Michler's News: Flowers, Gardens & Design
Lecture Recap: an Introduction to Horticultural Therapy with Jim Embry
To hear Jim Embry talk about horticultural therapy is to hear about how humanity is inextricably connected to the environment. In our times, nature is often thought of as separate from the human world, but in Embry’s words, “we need the environment, it doesn’t need us” and horticultural therapy is all about reconnecting people to the elements that we cannot live without: air, water and soil.
Designing Your Own Dramatic Annual Container Garden
There’s a wise old saying in Kentucky that goes, “Don’t plant your annuals/tomatoes/peppers until after Derby” which, in our experience, is true. By the time the first Saturday in May rolls around the soil is warm and the risk of a frost is very low, perfect conditions for tender annuals to thrive. So when I hear that Kentucky Derby bugle call the horses to post I’m ready with my trowel and apron, ready to design!
Lecture Recap: Discovery Garden - Planting for and with Children with John Michler
What is the secret to gardening for and with children? Honor the child’s nature and remember the bumblebee! Children and bumblebees have a lot in common in the garden. They both are constantly in motion, they are explorers at heart, they are investigators, and they thrive in natural environments. For adults, this means letting go of your preconceived notions of what a garden is and maybe embrace a little chaos.
Learning From Hitomi Gilliam
We started our construction of the arrangement on the wall by using large tropical Monstera leaves and other foliage to cover much of the wire. Then came armfuls of beautiful tropical flowers. We had large cascades of Phalaenopsis orchids, clusters of long stem Cymbidium orchids, Anthuriums, Sexy Pink heliconias, and Imperial protea
Michlers' Team Travels North to Mazeppa
Smelling of paint thinner and Swisher Sweets, Mike Meyer’s studio was covered from ceiling to floor with hand painted signs that he had made and collected. The collection was increasingly inspirational as we learned over the course of the week to paint in block and casual scripts and practiced the finer points of beveling and shadowing.
Seedleaf Compost Pick-Up
For those of you who lack the space (or the desire) for your own compost bin, Seedleaf offers a compost pick-up service. Diverting your vegetable trimmings from the landfill couldn’t be easier than this.
Kentucky Native Café is fortunate enough to be one of Seedleaf's compost partners and each week during café season we fill up five gallon buckets to keep our trimming out of the garbage.
Signature Valentine's Designs
Are you looking to capture the season, the romance, and the beauty of Valentine's Day? That is what we look to do when creating one of our signature designs. Your eye will move from the romantic wispy gestures, to the opening spring bulb flowers, and finally come to rest on the large open cut roses.
Open Cut Roses
Are all cut roses equal? You intuitively know they are not — at a glance you can tell some blooms are more vibrant, lush, and impressive than others.
While there are a number of variables such as weather, rose variety, and freshness, it is the flower “cut stage” that consistently differentiates the roses at your local florist from the mass market retailer.
Hosting a Terrarium Workshop
The popularity of terrariums began in the Victorian Era and have continued because of the delight it brings with the personalized little world within it. Small ferns, pileas, and begonias can be nestled among mosses and other foliage plants creating a miniaturized woodland landscape.
Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomiodes)
Pilea peperomiodes is a time tested house plant commonly called Chinese Money Plant because this plant originates from southwest China and has unique round leaves, which, as the plant matures, form a mound that looks like a pile of money. The round peltate leaves and naturally shininess are why you have probably seen this plant photographed in a Scandinavian furniture ad, Instagram post, or Pinterest board.