Going to the Chapel Part II

The wedding weekend is over and so ends all of the floriculture events for the summer. I have gotten back into writing the masters thesis (finally!) and therefore will most probably only be posting once a week (sorry friends!). For all of the faithful and occasional readers out there, I will likely be posting on Sundays so you can wake up to a new beautiful plant post on Monday mornings!

As I've already told a few friends, I stupidly never took out my own camera during the entire wedding weekend, so photos from the events will trickle in slowly as I steal photos from Nick's camera, the wedding party, and the newly weds after they return from the Maldives. I will leave you all with this first photo from Kay Wallace, the Maid of Awesomeness. You can see the wildflower bouquets from Pods & Poppies, and I will upload photos of my bouquet soon!

As always, if you have a topic you are eager to learn more about, please send your suggestions and questions my way!

Plant on and rock on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Thriller - Michael Jackson (a little shout-out to the newly weds!)

Stop and Smell the Roses for FREE!

Hello friends!

For those of you who live in Central New York, the flower research and demonstration station for Cornell University in Ithaca NY is having a Flower Open House THIS WEEKEND!

The Department of Horticulture's Ornamental and Turfgrass Research Fields at Bluegrass Lane features more than 1000 varieties of annual and perennial plants and flowers. Many of the varieties are new to the market or still in testing so you are bound to find something unique and exciting!

Everyone is welcome from 10am to 2pm both Saturday AND Sunday, and it's FREE! It's a great place to bring your camera, friends, kids, and a picnic to share among the annual flower beds. Please, no pets.

Bluegrass Lane is located off of Warren Road in Ithaca near the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, northeast of campus. See the map for directions.

For a preview, visit the Bluegrass Lane trials website lined here and in my previous post on Japanese Beetles.

Rock on and plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Vacationing People - Foreign Born

Going to the Chapel...

My best friend's wedding is this weekend and I have the privilege of being one of her maids of honor - Raeanne is going to be her "maid of awesomeness" since she lives with Brianna and honestly has been a MUCH better maid of honor than I have. Being a plant geek, Brianna (the bride to be) put me in charge of finding a florist and organizing all the flowers for the big day.

Brianna is a lover of all things purple and is a free spirit - she's similar to Phoebe from Friends but isn't as spacey. Knowing she would probably not want a generic FTD/1-800 Flowers bouquet, I researched a number of local florists who could put their creativity to good use. We decided to go with Pods & Poppies, a small local organic wild flower farm owned by Susan Poppenger in Skaneateles, NY. Susan is a true steward of the earth, making sure that all of her wild flowers are organically growth and tended, and believes that the best flower is a natural one, rather than a chemical-heavy rose.

This morning Brianna and I ventured out to Pods & Poppies to meet with Susan to wander the gardens and choose the flowers for Saturday. All of us had a rough start to the morning - Brianna and I had coffee cups in hand and Susan had literally just woken up - but once we stepped into the garden behind the barn, we all perked up with the sight of the blooming hydrangea, saliva, liatris, and dozens of other wild flowers. Even though Brianna knows very little about flowers, she immediately started picking up purples and greens that matched exactly the colors she was thinking. Susan also started picking flowers that were a bit outside of Brianna's comfort zone, but when placed with her favorites Brianna started to identify with Susan's creative thinking and before we knew it a beautiful bouquet started to take form.

Susan didn't put anything formal together this morning, but Brianna left much more confident with the idea of what her bouquet will look like come the big day. I left feeling much more awake and grateful for sharing this flower-learning experience with my best friend. Brianna is sure that the bouquets will come out beautifully and she is glad all the flowers will be 100% natural and smell wonderfully without the worry of added chemicals or perfumes.

Finding the perfect wedding flower for you can be a challenge, especially with seasonality, color, and availability. However, finding a florist that matches your personality, lifestyle, and creativity can be easier than expected. Whether you're looking for a florist that has it all or one that is more specific in its products like Pods & Poppies, you are bound to find a florist that matched your interest generally in your local area or readily online. Check out www.findaflorist.com for shops in your area and TheKnot.com for great wedding ideas, including floral designs, colors, and seasonal flowers.

Pictures from Brianna & Will's Big Day to follow!

Rock on and plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Going to the Chapel - The Dixie Cups

Oh, No! There Goes Tokyo!

Japanese Beetles – I HATE them! Utterly LOATHE them! As a summer intern years back at the Cornell Flower Trial Gardens our test geraniums would be devoured almost instantaneously. We’d always spray n’ pray (honestly not the most environmentally responsible approach) and normally it would do the trick if Uncle Bill had upped the pesticide’s concentration enough.

This summer at my parent’s house the choke cherry and weeping cherry trees have been eaten alive this summer by Japanese Beetles. At my boyfriend’s house his parents have nearly been eaten alive themselves. After some research for a pesticide-free control method, both Mumsie and Song decided to purchase Bag-A-Bug from the local Big Box Store. Within minutes of setting up the bags downwind from the infested plants, Japanese Beetles began piling in – the scent from the pheromone-infused hanger called out like a search light outside a frat house does to freshmen. The beetles rushed in to join the orgy and then die after they realized they could not leave the way they came in. Needless to say, the infested plants are much happier now that they are beetle-free, and Mumsie and Song are glad they used the pesticide-free bug bags at their houses to keep their families and dogs healthy and happy.

Although both Mumsie and Song purchased their Bug Bags at a Big Box Store, these and similar all-natural pest control products can easily be found at your local nursery and family garden center.

Rock on and plant on,

Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Godzilla - Blue Oyster Cult

Future Plant Topics

Hello friends!

Over the past few weeks while attending two floriculture conferences I brainstormed some different possible topics for the blog. Here are some topics I'm currently working on:

Apartment/small space gardening
At-home vegetable gardens
How to host a garden party
Party gifts - wine or flowers...?
"I'm killing my plant! What do I do?" - healthy and easy plant-keeping practices
Low budget/recession garden tips and solutions
Golf courses - man's best friend or ecological foe?
Local gardens - where and how to find them

If you have any other ideas, send them my way!

Well I'm off to pick up ice for a garden party I'm hosting with my mom tonight. I'll leave you with a plant photo:















Here is a pic from the 2009 Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens this past March. Check out more at www.longwoodgardens.org

Rock on and plant on,
Stephanie

Welcome!

Hello friends!

Welcome to Generation X/Y Gardener, a blog written to educate, engage, and encourage “young” people about plants and gardening. As a graduate student finishing my degree and looking to re-enter the floriculture industry, I have realized there is a lack of interest and participation by my friends and contemporaries in plants and gardening. Some say it’s due to the economy or lack of spare time, while others feel a pressure of appearing cliché or worry about a lack of knowledge. All cases may be true – we live in an increasingly busy and stressful world. Some may argue that personal interaction and appreciation for “cliché” traditions have fallen by the wayside to text messages and “virtual gifts”. However, I believe that plants can be incorporated into our current lifestyles easily by brightening an office space or replacing a bottle of wine as a house warming gift. Some industry leaders claim our generation has never had an interest in plants and would rather spend a sunny day inside with our video games and PCs instead of outside. I beg to differ, as we are the children of an era which brought forth the Clean Water and Air Acts, recycling, Green Peace, extreme sports, and Kermit the Frog.

The goal for this blog is to bring forth interesting, innovative, timely, and sustainable topics and ways to incorporate plants and gardening into the Gen X/Y lifestyle each week. I encourage everyone to post questions, comments, and concerns he or she might have about plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, and anything that’s green to create an open dialog. In turn I hope that this blog will help increase awareness and enthusiasm, and get young people talking about plants.

Rock on and plant on,

Stephanie