Broadway+Thresher, Issue 5

Broadway+Thresher Rural. Urban. Inclusive.

spring is bright!

Bette Midler’s NYRP The Inn at Little Washington Conversation with Greenfire Farms Butterflies + Blooms at FPC Faces of Amsterdam Issue 5, April/May 2014

In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. --Alfred Tennyson

“Neon Man with a Pink Ribbon” by Joyce Lindsey, pastels, 34” x 44”

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j o urnal

pring has officially sprung! At Broadway+Thresher we’ve been busy for months anticipating the release of this issue. We can finally start getting our hands dirty in the garden, begin those outdoor projects we’ve been planning all winter, and relish in the warm sunshine, whether on a hike through the woods or leisurely swinging on a backyard hammock.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have the windows open while completing this issue, letting the cool spring breeze renew our creative spirits. The Scandinavian palette of winter has been replaced with the vibrant neon of re-birth. You’ll find this theme throughout our pages, whether it’s the rebirth of neglected plots of land by the New York Restoration Project, or the re-invention of food products into world-class cuisine at The Inn at Little Washington. At the Franklin Park Conservancy, we explore the world of butterflies stretching their wings for the first time. And Greenfire Farms shares with us the magic that comes when a chick emerges from an egg.

Don’t forget to enjoy yourself over the next few months.

Chores and obligations can seem overwhelming as the weather warms, but it’s imperative we take time to appreciate Mother Nature. We’ve complained about the cold for far too long, and she has finally answered our prayers. The least we can do is take a moment and walk through a spring meadow in gratitude. The bluebirds are waiting for you.

Andrew+David

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c ontents 4 ... journal 7 ... contributors 8 ... snapshots 13 ... celebrate 17 ... food+drink 39 ... farm+garden 61 ... lifestyle 76 ... intersection

features: 8 ... Faces of Amsterdam 13 ... Blooms & Butterflies 30 ... The Inn at Little Washington 40 ... Fowl Play 46 ... The New York Restoration Project

-front cover by Laura Atchison -left image by David Gobeli

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Broadway+Thresher Co-Founders+Editors in Chief David Gobeli+Andrew Kohn Executive Editor Daniel W. Long Photo Editor Rachel Joy Baransi

The Blog BroadwayandThresher.com Subscribe BroadwayandThresher.com/subscribe Advertise BroadwayandThresher.com/advertise Customer Service info@BroadwayandThresher.com Contact David or Andrew David@BroadwayandThresher.com Andrew@BroadwayandThresher.com

Section Editors Ruth Coffey [Fashion] Nicole McGrew [Lifestyle] Mark Nickerson [Food+Drink] Anton Sarossy-Christon [Farm+Garden] Anne Sherwood Pundyk [Art] Meredith Peters [Music] Contributing Writers Emily George Emie Heisey Debi Ward Kennedy Lee Kirkpatrick Jenna Kelly-Landes Deven Rittenhouse Luke Smith Stephie Swope

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co n t ri b u to rs Laura Atchison

Contributing Writer

Lucas Atwood

Eric George Contributing Photographer

Lee Kirkpatrick

Contributing Photographer

Fashion Contributor

Rachel Joy Baransi

Mark Nickerson

Photo Editor

Food Editor

Kristofer Bowman

Meredith Peters

racheljoybaransi.com

Lifestyle Contributor

Music Editor

Ruth Coffey

AntonSarossy-Christon

theinventorialist.com

Fashion Editor

Farm+GardenEditor

Evelyn Hoyt Frolking

SusanStuderKing

Contributing Writer

spring, summer, fall and winter.

Broadway+Thresher, always in season.

terravitafarms.com

Contributing Writer

artifloragranville.com

Emily George Resident Mixologist

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S na p s hots : Fa c es of Amsterdam Rachel Joy Baransi

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find myself completely overwhelmed by the beauty of the people in Amsterdam. Striking white hair, wind-blown natural curls, immense diversity and a many, many beautiful scarves. Last year, I set out to take photos of strangers at the market and I came home with a few amazing ones but wished I had more. This year, I set out with the goal of taking one hundred photos in one day. Though the gray skies of the city prevented the project from happening in one standing, after two more visits to the same market and lots of asking, one hundred and one people graciously offered their face as part of my collection of Amsterdam beauty.

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C elebra te: Bu tter f l i es +Blo o ms a photo essay by Laura Atchison

2014 marks the 20th aniversary of Blooms & Butterflies at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. The exhibition runs March 8 - September 21, 2014. fpconservatory.org

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food+drink

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Let’s Have a Tiki

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Emily George | photos by Eric George

ometime around 1934, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, from Louisiana, opened a restaurant in Hollywood with Cantonese-inspired cuisine, strong rum punches and garishly bright décor. He later became Donn Beach, founder of the Don the Beachcomber restaurants. At the height of the Depression this Polynesianinspired eatery made the world fall in love with Tiki.

Tiki continues to be a prominent fixture in the modern cocktail scene and Tiki bars are opening across the country, spreading the fun and light-heartedness far and wide.

The flare of the Tiki cocktail speaks for itself. Bold combinations of a number of rums, cordials, liqueurs, specialty syrups, bitters and fruit juices combine to create the Mai Tais, Zombies and Grogs that many have come to love. The garnishes that top these crazy concoctions are as bold as the drinks themselves—flowers, umbrellas, beautifully carved fruit, fancy straws, and sometimes, boozefueled flames!

Tiki Bars in Your Neighborhood Chicago, Illinois -- Three Dots and a Dash -- 435 N Clark St

threedotschicago.com Columbus, Ohio -- Grass Skirt Tiki Room -- 105 N Grant Ave grassskirttiki.com Ft. Lauderdale, Florida -- Mai-Kai -- 3599 N Federal Hwy

maikai.com Kilauea, Hawaii -- The Volcano House -- 1 Crate Rim Dr

hawaiivolcanohouse.com Madison, Wisconsin -- The Tiki Shack -- 126 State St

tikishackmadison.com New York, New York -- The Rusty Knot -- 425 West St

therustyknot.com Portland, Oregon -- Hale Pele -- 2733 NE Broadway St halepele.com San Francisco, California -- The Tonga Room -- 950 Mason St

tongaroom.com

Tiki culture and cocktails can be great inspiration for spring and summertime gatherings among friends. While an ambitious party host may choose to offer a selection of Tiki cocktails made-to-order, Tiki cocktails can easily be built in batches and served punch-style to hoards of excited guests. Tiki drinks can also offer a wide range of palette pleasing recipes from the heavily booze-laden Zombies to lighter, more refreshing cocktails like the Blue Hawaiian or my personal favorite, the Missionary’s Downfall (see page 16 for recipe).

Regardless of the cocktails you serve, Tiki drinks offer the opportunity to produce a variety of fancy garnishes that will surely impress your friends and family. Putting a spin on a classic orange twist by trimming the edges with pinking shears or gussying up your lime wedges by scoring the whole lime’s skin with a fruit zester before cutting into wedges are easy ways to spice up the visual appeal of your cocktail.

If you want to take your garnish game to the next level, try some pyrotechnics! Once you’ve juiced your limes, save the shells, you’ll have a nice hollow vessel to hold the fuel of your choice. I like to use a sugar cube, soaked generously in a high-proof rum (such as Barcardi 151), which helps maintain the flame.

No matter which cocktails you decide to serve at your next outdoor gathering or how fancy you get with your garnish, just remember that Tiki is all about the fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, don your tackiest Hawaiian shirt, kick off your shoes and have a great time!

