mix of rich hues: purple, bright green, pink, lilac, blue and white and gold was agreed upon.

For the small vases, it was gold football mums, magnolia leaves, and luscious as a candy apple rose called, Rose-Cherry Brandy whose gold amplified the mums and the delicate cherry color complemented the centerpiece -- and the red wine served up in the wine glasses.

Here too, I shopped the markets in the floral district in New York City where … plus sourced the fresh flowers from a local florist and flower friend.  I picked them up from her storybook home cum workshop and home-crafted greenhouse.

I filled the small vases with acorns, fragrant star anise and the fresh flowers.

I arranged the centerpiece with the silk flowers: ranunculus - green and burgundy red, peony, followed by the fresh: amaranth - red and green, roses, sea holly, ranunculus, two kinds of kale (love that frilly, ruffled leaves look). On site, I added the silk edibles: artichokes, clementines, and a few real purple turnips.

Around the centerpiece I placed faux grapes, gold baubles and beads to add just the touch of elegance this truly glamorous tablescape demanded.

In a room this grand, tall centerpieces can be almost be necessary.
And yet, those low vases facilitate the conversation - so good to have both low and high tablescape designs to accommodate guests.

Cheers to seasonal plant decor, tablescapes that sparkle and Finishing Touches. Remember, the eyes eat first - so be sure to design your home to welcome your family and friends with beauty and love.



Border Beds to be continued…

Thanksgiving Garden-to-Glass Cocktails using Homegrown, Seasonal Ingredients

This holiday the emphasis is on great food and drink. While the food often gets the spotlight - don’t get sidetracked by all the stuffing and gravy and miss out on creating a special, holiday-themed cocktail menu.

Here are a few of my favorites, with the emphasis on using lots of seasonal ingredients.

The Beverage Testing Institute awarded Strongbow the Best Tasting Common Cider about this time last year. I was fortunate enough to attend a tasting and dinner curated and prepared by oh-so-creative James Beard Foundation award-winning Chef Wylie Dufresne. Loved the lamb with barley, hibiscus-date and the Bay Leaf Ice Cream with brownie and Yuzu Fluff!

Strongbow has four cider flavors and each took home an award:

 

• Gold Apple: gold medal, 92 points
• Honey: gold medal, 92 points
• Red Berries: silver medal, 88 points
• Ginger: silver medal, 87 points

Hard Cider owns a very prominent place in American history - so what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving - this most American of holidays? And surely a drink that harkens to our colonists’ roots is needed to nurse our souls in this post-election sense of anxiety.

Gingerbread Sacrifice

Ingredients

1.3/4 oz Vodka

.33 oz Lemon Juice

3.1/2 oz Apple Cider

1.3/4 oz Orange Liqueur

A little Agave syrup

Gingerbread crumbs

Method

Rim a martini cocktail glass with agave syrup then roll in gingerbread biscuit crumbs. Pour 11/2 oz of lemon juice, 1 ¾ ozs of orange liqueur and vodka into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into the cocktail glass. Add 3.5 ozs of apple cider and stir.

More American roots cocktails

Here is another cocktail with a decidedly patriotic American history. I’m serving it as part of our Thanksgiving cocktails - not only because of its antecedent or pedigree, but also because the distillery is located near our Garden State home - and maybe most important :) I was inspired to create a cocktail and garnish for my soon-to-be-published book - Finishing Touches: The Art of Garnishing the Cocktail  (you can get in pre-sale!)  

Here is an excerpt I created and wrote for the cocktail and garnish book, along with suggested food pairing. 

For more than 300 years, the Laird family has produced AppleJack in Freehold, Monmouth County New Jersey - the Garden State since 1698. It is the holder of America's first commercial distillery with License #1. According to the company, Robert Laird - a descendent of founder Alexander - was a Revolutionary War soldier serving under George Washington, and the Laird family supplied the troops with Applejack. Historical records show that, prior to 1760, George Washington wrote to the Laird family requesting their recipe for producing Applejack, which the Laird family gladly supplied. Entries appear in Washington’s diary in the 1760s regarding his production of "cyder spirits."

I Cannot Tell A Lie

Ingredients:

2 jiggers Lairds AppleJack brandy

1 jigger caramel simple syrup

4 jiggers crisp apple sparkling water

4 shakes Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters 

Method

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Pour over rocks in tall highball glass. Garnish with apple slice and cinnamon stick.

Food Pairing and Cocktail Composition
Serve with Quaker Rice Crisps Caramel Corn cups filled with fresh, homegrown apple butter. Add Godiva salted caramel chocolates (or other high-quality chocolates), sliced apples (rubbed with lemon to prevent yellowing), and sprinkled with cinnamon. The tasty treats echo the apple, caramel, and chocolate flavors swizzling in the drink.

