#Garden2Grow2016
Welcome to Garden 2 Grow... Welcome to Garden2Grow 2016! We are in our sixth year for this event. We want Garden2Grow to reflect your versatility and to be a platform for discussing how we individually and collectively grow our audiences and cultivate connections through creative and sharable content. Speaking of sharing, I’m delighted at the opportunity to introduce our beautiful city and state, as well as my Moss Mountain Farm to guests from near and far. I hope you enjoy being here half as much as I enjoy hosting. And a very special thank you goes out to the perennial hard workers who make this event a reality year after year. We wouldn’t be here without your efforts. Enjoy! Allen
#Garden2Grow2016 #MossMountainFarm 1
2016
of Contents e l b a T Agenda..................................Page 4 Influencer Bios.......................Page 9 Sponsor Bios ........................Page 23 Staff......................................Page 39
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1. The Big Sister Oak
9. Swan Pond
16. Garden Home Cottage
2. Garden Home
10. Antique Rose Garden
17. Poultryville
3. Art Studio
11. Organic Vegetable Garden
18. Sheep Pasture
4. Summer Kitchen
12. West Paddock
19. Grange Hall
5. Terrace Garden
13. Apiary
20. Croquet Lawn
6. Small Pond
14. Gift Shop/Restrooms
21. Miss Big Fig
7. Bantam Temple
15. Daffodil Hill
22. East Lawn
8. Eagle Fountain
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, May 10 th Tuesday 7:45 a.m.
Shuttle to Lost Forty Brewery
8:00 a.m.
Arrive at Lost Forty for Tour
8:45 a.m.
Breakfast
9:45 a.m.
Shuttle to Heifer International
10:00 a.m.
Arrive at Heifer Welcome Center
10:15 a.m.
Welcome from Allen
10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Heifer Tour
11:30 - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch in pavilion at Heifer
12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
Break
12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
Shuttle to Moss Mountain Farm
1:45 - 2:00 p.m.
Welcome and Charging Station/Break
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
SunPatiens Workshop @ Big Sister Oak Tour of Terrace Garden
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Good Dirt Workshop @ Vegetable Garden
4:15 - 5:00 p.m.
Rose Garden Tour
5:15 - 6:00 p.m.
Coffee & Cocktails @ Big Sister Oak with WestRock Coffee
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
House Tour
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Dinner under Tent Wine by Stargazer Barn Flowers Arranged by J Schwanke of uBloom
8:00 - 9:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m.
Mix & Mingle under Big Sister Oak Shuttle to Hotel
esday, May 11 th Wedn 7:45 a.m.
Shuttle to Moss Mountain Farm
8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:15 a.m.
Group Photo under Big Sister Oak
9:30 - 10:15 a.m.
Bonnie Plants Workshop @ Vegetable Garden
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Break
10:30 - 11:15 p.m.
Crescent Garden Workshop @ Eagle Fountain
11:15 - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch & Keynote @ Grange Hall
12:30 - 1:15 p.m.
Jobe's Organics Workshop @ East Lawn
1:30 - 2:15 p.m.
Home Grown Seed Workshop @ Vegetable Garden
2:15 - 2:45 p.m.
Break
3:00 - 3:45 p.m.
AM Leonard Workshop @ Croquet Lawn
3:45 - 4:00 p.m.
Break
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Poultryville Tour
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Roundtable Discussion & Cocktails @ Big Sister Oak
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Dinner under Tent Wine by Stargazer Barn Flowers Arranged by J Schwanke of uBloom
8:00 - 8:45 p.m. 8:45 p.m.
Entertainment under Big Sister Oak Shuttle to Hotel
#Garden2Grow2016 #MossMountainFarm 5
#Garden2Grow2016 #MossMountainFarm We want Garden2Grow to reflect your versatility and to be a platform for discussing how we individually and collectively grow our audiences and cultivate connections through creative and sharable content.