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Blue Hawaiian

Missionary’s Downfall

¾ ounce light rum ¾ ounce vodka ½ ounce Blue Curacao liqueur 3 ounces pineapple juice 1 ounce sweet and sour mix

1 ½ ounces Bacardi rum ½ ounce peach schnapps liqueur 1 ounce lime juice 2 ounces pineapple juice ½ ounce sugar syrup 12 fresh mint leaves

Combine ingredients and mix well. If serving with ice, mix the ingredients in a blender. Serve in a tall glass. Garnish with a brightly colored umbrella

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Pour the Bacardi rum, peach schnapps liqueur, lime juice, pineapple juice and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice cubes. Shake briefly but vigorously. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the mint leaves.

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Black Magic

Zombie

¾ ounce orange juice ¾ ounce lime juice ¾ ounce white grapefruit juice ¾ ounce rich honey mix (2:1 honey to water) 1 ½ ounces strong chilled coffee 1 ½ ounces Coruba dark Jamaican rum 1 ½ ounces Kohala Bay dark Jamaican rum ½ ounce cinnamon-grapefruit syrup (2 parts grapefruit juice to 1 part cinnamon syrup) ½ teaspoon allspice dram 2 dashes Angostura bitters

½ ounce Bacardi 151 rum 1 ounce pineapple juice 1 ounce orange juice ½ ounce apricot brandy 1 teaspoon sugar 2 ounces light rum 1 ounce dark rum 1 ounce lime juice

Blend with 1 ½ cups of crushed ice mixer until frothy. Pour into a large snifter glass with more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with a lemon peel.

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Blend all ingredients with ice except Bacardi 151. Pour into a collins glass. Float Bacardi 151 proof rum on top. Garnish with a fruit slice, sprig of mint and a cherry.

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Men u Boa rd: Mi d-Spring

Mark Nickerson | photos by Mark Nickerson + David Gobeli + Lucas Atwood

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t long last, welcome to spring. After a brutal winter in nearly every state, the back of winter at last seems broken. This time of transition is not easy for the seasonal chef­—the bounty of summer and fall is still a long way off, and though we long for the fresh light flavors of spring, the occasional cold snap sends us quickly scurrying back to the hearty warmth of winter comfort food. With this in mind, we’ve prepared a simple Menu Board for you. The focus is on lighter flavors that still deliver a satisfyingly warm meal.

For the first course, the creamy luxury of risotto is brightened by the addition of lemon and spring asparagus. Finished with a grate of parmesan or aged gouda the dish creates a symphony of flavors that will awaken the taste buds. Risotto is a deceptively simple dish and filling enough to be a meal in itself. A smaller portion will whet the appetite for the main dish—roast quail with brioche bread pudding.

Don’t be alarmed at the idea of managing these wee birds. As with the risotto, the recipe is simple. The results, however, are sure to impress. Quail are full of flavor but without the gaminess you might expect from pheasant or grouse. The fresh herb seasonings carry through the springtime flavor profile begun in the risotto dish and perfectly set the stage for our glorious dessert offering.

A fresh kiwi and strawberry tart is as visually stunning as it is delicious. This recipe calls for a mix of canola oil and butter in the crust and a lighter filling allowing you to enjoy the riot of decadent flavor with much less guilt than you might expect.

The crust will remind you of simple shortbread cookies— delicious, crumbly and versatile enough for a variety of different dessert options. If kiwi and strawberry aren’t your thing substitute whatever fruit is readily available.

For a wine pairing a traditional Italian white like a Verdicchio will carry nicely throughout the meal, especially if this is the wine you choose to use in the risotto recipe. It will also pick up the notes of citrus and the tang of the aged cheese in the risotto, while balancing the herbal flavors of the quail and sweetness of the tart. If red wine is more your preference perhaps something fruity like a dolcetto will work with all three courses. Alternatively if you prefer to offer a different red with each of the savory courses a lighter pinot noir would work well with the risotto and the quail could stand up easily to a classic Barbera leaving your dolcetto for the dessert.

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photo by Mark Nickerson

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

Brioche Bread Pudding with Herbs and Goat Cheese

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 1 medium shallot, diced small 1 stalk of celery, diced small 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 cup arborio rice 1 cup dry white wine 3+ cups chicken stock 1 dozen asparagus spears, cut into 1” sections juice of one lemon salt and pepper to taste ½ cup grated parmesan plus more for garnish

6 ounces mushrooms, diced 1 small onion, small diced 2 tablespoons butter 1 loaf brioche, trimmed of crust and cubed 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1 ½ teaspoon coarse salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled 4 eggs, beaten with ¼ - ½ cup heavy whipping cream

In heavy bottom medium-sized pot over medium heat melt butter (or heat oil if using). Add shallot, celery and garlic.

Saute 3-4 minutes until softened, but not browned. Add rice and stir to mix and coat in oil, cook 2-3 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and let reduce 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. In 1 cup additions, add chicken stock, stirring constantly. Add in more stock once nearly all is absorbed. Be careful not to let the rice stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Continue cooking, stirring and adding stock.

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a saute pan over medium heat melt butter. Once foam subsides, add mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add onions and continue to cook until softened. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, saute asparagus with a knob of butter in a separate

Transfer mix to a buttered 8” x 8” baking dish. Bake for 2030 minutes or until set.

continued page 24

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In large mixing bowl add brioche, thyme, parsley, rosemary, salt, pepper, goat cheese and sauted vegetables. Toss gently to mix. In a small bowl beat egg and cream. Pour over bread mix. Add more cream until all bread is slightly moist.

photo by Lucas Atwood

Roast Quail

Kiwi and Strawberry Tart - recipe by Lucas Atwood

4 boneless whole quail 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered 4 sprigs thyme

3 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup butter, softened 1/ cup canola oil 3 ¼ cup cold water 3 tablespoons sugar 5 egg yolks 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoons vanilla 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup heavy whipping cream 2 kiwi, peeled and sliced into ¼” rounds 12 strawberries, hulled and sliced into ¼” sections

In bowl or zip-top bag place quail, Worchestershire sauce and soy sauce. Toss to coat and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove quail from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with either nonstick foil or foil that has been oiled. Insert sprig of thyme and a quarter of the onion into the cavity of each quail. Roast for 12-15 minutes.

Romove from oven, tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, butter, oil and water.

Gently knead until all ingredients are evenly combined.

Form into a disc and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough to ¼” thick and place in a 9” spring form pan, making sure the crust rises 1” inch up the sides of the pan. Poke holes in the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. Bake for 25 minutes. continued page 24

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Asparagus Risotto, continued from page 22

pan, 2-3 minutes or until soft but still bright green. Set aside.

Once all stock has been absorbed into the rice, and it is the texture you want (it should still have just a hint of a bite to it, making it al dente) remove from heat. Add ½ cup more stock, lemon juice, salt and pepper, parmesan and asparagus. Stir gently to combine.

Serve in warm bowls with a sprinkling of more parmesan to garnish Kiwi and Strawberry Tart, continued from page 23

Place sugar, yolks, butter, vanilla, cornstarch and cream in a sauce pan and stir over medium heat until it thickens, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover in plastic wrap, pressing film to the top of the custard to stop a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

Once cool, whisk custard then pour into crust. Smooth top with spatula and top with sliced kiwi and strawberries.