Highlight the cocktail’s rustic, Americana roots. Feature the snacks on a wooden cutting board, sprinkle Cracker Jacks caramel coated popcorn and peanuts around the presentation; add apples - in various colors: red, greens - and various sizes, including those adorable Lady Apples. Some apples can be used as candle holders for an “honest” glow.

Toss in a Jacks & Balls (game) for a whimsical tablescape decor touch. Provide festive red and white straws to help spark an “honest” cocktail conversation!

While not American, this hard cider is undoubtedly delicious. And with all “honesty” our colonist ancestors had to learn their cider crafting somewhere - bringing over skills from their homelands and their ancestors.
Rekorderlig is a premium hard cider brand born and brewed in Sweden. I was fortunate to attend a few  taste-testing opportunity recently.  The cider is delicious served over ice with fresh fruit garnishes or mixed into cocktails, Rekorderlig is available in five flavors:

• Pear 
• Strawberry-Lime 
• Wild Berries 
• Passionfruit 
• Spiced Apple.

Rekorderlig Spiced Apple Hard Cider is $4.99 for 16.9 ounce bottle. The company claims it is the only cider on the market that can be enjoyed either hot or cold; the product is a beautiful blend of fresh, effervescent apple cider infused with vanilla and warming cinnamon.

Hot Swede

Ingredients:

1 oz spiced rum

1 tbs honey - local is best

¼ lemon (squeezed) 

1 cinnamon stick

Half a bottle of hot Spiced Apple Hard Cider

Method:

Mix the rum, honey, and lemon together; Add hot Rekordlig and stir. Serve with a cinnamon stick and an orange wheel.

The Pear Jam

Ingredients:

1 oz Ford’s Gin

.75 oz lime

Method:

Muddle 1 Sprig Fresh Mint

Shake and strain into glass

Top with Rekorderlig Pear Cider

Garnish with Fresh Mint

Another spirit with lots of history that has recently experienced a resurgence is the small batch distilleries in New York, particilarly in the Hudson Valley. In fact, the number of craft distilleries increased by more than 25 percent in just one year (from 2014 to 2015) up to nearly 80. (Thanks, Governor Cuomo!)

I love Hudson Whiskey, the first legal pot-stilled whiskey distilled in New York state since prohibition, who sources 90% of its grains from within 40 miles of the distillery.

The distillery notes in a press release sent to me recently, “For the first time ever the Maple Cask Rye is available in 750ml bottles in addition to the well-known 375ml apothecary-style bottles. This Hudson Whiskey variant is the result of a partnership with Wood’s Syrup maple tappers who use Hudson Whiskey barrels to age their syrup then returns them to the distillery to finish off the Maple Cask Rye and impart a subtle maple sweetness into the classic whiskey. The Maple Cask Rye will have a recommended retail price of $54.99 and will join Hudson Whiskey’s signature Baby Bourbon, Manhattan Rye and New York Corn variants in larger size bottles, affirming the industry and consumer demand for Hudson Whiskey’s award-winning spirits.

“With Hudson, we set out to make great whiskey in New York again,” said Hudson Whiskey co-founder and craft distilling pioneer Ralph Erenzo. “With the investment from William Grant & Sons, we’ve been able to expand our production to support increased demand without ever cutting corners. BTW William Grant is the global brand that is genius at tapping into the crafted, hand-made spirits without losing its step as a major producer. Best of all worlds. Cheers to you.

Maple Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 parts Hudson Maple Cask Rye

Teaspoon good maple syrup

3-4 dashes (to taste) aromatic bitters

Garnish: apple slice and cinnamon stick

Method:

To an Old Fashioned glass, add maple syrup, then bitters, then ice, followed by the Hudson Maple Cask Rye. Stir well to mix and chill. Add garnish and serve.

Fall Back

Ingredients:

2 parts Hudson Maple Cask Rye

1⁄4 part fresh lemon juice

1⁄4 part maple syrup

2 parts apple cider

Cayenne pepper

Method:

To an Old Fashioned/rocks glass, add ice, then lemon juice, then maple syrup, then whiskey, then apple cider, and stir briefly to mix. Add dash cayenne pepper on top, and serve with straw.

Other Thanksgiving and fall cocktails to enjoy.

Delicious drinks made with one of my most favorite mixers: Q Drinks,

Dark, Stormy & Cidery

Ingredients:

3 oz chilled Q Ginger Beer

2 oz dark rum,

½ oz fresh lime juice

1 oz chilled apple cider

1 apple slice

1 lime wedge

Method:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum and lime juice and shake well. Pour the Q Ginger Beer into an ice-filled collins glass and then top with apple cider and then the shaken rum. Garnish with an apple slide and a lime wedge. Try to balance the lime wedge on the apple slice like a sinking ship. It gets easier on the third drink.