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Garden 2 Grow 2016
Influencers
Speaker Tab
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2016
Welcome Influencers! Michelle Slatalla, Gardenista Keynote Speaker www.gardenista.com In 2012, Michelle created and launched Gardenista, an online sourcebook to offer guidance on every aspect of exterior design, from landscaping and hardscape materials to outdoor lighting fixtures and the perfect paint color for your front door. (Gardenista is the sister of interior design site, Remodelista.) Before this foray into digital publishing (and before digital publishing was invented), Michelle was a newspaper, magazine and book writer. She was a weekly columnist at The New York Times for 10 years, the etiquette columnist for Real Simple magazine , a parenting columnist for Time magazine, and the author of six books (five of which she co-wrote with her husband, Josh Quittner). She’s finishing the manuscript for another book: Gardenista, The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces, which will be published by Artisan Books in October. She’s a lifelong gardener, like her father and grandmother before her, the main difference being she has the good luck to garden in Mill Valley, California (zone 10b) rather than in her hometown of Chicago (zone you don't want to know). She has three daughters, mostly grown, two dogs (helpful diggers), and three lemon trees (all Meyers). 9
Jason Ambrosino, Overlook Acres www.overlookacres.org Jason was raised in upstate New York and grew up working on farms. He graduated from Norwich University in 2004 and served as an Armor Officer in the Army until he retired in 2014. Shortly after, he began raising a herd of goats and focusing on more sustainable living. He and his wife purchased a fantastic home with a barn and nearly eight acres, where they have built and continued to grow the Overlook Acres brand. The farm is home to goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, and rabbits. Overlook Acres hopes to one day provide veterans suffering from PTSD an opportunity to farm and work with animals — a treatment that has proven very effective in helping veterans with the disorder. Jason and his wife are also writing a series of books devoted to teaching children more about farming, homesteading and sustainable living. Overlook Acres currently has 54,000 fans/likes on Facebook and support continues to grow.
Brittany May and Penny Ausley, Happy Days Farm www.happy-days-farm.com Penny and Brittany have been the blogging team behind Happy Days Farm since 2012. In 2006, Penny fulfilled a dream of moving into the country on some acreage. For as long as she can remember, she has had a passion for flowers, plants, and trees, and she immediately went to work landscaping and developing the gardens on her new property. She loves to bring the outdoors inside, so many of her flowers are grown with the idea that they will eventually be part of her home decor. Brittany always wanted to be a photographer, and flowers were often the subject of her photos. She has always loved gardening with a special focus on herbs. After finishing her graduate degree, she began studying to become a herbalist, because it combined a love of gardening, with a love for animals, and a talent for research. This study has had the dual benefit of not only creating a beautiful garden, but also supplemental, healthy food and medicinal items to use with their animals. Research has come in handy for creating their website, and generating the content for their blog and Facebook. Together they run the farm, which includes a chicken coop, heritage turkeys, guinea house, and rabbits. 10 #Garden2Grow2016
Rachael Brugger, Hobby Farms www.hobbyfarms.com Rachael Brugger is the managing editor for Hobby Farms. She grows food and medicine in her ever-expanding backyard garden in Lexington, Ky. When not bringing you a daily dose of farming know-how, you can find her in the kitchen not following recipes, on her yoga mat in a satisfying pigeon pose, or exploring the world’s nooks and crannies. Follow her on Instagram @rachaelbrugger.
Jennifer Burcke, 1840 Farm www.1840farm.com Jennifer spends her days living and writing at the intersection of family, food, and farming at 1840 Farm. Over a decade ago, she and her family made the decision to move from their home in Kansas to the Seacoast of New Hampshire. A few years later, they purchased an abandoned farmhouse and began the work of bringing it back to life. Today, three generations of her family call 1840 Farm home along with their dogs, a flock of heritage breed hens, a small herd of dairy goats, and a French Angora rabbit. Her farming journey started from scratch, but it wasn’t long before she was sharing her daily adventures through a blog. Six years later, she still loves to create recipes in the farmhouse kitchen and dream up new handmade product for their Etsy shop. She shares those recipes, handmade products, and daily experiences with her community of readers and followers through her blog and social media channels.
Moose www.pallensmith.com You might be surprised to learn that the smartest animal at the farm is Moose, the donkey. His job on the farm is babysitting, part protecting the sheep from coyotes and part keeping Trudy the horse company. Every once in a while, he gets a little petulant (and greedy when it comes to snacks) but, for the most part, he takes life slow and steady.
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Melissa Caughey, Tilly’s Nest www.tillysnest.com Melissa Caughey is a nurse practitioner, backyard chicken keeper, beekeeper, and master gardener. She grew up in rural New Jersey with many fond memories of her best friend's dairy farm. In her late teens, she moved to Los Angeles and spent about 15 years there as a "city girl.� More than 10 years ago, Melissa and her husband decided to move back east and settle on Cape Cod, Mass. After putting down new roots and growing a family, the gardening and farming seeds that were planted in her heart years ago began to sprout. Over the past six years, Melissa has shared her family's adventures on her award-winning blog, Tilly's Nest. There, insight into keeping a flock, life's lessons, chicken care, crafts, gardening, heartwarming stories chronicling their adventures, beekeeping and more are bursting from the pages. Melissa also writes for HGTV, HGTV Gardens, DIY Network, Mother Earth News publications, Community Chickens, Keeping Backyard Bees and contributes to Country Living. Her blog has received the Blue Ribbon Blogger Award from Country Living and has been named one of the Top 10 Gardening Blogs by Better Homes and Gardens in 2014 and 2016. She travels the country giving lectures about chickens, gardening, and beekeeping. Her first book, A Kid's Guide to Keeping Chickens, has won the 2016 Learning Magazine Teacher's Choice Award and the 2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.