D i n i n g O u t: T he Inn a t Li ttl e Wa s hi ngto n

Mark Nickerson | photos by Lucas Atwood and The Inn at little Washington

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ou know you’re getting close to the Inn at Little Washington when you begin to get the feeling that you’ve driven into an Andrew Wyeth landscape. As US-522 dips and weaves its way through the idyllic Virginia countryside you also gain an appreciation, before you’ve even sampled the first bite, of Chef Patrick O’Connell’s culinary inspiration. It’s distinctly American: its rustic organic roots as plain as day, but elevated and presented with an unquestionable exactitude.

A mere seventy miles from downtown Washington, D.C., Chef O’Connell’s Inn is more than just an escape from the city: The Inn at Little Washington is an escape from the ordinary.

Observe the detail. From the 350 year old wooden floor in the tea room, shipped from southern France and then painstakingly reassembled complete with the original nail heads, to the perfectly hung striped silk wall covering in the main dining room, there isn’t a single wrong note. This care extends beyond the facility and into the actions of every employee. They operate with precision and focus to ensure that guests are catered to at every moment.

The details: Meals are available as either a la carte in a four course tasting menu or, for the more adventurous, there is an expanded “Gastronaut’s Menu” offered with or without paired wines.

A Vegetarian Gastronaut’s menu is also available. The wine cellar consists of over 14,000 bottles representing over 2,500 different labels including wines from the increasingly well regarding Virginia wine country. Make reservations by visiting innatlittlewashington.com or by calling (540) 675-3800.

Most kitchens I’ve been in are noisy frenetic places with stress almost visible in the air. During our visit, an hour into dinner service, the loudest noise was Gregorian chants playing in the background. The cooks all moved quickly but calmly, with little wasted motion, and never yelling across the room to each other. Through it all, Chef O’Connell maintained an easy control, tasting and expediting dishes, answering our questions and even taking a moment to ask one of the food runners that he hadn’t seen yet that day how his afternoon was going. To even the most casual observer it is a telling sign of the focus which goes directly to the heart of the menu.

Like the Inn itself, the menu is an ever evolving work of vision, dedication and refinement. The dishes will at first glance seem familiar—an ahi tartare, lamb carpaccio or quartet of oysters to start. Main course selections including beef loin, lobster or pork chop—but they are augmented by small touches that surprise the palate and turn the mind in unexpected ways while highlighting the seasonal and usually very local produce that are the hallmark of the Inn at Little Washington. A cucumber sorbet to accompany the ahi.

Caesar salad ice cream dots the lamb loin carpaccio, giving a cool refreshment to the rich meat. Papardelle pasta with chanterelle mushrooms gets turned on its head with the addition of apricots and ribbons of country ham. The squab, a mainstay of fine dining is both elevated and also made more accessible when graced by blueberry vinegar and a zucchini crepe. In talking about how he designs his menu, O’Connell says that more than simply taking a classic dish and adding Broadway+thresherspring2014.............31

his own twist his goal is to bring “a little grandma” into each item as well. To bring those flavors of American exuberance and simplicity to the refined European inspired dishes that form the basis of his menu.

The produce is seasonal and as a result the menu changes not with the shifting seasons but along with the vagaries of agricultural fortune. Some years cherries are abundant and incorporated a dozen ways in the summer menu. Others, they’re sparse and old favorites re-imagined to accommodate the shortage. Cultivating deep relationships with producers, many local to north-western Virginia, is the key to success, according to Chef O’Connell.

With a list of over two dozen local producers, from hog, oyster and berry farmers to beekeepers and everything in between, he has managed to develop a network of partners that supply ingredients that set the tone for the menu. Between working in collaboration with his in-house grower and having an understanding of what his producers are planting, O’Connell is involved in every step of food production.

“All food has its own terroir,” says O’Connell. “When you work with these people year after year you learn that the strawberries grown on one farm will taste different than those grown in another place. And that means I have to think 32.............Broadway+thresherspring2014

about how I want those flavors to be used in the dish.”

In addition to understanding what is happening with his growers, and building in redundancy by finding multiple high quality sources for his most critical ingredients, there is another element of collaboration that comes into play.

It’s not uncommon for a grower, especially his in house farmer, Joneve Murphy, to approach him with a product and a suggestion for how to use it in his menu. A gutsy move, one might think, to approach a multiple James Beard Award winner, a chef known for his exacting standards and attention to detail and suggest something new for his menu. But Chef O’Connell thrives on the collaboration.

“She might come in one day and say ‘Here, taste this,’ and hand me some vegetable I didn’t even ask her to grow,” his face lights up as he describes the scene. “And then she will go on and suggest I use it in a chutney and I’ll know I never would have thought of that myself, but it is exactly right.”

It is this process of collaborative creation, albeit a process firmly rooted in his singular vision for what he has worked to develop, that increasingly provides a model for the modern American culinary scene. When he started in the late 70s it was a situation born out of necessity. Before there was such a thing as a “farm to table movement” Chef O’Connell was

doing whatever it took to make the meals he envisioned. At that time the infrastructure simply wasn’t in place to source his product through the traditional routes available to restaurants. No one was delivering to a small town an hour’s drive out of the closest city.

“But this is where I knew I wanted to live and work. And I knew that there were enough people in this area that would appreciate and could afford what I wanted to create that I could make it successful,” explains O’Connell. And that insight has proved accurate. Starting small and growing incrementally over the last four decades the Inn has evolved from a small dining room with a cramped kitchen in a converted service station into a renovation of the town itself.

It’s an evolution that was never planned in this way, but one that has grown organically as the need and the opportunity have presented themselves to a man with a simple vision for who he is and what he wants to do yet admits he never feels like he has arrived at palace where he is fully satisfied.

“You have patience. And you make an incremental change here or there. Maybe on a dish or maybe with a building. And you find a way that makes it better and so a new standard is set,” O’Connell explains in his soft spoken way that belies the intensity and energy that have driven the constant evolution of his vision. “Now everything else has to come up

to that standard. And while you are working on that you find something else changes and sets a new even higher standard.

And so it continues to grow. But it grows authentically. You can’t just impose your will on it. It’s a dialogue you have.”

That dialogue has helped to re-imagine American cuisine.

From a place where American chefs might have been a bit embarrassed about traditional American fare to a point where diners rejoice over dishes such as “A Chop of Organic MilkFed Pork with Sauerkraut Braised in Virginia Riesling, Local Apples and la Ratte Potato Puree.” It is food that reflects that rural tradition of making a meal out of what is at hand and, like Americans themselves, is the product of a melting pot of culinary traditions. There are no constraints of a singular ethnic point of view. Curried cauliflower resides alongside truffle-stuffed pheasant breast. The result is dishes that are elevated in such a way that Chef O’Connell insists they would hold their own against the very best that one could expect to find in a Michelin-starred European restaurant.

And his audience agrees. In addition to the awards, the praise of food critics and reviewers worldwide, you can see his best reviews on any given night at the Inn: a packed house, the smiles of the guests and the uniquely happy hum of a dining room full of people enjoying a truly sensational meal.

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Chef to C hef As a part of our feature on The Inn at Little Washington, we arranged for Lucas Atwood, chef and owner of Snapshots Lounge and the Edit Room in Granville, Ohio to sit down with Chef Patrick O’Connell for a short series of “Chef to Chef” questions.

Lucas - Chef, like you, I am a self taught cook. I understand when you started out here you were working on a small wood burning stove with limited space. I am wondering, with those constraints, what dish did you choose to master first, and why?

Patrick - That’s exactly the right word. Master. Too many people overlook that. It was Julia Child who first suggested to Americans that cooking was an art that could be mastered.