Sailor Jerry Apple Ginger Punch

Ingredients:

1 ½ parts Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

2 parts sour mix

1 part apple juice

1 part ginger syrup

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Method:

Add ingredients into mixing glass, add ice, shake, strain over ice into a rocks glass and garnish with an apple slice and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum is a Caribbean Rum blended with 100% natural spices and flavors.

Reyka Snap Mulled Cider

Ingredients:

1 ½ parts Reyka Vodka

¾ part Snap Liqueur

3 parts Apple Cider

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake, strain into wine glass or mug and garnish with candied ginger on a skewer.

Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic born vodka and provides a smooth and crisp base for both complex and simple cocktails.

Drambuie’s Prince Pum King

Ingredients:

1 part Drambuie

1 ½ parts Pumpkin Puree

1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg

4 parts Steamed Whole Milk (Or choice milk-base)

Method:

Steam milk, pumpkin puree and spices together until hot. Double-strain into cup. Stir in Drambuie. Serve in Irish Coffee Mug

Garnish with steamed milk foam and freshly ground nutmeg dusted on top.

Apples & Honey

Ingredients:

1 ¼ parts Drambuie

2 parts Kosher Pressed Apple Cider

¾ part Lime Juice

1 sm pinch Kosher Salt

1 dash Angostura Bitters

1 part Kosher Sparkling White Wine (For dryer Cocktail 2 parts Sparkling wine)

Method:

Combine liquid ingredients and salt minus wine into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and stain over ice in a rocks glass. Top with Sparkling wine and garnish with thinly apple slices and mint.

Drambuie is made from a delightful combination of scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. This cocktail created by Drambuie Brand Ambassador Vance Henderson.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving - cheers to family, friends, good food and drink. And Finishing Touches!

Cheers!

Award-Winning Plant-a-Bar Celebrates Garden-to-Glass Cocktail Culture

If there was ever a product that so directly appeals to my twin passions of homegrown garden art and cocktail culture - it’s this snazzy number - an award-winning bar cum herb planter! As soon as I received this news I knew I had to share with you. It’s perfect for a true “Garden-to-Glass” cocktail experience. Order now for spring - just in time for the launch of my next book, Finishing Touches: The Art of Garnishing the Cocktail  So Cheers! To the garden creatives that dreamed up this cutie pie. I might get two and arrange them as mirror decor - across from one another -- with garden and bar accessories framing the bar decor. Gardener’s Supply Company is being honored with a national, “Green Thumb,” award by the Direct Gardener’s Association for its innovative new product, “Plant-A-Bar.” Plant-a-Bar, one of only five winners, is an elevated cedar planter box with an integrated bar shelf so you can grow herbs for your favorite cocktails and then harvest a fresh sprig as you relax at the bar. The DGA Green Thumb Awards recognize outstanding new garden products available by mail or online. The awards are sponsored by the Direct Gardening Association, the world's largest non-profit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers. Plant-a-Bar is made in the USA and it’s ‘green,’ because it’s crafted from reclaimed wood. Only the best reclaimed pieces are selected to form strong, solid panels which are planed smooth to highlight the attractive variations in color and grain. The skilled craftsmen in the Vermont factory transform the panels into a uniquely beautiful combination of planter and furniture. Durable butcher-block cedar sides are crafted from reclaimed wood, with rustproof aluminum corners and trim. Bar shelf folds down when not in use. To make the most of our precious forest resources, Gardener’s Supply uses reclaimed pieces of high-quality North American cedar from lumber mill trimmings and give them new life in the butcher-block planters. Only the best reclaimed pieces are selected and glued together to form strong, solid panels, which are planed smooth to highlight the attractive variations in color and grain. The skilled craftsmen in their Vermont factory transform the panels into these uniquely beautiful planters. Product Details Assembly required ​Butcher-block cedar, aluminum 4' L x 39-1/4" W (including shelf) x 42" H 9-3/4" planting depth Holds 180 quarts of potting mix Weighs 123 lbs. Ships in two 60-70 lb. boxes “Plant-a-Bar has been a real hit with our customers,” says Gardener’s Supply spokesperson Claudia Marshall, “so we’re delighted to see this product getting the industry recognition it deserves.” Plant-A-Bars are available in 2 sizes. The 2x4 bar is $549 and the 2x8 bar is $699. For more details and to make a purchase, call 1-800-427-3363 or visit www.gardeners.com. About Gardener's Supply Company Gardener’s Supply Company is a 100% employee-owned company of avid gardeners providing garden-tested, earth-friendly products combined with practical information. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the company has won many awards for its innovative gardening products, online gardening content and progressive management style. Gardener's Supply is also a Certified B Corporation and donates 8-percent of its profits to charity. www.gardeners.com