David J. Ellis, The American Gardener/ The American Horticultural Society www.ahs.org David J. Ellis is director of communications for the American Horticultural Society (AHS), a 20,000-member national non-profit gardening organization based in Alexandria, Va. During his 22-year tenure with the organization, he has overseen the society's garden book publishing program, website, and media relations. He is also the editor of its award-winning, bimonthly magazine, The American Gardener. David has coordinated publication of more than 15 gardening books and served as a contributing editor for the American Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques (Mitchell Beazley/Octopus, 2009). He has been a guest on several radio and television programs and frequently serves as an expert source for garden-related articles in popular magazines, blogs, and other publications. An active member of the Garden Writers Association (GWA), he was named a GWA Fellow in 2008. David and his wife, Janice, and their two teenagers live in Silver Spring, Md., where he maintains a large, eclectic garden. 12 #Garden2Grow2016
Sara Gasbarra, Verdura www.saragasbarra.com Chicago native, Sara Gasbarra, is the founder of Verdura, a full-service garden design company that cultivates culinary gardens for chefs, restaurants and hotels in Chicago. She specializes in creating a seasonlong garden plan specifically tailored to the needs of a restaurant kitchen, sourcing unique and rare varieties of plants and vegetables, organic growing practices, custom-designed irrigation systems and urban farming in unconventional spaces. Sara also serves as Vice President of Slow Food Chicago's Board of Directors. Her inspiration for cultivating edible green spaces for her chef clientele is drawn directly from childhood memories of summers spent gardening and cooking with her Italian-born father. Sara's favorite edibles to grow for her restaurant clients include Japanese Red Giant mustard, Lady Bird nasturtium, Kyoto Red and Parisian Market carrots, Dentata lavender, heirloom French harlequin and tangerine gem marigolds, Siam Queen basil and wood sorrels in every color.
Daniel Bear Hunley www.pinterest.com/danielhunley Named one of Time Magazine’s Top 30 Style Pinners, Daniel Bear Hunley is a social influencer from Nashville, Tenn., with 1.6 million followers. His Southern, masculine eye for food, interior design, and fashion helped form a unique aesthetic on the platform. As an influencer, he's worked with Microsoft, Martha Stewart Living, World Market, Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co, and Patrón Tequila and has been featured on HLN, the Huffington Post, and Mashable.com. When not on Pinterest, Daniel is working his 9-to-5 as the Brand Manager for Music City Roots, a weekly Americana Concert broadcast over PBS (think Austin City Limits meets Grand Ole Opry.)
Amos www.pallensmith.com Something of a Chicken Casanova, Amos the Buff Orpington does not lack for personality. This Head Rooster in Charge is dedicated to protecting his harem and expanding his flock every chance he gets. When he’s not busy with the hens, Amos likes to supervise day to day operations around the farm and welcome new guests to the farm by soliciting for treats. 13
Amy Renea Kauffman, A Nest for All Seasons www.anestforallseasons.com Amy Renea is a writer and photographer based out of York, Penn., currently living in Humacao, Puerto Rico. She blogs at A Nest for All Seasons, and her work is seen regularly at Houzz.com. Her first book, Crafting With Nature, was released this year and focuses on growing and gathering crafting materials in your own backyard.
Luke & Sindy Marion, The MIGardener www.migardener.com Luke founded MIgardener in 2011 with the intent to inspire others to grow a garden, live healthier lives and have fun doing it, all with the help of social media. In 2014, his fiancé joined in the dream and with her career in graphic design, and knowledge of healthy food, she created infograms and took on the role of social media coordinator. In 2015, they were married and dedicated their full attention to building MIgardener, working in the 100 percent organic garden to achieve financial independence and monetize the site’s huge following. They began on YouTube and came up with the slogan “Grow Big or Go Home” to help drive home their mission. MIgardener strives to provide premium, free information for everyone, everywhere. MIgardener has been viewed in every country worldwide and in all 50 states. They average more than 500,000 hits a month on YouTube alone and receive more than 20,000 visits per month on MIgardener.com
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Nick“The Garden Guy” & Allison McCullough, Think Outside the Boxwood www.thinkingoutsidetheboxwood.com Allison and Nick are the dynamic duo behind Thinking Outside the Boxwood. Allison’s finance degree and background in retail marketing helped shape her passion for bringing a business vision to life in print and online. As the head of marketing for McCullough’s Landscape & Nursery, Allison ensures the brand is known for thoughtful communications and special touches that can only come from a family-owned business. When it comes to the art and science of landscape design, Nick has talents in both worlds. He studied horticulture and art history in the states and then landscape design in northwest England. The aesthetic of English gardens made a profound impact on Nick, and his projects often have ties to the design elements found in the English countryside. He’s an APLD-certified designer and has won numerous awards including Young Professional of the Year from the Perennial Plant Association and Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. His love of cultivating extends to Red Twig Farms — where perennials, annuals, specimen trees, and hedges are grown for use in his designs. His social media presence of over 3 million Pinterest followers makes him a standout in the industry, and a sought-after public speaker.