It was her suggestion that this was a craft to be honed and that of another woman, Paula Peck, who wrote “The Art of Fine Baking” that inspired me to continually work at improving and mastering a dish. Paula Peck decided to master the croissant. So she would work at her recipe and once a year she would travel to France and compare the croissants there to what she was making at home. After nine years she finally reached a point where she liked her own croissant more. Nine years! For me, starting it out, I think there were two things I wanted to master. I wanted to master the creme caramel which I changed a little to use honey instead of sugar. But I also wanted a versatile main course so I mastered poaching chicken. Poached chicken can go with a variety of different sauces allowing you to present several different dishes.

Lucas - You are known for running a very clean kitchen. Very particular. I have to confess that I get a bit messy. Were you always this articulate in your kitchen management or was it something that came with time?

Patrick - Again, I have to refer to Julia Child. She once said “don’t be a cook who doesn’t like cleaning,” and I’ve always taken that to heart. This is all a part of the process and to master something you have to enjoy every step of experience.

I enjoy cleaning, though now I have a larger staff and there is always someone else cleaning up. For me it was a therapeutic part of the cooking process. I was ordering my universe.

This has now grown to other parts of the business. We get to look at old buildings and clean them up, re-envision their use as a part of the Inn. But yes, from the very beginning I was particular about these things.

Lucas - I read a story once of how you connected with a guest who was sitting alone in your dining room, very sad and reading a book. You apparently had just read the same book and you were able to connect with her over that. I don’t suppose you happen to remember the book, do you?

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Continued from page 31

Patrick - I don’t remember the book. It was some novel I think. I don’t get to read nearly as much these days. I’m sure I’ll remember the book though sometime later tonight or tomorrow. But I do remember the woman. One of our staff members told me that she was there because her husband recently passed and they had always wanted to dine here. I wanted to welcome her to our place but couldn’t use that as a point of entry to talk to her. So I talked about the book. This business is about connecting with people and so when I am going to go to a table I always need that point of entry. That point of connection other than just the food.

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studio

where flowers become art

www.artifloragranville.com Celebrating 10 years in 2014

fa rm+ga rden

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Fowl P lay

Anton Sarossy-Christon | photos by Greenfire Farms and Michael Stoner

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find an unfortunate irony in the homophones foul and fowl. Though fowl do have the knack to produce foul offerings at unpropitious times—I’m worried about the outcome of my four year old son’s show-and-tell—the word better describes a group of the most beautifully feathered domesticated poultry. Fowl, if they were traded on the stock market, have been experiencing a decidedly bullish rise in popularity. According to Mother Nature Network, celebrities from Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon, Martha Stewart, to Chevy Chase have coops and ponds full of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. The most pedigreed proponent of organic farming, Prince Charles, raises chickens and promotes products made from their eggs (among many others) through his popular organic food and drink brand Duchy Originals. Fowl: their day has dawned, and that should give them something to crow, gobble, quack, and honk about.

Chickens Chickens rival dogs in the sheer number of existing breeds.

Nobody knows exactly how many breeds exist, but experts agree they number in the hundreds. With names like Commune Hen, Muffed Old English Game, Winnebago, and Scots Dumpy, they announce the arrival of dawn around the world with their ubiquitous song. Though hundreds of breeds exist, an alarming percentage of them teeter on the very brink of extinction largely because commercial agriculture favors only a few very specialized breeds for egg laying or meat production. Small to large farmers alike are encouraged to switch over to more commercial breeds because of stiff competition and the promise of increased production. The Livestock Conservancy, whose mission it is to ensure “the future of agriculture through the genetic conservation and promotion of endangered breeds of livestock and poultry “ works to make sure our grandchildren will live in a world where hundreds of breeds of chickens, and all poultry, continue to exist.

Greenfire Farms, near Tallahassee, Florida, is unique for its focus on introducing Americans to rare and endangered breeds of chickens from around the world. Greenfire Farms has imported an impressive variety of chicken breeds thus far, offering hatching eggs, chicks, and adult birds to poultry enthusiasts around the country. Their approach to farming emphasizes animal welfare noting that “a pen that holds three chickens on Greenfire Farms is about the same size as a pen that holds a thousand chickens on a factory farm.”

Appenzeller Spitzhauben Hen, Greenfire Farms

I spoke with Jenny Taylor of Greenfire Farms as she was heading from work at the farm to a Chicken workshop Greenfire Farms is hosting. I’ve always found that farmers quickly learn to master the art of multitasking!

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Ayan Cemani Hen, Greenfire Farms

B+T - How and when did Greenfire Farms start?

Jenny Taylor - Paul Bradshaw, the owner, started the business around 2007. It was then that he imported Coronation Sussex chickens from Australia, where they had the best stock, and began offering them for sale to the public. They were really popular so he imported Light Sussex chickens and we’ve been importing birds every spring since 2010. Paul finds breeds through travel, research, word of mouth, and relationships he builds with chicken breeders. Sometimes in looking for a specific breed he comes across others he might not have been looking for.

B+T - I don’t see the Coronation or Light Sussex for sale on your website anymore, why?

Kraienkoppe Roosters, Greenfire Farms

Jenny Taylor - I’m glad we’ve been able to establish a business with a reputation good enough that people want to refer to us. Before Greenfire Farms started there were a lot of chicken breeders around that only concentrated on one breed and then the large hatcheries. We’re something in the middle. We’re not a big hatchery but we concentrate on more than just one breed.

B+T - I noticed you’re offering a breed of chicken called the Ayam Cemani from Indonesia. Are they really selling for $5,000 a pair?

Jenny Taylor - Yes! We’ve sold four pairs so far and already have several orders to ship in April.

B+T: What makes them so expensive?

Jenny Taylor - Our mission is to preserve endangered chicken breeds and we can only keep so many. Every year we look at the breeds we have and have to make some decisions.

The Sussex is pretty well established in the U.S. now so we decided not to raise them.

Jenny Taylor: The fibro melanistic gene, that makes them black, is hard to maintain. If you have a bird with just one white feather you can’t keep it.

B+T - I’ve seen a lot of breeds you offer for sale on eBay as hatching eggs with the sellers adding “Greenfire Farms line” in the description, how do you feel about that?

Jenny Taylor: We have about 400 to 500 birds at any time, less than 500 right now. We keep twenty to twenty five hens and four to five roosters for each breed. We replace the breeding birds every year because of our breeding program.

The breeding birds we no longer use are sold to other

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B+T: How many breeding birds do you have in total?

It’s a project that combines the mille fleur pattern and a gold laced pattern to create plumage similar to that of the Tolbunt Polish.

B+T: Do you have plans to include other kinds of animals in the future?

Jenny Taylor: No, we really want to concentrate on chickens.

We used to have Red Wattle Pigs and sold them to a farmer in Georgia. We also had Cotton Patch Geese which I really liked but a pack of Coyotes liked them more and we’re selling off our herd of Pineywoods Cattle.

B+T: Do you have any new birds being released in the near future?

Jenny Taylor: Yes, Lavender Wyandottes. Wyandottes are such a beautiful bird and the Lavender is a soft grey color.

The Gold Duckwing Kraienkoppe is generating a lot of excitement and is on the new arrivals page. The males are so colorful! The Ostfriesische Möwe has been a work in progress but we’re finally about to move forward with them and they’re coming to the U.S. this spring and will be released spring of 2015.

Three Breeds:

Malines Rooster and Hen, Greenfire Farms

breeders. The birds can have quite a long productive life but because of our program, we only need them for a year.

B+T: How many chicks do you hatch very week in the high season?

Jenny Taylor: We hatch 600 to 800 shippable chicks but keep some for replacements.

B+T: How many chicken breeds do you have at the moment?

Jenny Taylor: We have forty to fifty breeds, probably closer to fifty and we’ve been importing about eight new breeds every spring. In total we’ve imported about seventy breeds.

B+T: What are the most popular breeds with your customers right now?

Jenny Taylor: The Swedish Flower Hens are the most popular and a close second are the Cream Legbars. Jubilee Orpingtons are probably third. The Orpingtons were bred

by British chicken fanciers for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, they’re an old breed.

B+T: I read on your website that you sometimes try to create new breeds or colors through breeding programs. What are you working on now?

Greenfire Farms began offering what they call the “Lamborghini of poultry” to the public in the form of the Ayam Cemani chicken (photo page 38) for the first time this spring. Originally from Indonesia, these chickens take the color black to a place most people have never seen.

Everything on and in the chicken is black: feathers, skin, comb, muscle, even their bones and organs. The chickens have caused a sensation in poultry circles. One look, and you’ll see why.

Appenzeller Spitzhauben chickens (photo page 36) are another recent import by Greenfire Farms. Though the breed has existed on this side of the Atlantic since shortly after WWII, Greenfire Farms noticed that the vigour of American birds was failing and an injection of European blood was needed to ensure the breed’s future. Appenzeller Spitzhaubens are an old Swiss breed with records of similar looking birds going back to the 1500s emerging from Swiss monasteries. Their clean lines, black and white polka dots, and jaunty mohawk headpieces make them popular with chicken fanciers. I have them on my farm and they are my favorites since dreaming of having a small flock of these chickens since I was in high school. I wasn’t disappointed by their personalities and they frequently fly into the air landing on my shoulder (or head!) to accompany me on a walk around the barnyard.

Elegant in a feathered coat of black and white herringbone, the Malines (ma-leen) hail from Belgium. Malines are large in stature—males can weigh over 12 pounds. These birds are both quiet and regal in appearance and bearing, rewarding their owners with meat and extra large eggs.

Jenny Taylor: We were working on a Tolbunt Orpington.

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Chocolate Turkey, Anton Sarrosy-Christon

Turkey As closely associated with Thanksgiving as Santa Claus to Christmas, Turkeys are strangely underappreciated as barnyard fowl. In a surprising twist of fate, though native to the Americas, most of the domestic turkeys we raise come to us from stock imported from Europe. European explorers took turkeys back to Europe. Later, immigrants brought their turkeys with them to America. Most of us imagine one of two kinds of the bird: the large white commercial turkey, and the wild turkey, iridescent in plumage and wary of humans, but there is a third.

Commercial white turkeys will never become popular in American barnyards for one simple reason: they cannot mate naturally. They’re effectively sterile. The toms (male turkeys) are too large and uncoordinated to mount the hens and so commercial turkey farmers must artificially inseminate all hens in order to lay fertile eggs that are then artificially incubated. It’s a very time consuming and messy process and quite unsustainable for the homesteader.

Fortunately alternatives do exist in the form of what are called naturally mating domesticated turkeys, also called heritage breed turkeys. Porter’s Rare Heritage Turkeys raises over thirty varieties of turkey on their farm in Fremont, Indiana.

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The intriguingly named Chocolate turkeys are listed by The Livestock Conservancy as being critically endangered of extinction and Porter’s carries them (toms 33lbs, hens 18lbs). The Chocolates are a beautiful milk chocolate brown, hens and toms sport exactly the same coloring.

Narragansett turkeys, named after the bay in Massachusetts, come closer to the quintessential wild Thanksgiving turkey color pattern many of us imagine, but having more white in their plumage gives them a striking appearance (toms 33lbs, hens 18lbs).

One of the smaller turkey breeds available is the Royal Palm (Toms 22lbs, hens 12lbs). Often used as an ornamental farm bird, Royal Palms can just as easily be used as a small Thanksgiving turkey but with such an arresting feather pattern, I’d rather watch them brighten my barnyard.

Geese and Ducks Holderread Waterfowl Farm and Preservation Center conserves “rare breeds of domestic ducks and geese from around the world”. Located in Corvallis, Oregon, the farm was born out of Dave Holderread’s lifelong fascination with waterfowl. In fact, the first waterfowl I ever ordered came from Holderread’s and their offspring continue to grace my farm today. Contrary to popular belief, a pond isn’t

namesake, the black and white Magpie bird. These ducks are small, active, and rather flighty (though flightless). They are very good layers of medium eggs, occasionally a blue egg will be produced, but do not produce very much meat and not at all broody. I love their clean black and white lines and the fact that the hens and drakes have exactly the same coloring.

Grey Saddleback Pomeranian Geese, Michael Stoner

necessary for ownership; a small wading pool will suffice.

Ducks and geese are by far the most entertaining members of the barnyard set. They are inquisitive, a little bossy, and a pleasure to watch as they play in the water. Of all barnyard birds, Geese may be the most carefree to keep because their main diet is grass. You can keep a gaggle of geese well fed on your lawn or pasture for the entire growing season without feeding any store bought feed! Ducks and geese both produce eggs you can use in the kitchen. Duck breeds, like the Khaki Campbell selected for egg laying, produce more eggs per year than the best laying chickens! Geese are not generally kept for egg production because they are very seasonal layers—usually laying enough for a clutch of eggs and then they’re finished laying for the year.

Saxony ducks, originally from Germany, are a beautiful buff with grey colored wing points in the hens. The drakes have iridescent gray heads, a narrow white neck collar, a deep chestnut chest, off-white body, and a grey tail! It’s easy to see their mallard heritage, but unlike mallards, they cannot fly.

These ducks are good layers of large white eggs and when well-fattened, produce a meaty carcass. The hens are not at all broody so you’ll have to invest in an incubator if you wish to have more of them.

In Dave Holderread’s book The Book of Geese he lists only eleven breeds available to the American public—many more breeds existed in the not so distant past. Geese are by far the most endangered group of farm birds and it is vital for their preservation that those of us with farms add a pair to the barnyard. Geese will watch over your chickens and ducks, alerting them to any predators—aerial or terrestrial—and will alert you to anyone coming down your driveway! They are ever watchful and cannot be equaled for their vigilance. Geese are the longest lived of any domestic farm bird—30 years old is not uncommon! As for choosing a breed, Holderread gives this advice saying, “geese are a diverse lot and come in an assortment of colors, sizes, shapes and temperaments and have varied production abilities”. For my purposes, I wanted a grey patterned bird I could eventually use for meat. I might mention here that a by-product of butchering geese for their meat is the warm fluffy down so coveted for use in duvets, pillows, and winter coats! I decided on the Grey Saddleback Pomeranian, a medium-large breed with a pattern very similar to the Magpie duck. My geese have never been aggressive—even when the females are nesting, which they do every year. Normally I give the females 2 to 3 eggs to hatch and I hatch the rest of the eggs in the incubator. After all the eggs have hatched, I turn the goslings loose with the adult geese. Geese look after their own—the goslings are immediately adopted and brought into the fold. The entire flock takes over their care, keeping an eye out for danger and warning the rest of the animals to keep their distance.

There’s something very human about the way a gaggle of geese looks after its little ones.

The most fowl homes on the web: The Livestock Conservancy - livestockconservancy.org Greenfire Farms - greenfirefarms.com Porter Turkeys - porterturkeys.com Holderread Waterfowl Farm and Preservation Center -- holderreadfarm.com

Magpie ducks, originally from England, resemble their Broadway+thresherspring2014.............45

S p ri n g i n g Into Ac ti on : The N YRP

I

Meredith Peters | images courtesy NYRP

n New York City, spring is truly transformative.

Our city emerges from its layers of built up muck, ice and snow and we residents emerge from layers and apartments back into the fresh air. The season takes on a profound meaning as the extraordinary energy of the city is rebooted once again and remember the difference the color green can make.

The New York Restoration Project—an organization that operates not unlike spring itself— is in a crusade, led by the Divine Miss M herself (Bette Midler, to be sure). The NYRP seeks to bring forth transformation, emergence and a reminder of the value of the color green with their mission to convert open spaces in under-resourced neighborhoods throughout New York City into both cleaner and greener spaces. In partnership with the City of New York, NYRP also leads MillionTreesNYC, an initiative to plant and care for one million brand new trees throughout the five boroughs by the year 2015.

This past July, the NYRP embarked on a unique and special endeavor known as the EDGE|ucation Pavilion Design Competition. They called upon eight up-and-coming NYC based architecture firms to create cutting edge designs to revitalize space along the Harlem River that has suffered from frequent adverse flooding. Once enacted, this once damaged space would transform into a resilient structure containing an outdoor classroom, boating facility and protected educational science cove for NYC youth.

The winner of the competition was announced this past December and the firm Bade Stageberg Cox shrewdly took the detrimental issue of flooding in the park and turned it an advantageous feature—designing a sustainable structure that integrates water directly into the functionality of the space. Through a remarkable combination of porous building materials and an intricately strategic layout, they’ll not only revolutionize the space but generate boundless environmental learning opportunities.

Should all of this springing into action leave you with an appetite, NYRP also runs an acclaimed restaurant that practices what they preach. The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar sources local and seasonal produce—some from the NYRP’s own community gardens. Non-New Yorkers will have to take my word for it, but a step into Manhattan’s Fort Tyron Park is like a step into another world. Lush and forested, perched on the Hudson and full of beautiful stone architecture, the park feels like it belongs in another country or time period and the quaint cottage setting of the restaurant only fortifies the feeling.

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In New York City, beauty is often found in non-traditional and unexpected places. Bette Midler identified locations where that beauty was lost and was inspired into action. The New York Restoration Project has been working tirelessly since its inception to restore that beauty and motivate our community to become a part of the transformation process.

Amidst a bad winter or a concrete jungle, we often need to be reminded of what’s on the horizon. And the NYRP takes one tree, one block, one dish, one garden and one groundbreaking architectural undertaking at a time in order remind us all of the importance of the color green. Just like the spring season, that’s something to get excited about.

For more information go to nyrp.org and milliontreesnyc.org.

The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar - newleafrestaurant.com

1 Margaret Corbin Dr, NYC, NY

(212) 568-5323

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photo by Emily Wren

F

Tri fec ta of Talent Susan Studer King

arming. Floral design. Photography. It’s exceedingly difficult to be truly successful in any one of these three professions. So, it’s notable to find someone who is successful at all three seemingly disparate fields.

The Seasonal Bouquet Project brought together two such talented people who dared—“double dog dared” to be exact—one another to grow, design and photograph floral art utilizing seasonal flowers from their respective farms.

What started as a creative collaboration between two selfdescribed “flower fanatics,” grew through the savvy use of social media to reach an international audience, change a staid floral industry, and catalyze an army of new “farmer florists.”

Jennie Love and Erin Benzakein both grow large quantities of high quality specialty cut flowers on approximately two acres of flowers in Zone 7 (the USDA hardiness scale which determines what plants will thrive in that location). But that is where the similarities of their businesses start and end.

Jennie Love’s farm, Love n’ Fresh Flowers, is located smackdab in the middle of Philadelphia and is one of the nation’s only urban flower farms. She offers sustainably grown flowers and distinctive floral design services for high-end Broadway+thresherspring2014.............51

above: photo by Emily Wren

weddings and special events. Meanwhile, 2,900 miles to the west, Erin Benzakien’s certified organic farm, Floret, is located in the scenic Skagit Valley, 70 miles north of Seattle.

She grows flowers primarily for high-end grocery stores and offers design services for just a select number of special events.

The two friends teamed up to share the bounty and beauty of their flower farms on their shared website, theseasonalbouquetproject.com. Each week, the duo posted striking photographs of highly stylized bouquets featuring seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers. Their competitive spirit challenged them to utilize unexpected—and sometimes downright unusual—elements in their designs. Among the nontraditional natural materials included in their bouquets: garlic, crab apples, raspberries, green cedar cones, baby persimmons, and even cherry tomatoes and green beans.

The two talented designers tucked these elements alongside show-stopping blooms such as the coveted café au lait dahlia, heirloom narcissus and rare antique mums—all varieties that few traditional florists have rarely seen, much less used in designs. The result: stop-you-in-your-tracks stunning floral designs.

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opposite: photo by Brooke Courtney

A new floral movement takes root With each week and each photo posted, the Seasonal Bouquet Project website following grew. And grew. And grew. After fielding a flood of questions via emails from aspiring flower farmers from across the country—and around the globe—all wishing to replicate their distinctive designs and learn how to grow or when to harvest every flower variety featured, the pair decided to host a live Q&A webcast last winter. “We were both typing as fast as our little fingers would go and we still couldn’t keep ahead of the questions,” Benzakein says with a laugh. “It was then that we realized there was a real need for what we had to offer. Jennie made me swear that if The Seasonal Bouquet Project was a success, that I’d fly out at the end of the season to celebrate with a workshop at her farm.” Thus, the idea of The Seasonal Bouquet Project: Live was born.

“When I first started putting together plans for hosting the workshop at my farm, I was thinking we’d aim for ten to twelve people max,” Love shared. “I got everything set up online and then with anxious heart, hit ‘publish.’ Within a few hours, all the seats had sold! Then my inbox was literally flooded with dozens of emails from people begging to attend.”

photo by Emily Wren

The Project propelled the pair to veritable rock star status.

Like teens lining up early for concert tickets, aspiring farmers and floral designers set their alarms so to be among the first to pay more than one thousand dollars to spend two days learning from the nation’s foremost farmer florists. One small workshop quickly morphed into three bigger workshops. In all, sixty-six participants from across the United States, Canada and Russia traveled to Love’s Philadelphia farm to learn how to grow dozens of different varieties of high quality cut flowers and then use those blooms in distinctive floral designs.

Q+A with farmer florists, Erin Benzakein and Jennie Love, the creative team behind The Seasonal Bouquet Project

The creative synergy generated at the workshops, coupled with the power of Instagram hashtags have given birth to a powerful alliance of small scale flower farmers and floral designers. Scattered across the country but united with common aspirations, a new crop of farmer florists is quietly plotting and planning their farm and garden plantings for 2014. The seeds for this idea were planted by Benzakein & Love; the harvest is still months away, but chances are, it will be beautiful.

B+T - You describe the origin of the Seasonal Bouquet Project website as being born as a “double dog dare” between the two of you. It sounds like there is an interesting backstory to the blog, care to share more?

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Broadway+Thresher contributor and co-owner of Buckeye Blooms, Susan Studer King, sat down with Erin Benzakein and Jennie Love at the Seasonal Bouquet Project: Live workshop in Philadelphia to talk about current wedding flower trends, learn more about the back story of their collaboration, and discuss their aspirations for transforming the floral industry.

EB - Last winter, Jennie flew out for a weeklong visit to my farm. We’d been email pen pals for years but had never actually met in person. It was an awesome visit and we seriously talked, non-stop for like three days in a row!

Flowers, weddings, business, marketing, our future dreams and our grand plans, you name it, we covered it in depth.

That window of time together was so uplifting and so inspiring that we vowed then and there to find a way to keep that wonderful connection going on into the coming year.

photo by Jennie Love

JL - We were trying to figure out a good way to collaborate together from afar and to continue to fan our creative sparks through the drudgery of the long growing season. The dare came about when we both realized we weren’t sure if we could actually motivate ourselves individually to make a design “just for fun” and photograph it every single week of the season. Erin said “I dare you!” and then I said “I double dog dare you!” And so it began. And we did it! We both posted a unique design ever single week of the season, no matter how tired and zapped we felt. For me, the weekly SBP design became a reprieve every Tuesday morning. I was so grateful to have an excuse to set time aside for myself. It was one of the few constants in my whirlwind schedule.

B+T - Jennie, your flower farm is located in an urban environment. Meanwhile, Erin, you are growing your flowers in a more rural area, right? How have those environments influenced your farms and businesses?

EB - Being a good distance from the city (Seattle is seventy miles away) it was pretty tough in the beginning to juggle meetings, deliveries, farm chores and raising two little kiddos. I spent way too much time on the road! Early on it became clear that I needed to choose a direction to take things and the wholesale route really fit in with being a “stay at home” mom. Now that the kids are a little older and we have some really wonderful farm help, we’ll be transitioning

towards taking on more weddings and events.

JL - As an urban flower farm, I had to pick the highest value end use for my flowers in order to cover the tremendously high overhead of growing flowers in the city. My brides love knowing their flowers were grown just a few miles from where they say “I do”, and they are pleased to know their wedding dollars are going to support a small farm dedicated to keeping open space green and viable in our urban environment.

Philadelphia is a city hugely committed to supporting locally-grown and locally-made enterprises. Love ‘n Fresh has been fortunate to tap into that market. My farm would be very different if it wasn’t located in Philadelphia. If it was in a rural location like Erin’s, I would probably be focusing on high volume production for wholesale like she is.

B+T - You are both pioneers in the local flower wedding movement and—correct me if I’m wrong—have helped coined the term, (or at least the hashtag!) “farmer florist.” What is your vision for the future of this movement?

JL - Yes, I definitely consider my job title to be “farmer florist” since I grow flowers specifically for wedding designs that I create myself. That title really sums it all up so nicely.

When I first started working in weddings five years ago, it was a battle to get clients to properly value locally-grown flowers. They definitely felt like they should be getting farmers market pricing and that farm flowers were the cheap Broadway+thresherspring2014.............55

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photo by Jennie Love

photo by Brooke Courtney

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alternative. If I’ve contributed anything to the local flower movement, I hope it’s a better appreciation for the fact that locally-grown flowers are actually a more customized approach to wedding flowers than traditional floristry and thus require an equal or, ideally, higher investment.

It’s great to see the industry shifting as a whole as highend designers begin seeking out locally-grown, seasonal materials and promoting it widely across social media.

Several are even starting their own farms. I’m certain that locally-grown seasonal blooms will become a mainstay in the wedding world in the near future. And it’s for good reason: the locally-grown materials are so much more interesting and fresh. Today’s couples are eager to embrace a more authentic experience that’s all their own and not just defer to the traditions and looks that have been around for the past few decades. It’s a fun and energetic time to be in the wedding business!

EB - Oh, gosh, the possibilities are endless! But as Jennie and I both say all of the time, it can be really, really tough to wear both hats. Flower farming is an incredibly rewarding, completely exhausting profession. You’re dealing with constant weather up’s and downs, crop losses, mystery diseases, variety trends—it’s a full time gig. Then add being a florist into the mix and things get even tricker. I believe that if you want to be both, you should totally go for it! But we’ve met and worked with so many farmers who are really, really passionate about growing amazing flowers but struggle to

photo by Brooke Courtney

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find an outlet for their goods. And every single day, there is at least one email in my in-box from a frustrated designer longing for the beautiful garden type flowers that they see on our site and begging us to ship. If we could find a way to connect these two passionate groups of people, the entire industry would be transformed!

B+T - What are some of the floral trends you’re seeing (or perhaps setting) for weddings? And are there any trends you’d like to die?

JL - I’ll answer the latter first. I hope mason jars are on their way out. For trends coming up, I personally have been pushing heirloom mums for a couple seasons now as a great late-season wedding flower as more and more couples get married in October and November. This fall saw a tremendous interest in them with other local growers, including Erin. So I think my mission may be complete!

Overall, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more color in 2014 and 2015. The past few years it’s been all about blush and neutrals, but I see more and more colors creeping in and think deep jewel tones are up next. Another trend I guess I’m helping push and love is the idea of bridesmaids carrying something other than a bouquet. One fun option has been a delicate wreath for them to carry. Another option is flower jewelry, like a lush flower necklace, hair piece, or ring.

photo by Brooke Courtney

EB - I have just loved seeing the wedding world move towards a much looser, more natural style of design. Scrambling vines, wildflower type blooms, flouncy garden roses, fruit on the branch, scented herbs and fuzzy little grasses are now commonplace in bouquets. It seems that garden romance is finally taking hold!

B+T - You both have enjoyed tremendous success in inspiring —and now teaching—a new generation of flower farmers and “farmer florists,” but part of your mission in this project has been to impact the “wider audience.” Who is that audience, and what impact have you been able to make?

JL - The wider audience was both other designers and potential clients. From my prospective, it’s been quite a success. Several established designers were at our workshop, inspired and eager to learn about how to either begin growing themselves or to partner with growers in their area to get more locally-grown materials. I think the SBP demonstrated that there’s a huge range of materials available that many designers have never even seen! I think any firstclass designer is going to say “I want that!” and go looking for it. So the blog was tremendously good at motivating designers to seek out local sources for unusual elements that will elevate their designs.

From a client prospective, it’s been fantastic for me as I now have even more images in my portfolio that are more in line with my own vision for designs throughout the season. So I

got to try out color combinations that might have been tough to sell in concept to clients, but now that I have a good image, they love it! So the SBP will continue to serve as a library of inspiration that will no doubt influence more than a few wedding decisions this coming season.

EB - When we began, the main goal was to see if we could in fact create a beautiful bouquet, using all local ingredients for an entire season. I’ve heard mentioned so many times, that sticking to all local product was impossible. But with a little perseverance, we did it! Not only did we demonstrate that it was a doable option but I think a lot of minds were changed in the process, especially in the florist realm.

B+T - What is the next chapter for The Seasonal Bouquet Project? Will you continue to do weekly posts of your floral creations next year, or will there be a new “double dog dare”?

JL - The Seasonal Bouquet Project was originally meant to be a one season project, and we didn’t intend to keep the blog going past the October frost. So, it’s bitter sweet to see this project come to a close given how much fun it was.

EB - We are still mulling over ideas on next steps. Do we keep on going with our original track, do come up with a new dare, do we break off and pursue our own individual projects…there are so many options!

JL - We’ve tapped into a greater movement, and Erin and I are going to continue to work to move the revolution forward.

photo by Brooke Courtney

Read More: The Seasonal Bouquet Project- theseasonalbouquetproject.com Love ‘n Fresh Flower Farm- lovenfreshflowers.com Floret- floretflowers.com

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l i festyle

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Od e to Wi n te r, or, Look i n g Towa rds Summ er

L

Kristofer Bowman

ast week the temperature hit 67 degrees here and from my early morning porch perch, I heard the specific cacophony of rolling r’s from the sandhill cranes flying overhead on their way to their summer homes up North.

They stand three and a half feet tall and spread their wings up to seven. Here they are, with little effort riding the thermals, using their wings only occasionally, feet outstretched behind them. They’re soon to leave their winter survival groups to go back to family raising.

Here we are, having survived the worst and best of winter: even her last couple of aftershocks. We experienced one final snowfall and chill to remind us she was here. It was a long one, this past winter. We sent each other the Rumi quote: “And don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.”

It gave us great hope for survival and fueled us to partake in the season. We hiked, we photographed and we may have even watched a sled dog race. If we listened, we hopefully found our more still selves through the quiet of fresh snow falling in streetlights, or the gray of snowless cold. We may have visited a waterfall, all of its five stories frozen solid in icy blue grandeur. Tramped up to it in awe and wonder.

We tuned in to the pastoral in the midst of our urban, the small details of growth; tiny buds and moss beneath melted snow. The lady Cardinal showed her beauty to us against the whiteness beyond the feeder. Her colors are lost in the fauna of summer, while her reddest suitor stands out. But how beautiful she is alone without the competition of branch and leaf. We tuned in even when driving and walking, aware of the sounds of tires on icepack. Feeling every slide and stop, present and aware.

Present and aware, we made great attempts to welcome and acknowledge the beauty of winter.

But, alas, the doldrums found us still. Crept up to us right where we were hiding- deep in, beyond snowshoes and pine trees nearly smothered in so many days of white and chill. We questioned Rumi, got impatient for spring. We researched further and learned that the roots are only riotous to a certain degree of cold and that we have surpassed it. This winter went beyond the temperatures that allow roots to continue and perhaps past our own patience.

Even the deer from began to struggle. Their kin have survived so many a deep freeze winter. The snow came steady, but froze layers high this year. The snow failed them, damning them to penetrate the deep, while gifting the wide footed wolves an elevated platform, the ability to run on top Broadway+thresherspring2014.............63

of the drifts. Gaining ground. Nevertheless, there are deer that survive. They shed their antlers and they grow new ones.

The new ones are always more significant, grander than the last. Better from another year of survival, more impressive There are seeds that need cold stratification; they will not perform unless they have endured temperatures below freezing. And there are others that need scarification; we manipulate them with files or the tip of a knife, they require this to break forth. They too must endure cold hardship before bursting onward into the summer of their lives.

Along with them we are getting ready to plant: planning.

The daffodils are breaking ground; the hellebores are shyly showing their blossoms. And so we too surface, taking in the new growth and growing ourselves. This should be our greatest wish.

The waterfall so frozen will break its ice dam at warm temperatures and explode itself into triumphant existence, and children will wade in its pools come June. And so it goes for us, we hope, we choose, we erupt like the fireworks of the allium. We will take the balmy days of spring and ride their updrafts, soaring into our summer selves. We will regrow as trees and antlers and perennials stronger than we were last year, happier than we were before winter. All knowledge gained, our roots riotous in springtime once more.

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PAL M SPRI N GS = U R B A N ESCA P E

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Become a part of this Mid-Century Modern Dream.

76O.459.1396

PaulKaplanGroup.com

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M ID-CE NTURY & AR CHI TEC TURAL REAL ES TATE S PEC I A L IS T S

modern real estate GROUP

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PA U L K A P L A N G R O U P, I N C .

BRE #01325586

OPEN HOUSE GUIDE: TEXT 54561 and enter PSOpens

The Des ert Oasis

David Gobeli | photos by Lance Gerber.Nuvue Interactive

T

ucked into the resort town of Palm Springs, California is a gem of a custom-built mid-century modern home.

Built in 1951, the home was completely renovated in 2003 with special detail paid to keep the intregirty of the original designs.

Contained within the nearly 2,500 square feet are three bedrooms, three baths, a chef’s kitchen (complete with topof-the-line appliances), exquisite desert landscaping and, oh, the pool. Did I mention the pool? Perfect for relaxing by, or swimming in.

The best part of this desert retreat? It can be yours, now on the market for only the third time in sixty-three years. I know you’re thinking back to last winter and all the joy a nice, modern and warm home in California would mean.

Never again the negative temperatures. Say goodbye to snow drifts taller than your car. Be gone, howling winter winds that drive the cabin fever a little deeper into the mind.

Say hello and welcome home.

This home is listed by the Paul Kaplan Modern Real Estate Group and it, along with many other properties, can be found at paulkaplangroup.com.

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I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Daffodils, William Wadsworth, 1807

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D a f fodi l L ove Evelyn Hoyt Frolking

othing trumpets spring fever in our small village quite like the daffodil. Its in-your-face sunny yellow standing against shaggy brown grasses and leafless trees of an early Midwest spring brightens the day when the sun may not yet reliably do so.

Granville is a village that deeply loves what it loves and the people here have a particular deep-seated passion for the daffodil. Spring couldn’t genuinely be said to have arrived here without joyful exclamations over daffodil blooms as they blanket the town.

For Granville, the daffodil touches the heart in ways one could only call obsessive and a touch nostalgic. Mostly, the Granville Garden Club is to blame, if we care to attach blame to something as long awaited as a yellow bloom. Each April for the last seventy years or so, this group of busy women mount a truly spectacular celebration of the simple narcissus, luring hundreds of spring seekers to one of the village’s historic buildings to soak up daffodil sun. Just a few years ago, the event moved from the College Town House,

a vintage 1831 home in the center of town, to the larger Bryn Du Mansion just east of the village because as Granville grows, so does the love for the daffodil.

Inside for this weekend blast of spring, the daffodil is paraded in sunny fashion in floral arrangements, bud vases, baskets and just about anything that can hold blooms. Floral trumpets, frilly, straight, long, short and those tiny little, truly miniature ones, are 360 degrees of daffodils. It seems like those garden club gals have plucked every blooming bud in town and have many bulb varieties on sale as well, guaranteeing growing populations of daffodils for years to come.

Not a few gardeners grow daffodils in blissful excess. The true believers tend vast gardens and hillsides splashed with hundreds of varieties of this narcissus. One such passionate woman recently lost her battle with cancer and when her daffodil fields bloom this spring and those springs thereafter, she will be fondly remembered. In fact, many of her daffodils will be cut and brought to the local Robbins Hunter Museum

this spring for two classes in designing with daffodils. Each participant will take home a remembrance of the grand dame of Granville daffodils.

Daffodils don’t take kindly to human intervention. They don’t like to be cut, and when they are, if not properly segregated and leached for at least six hours, they are happy to exude a gelatinous milky white substance that is detrimental to other flowers when set together in a vase of water. Their hollow stems also resist water uptake if cut with dull snips that crush fragile stem walls. And they don’t particularly like to be stuck in that green floral foam that forces them to stand up like soldiers when they might rather bend in the breeze as Wordsworth so famously immortalized them.

When April rolls around in Granville, the village turns sunny yellow. Named after the Greek god Narcissus, the little bobbing bloom marks good fortune, chivalry and respect.

It’s Granville’s very own sunshine.

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Ju n e+Ju ly: B+T Tu rn s One! t h e fa m ily we make

s ubs c r i b e a t b roa dwaya n dt h re sh e r.c o m /s u b scri be

Issu e 6 , summer 2 014 issu e 6 , summer2014

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