Duncan www.pallensmith.com Mr. Duncan wears many hats around Moss Mountain Farm, but he takes his job as the head of the house most seriously. He spends his days tirelessly assisting Allen with all manner of tasks, only taking short breaks for head scratches and the occasional treat. He considers his morning walks around the farm with his master to be the best part of his day.
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Russell McLendon, Mother Nature Network www.mnn.com Russell McLendon is science editor for Mother Nature Network, a science and environmental website based in Atlanta. He has been with MNN since its founding in 2008, producing news articles, explainers, blog posts and infographics about a wide range of topics. He regularly covers big global problems like climate change and habitat loss, but also tries to highlight the good things our species does, from protecting forests and coral reefs to the individual benefits of gardening and spending time in nature. He has degrees in journalism and environmental anthropology from the University of Georgia, where he also spent four years at the school's independent student newspaper, including two as the editorial cartoonist. After graduating, he covered hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana, then worked at Atlanta's Creative Loafing newsweekly before landing at MNN. He was introduced to gardening as a kid when he helped his grandparents tend their lakehouse vegetable garden on summer weekends. He and his brother later took over that garden as adults, carrying on their grandparents' hobby (and their feud with okra-stealing deer). Russell now lives with his wife and dog in Atlanta, the "city in a forest" where squirrels kindly let him eat a few of his homegrown tomatoes every year.
Tara Nolan, Savvy Gardening www.savvygardening.com Tara is a garden writer and editor whose work has appeared in the Toronto Star, one of Canada’s national newspapers, as well as in Reader’s Digest and Canadian Living and on websites, like Design*Sponge. In March 2016, she appeared on a television show called Garden Wisdom on WNED Buffalo as an edibles expert. She is a co-founder, with three other garden writers, of Savvy Gardening and was the award-winning web editor of Canadian Gardening magazine’s website for six years. Tara’s first gardening book, Raised Bed Revolution for Cool Springs Press, was released in spring 2016. Tara does work for the Toronto Botanical Garden and the Canadian Garden Council (as a social media advisor), and volunteers for the Royal Botanical Garden. She also is a member of GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators. 16 #Garden2Grow2016
Gary Pilarchik, The Rusted Garden www.therustedgarden.blogspot.com Gary has been in the garden for more than 20 years. He’s a clinical mental health therapist by trade, and his YouTube Channel, The Rusted Garden, became a way to relax and enjoy his garden. He uploaded his first video in 2011 and now has well over 600 garden videos. He decided early on to make videos that are focused, teach, and quickly get to point. The star of his videos is the garden. His hope is to help people learn about gardening and have a more successful garden. Two years ago, he started a second YouTube Channel, My First Vegetable Garden, to help new gardeners have a great experience through learning about and growing vegetables. His approach to gardening is holistic and takes four factors into account — the needs of the plants, the needs of the soil, all of nature, and the needs of the gardener. Too often the gardener's needs are overlooked as a part of the equation. He believes children should learn vegetables come from a garden and not a grocery store. A handful of seeds can literally transform a backyard into a living work of art that you can eat. If that isn't magical, he doesn’t know what is.
Jennifer Prock, Décor Gold Designs www.decorgolddesigns.com Jennifer was born in the Bay Area in northern California. While a teenager, her family moved to Oklahoma. There she attended Oklahoma State University and received a bachelor of science degree in Interior Design. She moved to Texas for the first time in the late 1990s. Shortly thereafter, she began a decorative painting business which she owned for nearly a decade. From 2006 through 2012, Jennifer lived in Orange County as well as on Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Jennifer is active in golden retriever rescue and contributes her spare time helping to care for and assist in the wellbeing of senior goldens. Most recently, her passion has centered around photography. In May 2015, she launched her Instagram account, @decorgold. She has been humbled and grateful with the pace of growth the account has been able to sustain. Knowing that the next step in the process was a design and decor website and blog, in February 2016, Jennifer launched decorgolddesigns.com. A bit of trivia: the name of the website is the combination of her passion for decorating and golden retrievers. 17
Stephanie Rose, Garden Therapy www.gardentherapy.ca Stephanie Rose is the creator of Garden Therapy, which started as a personal blog and has bloomed into a rich idea bank of crafty garden projects for creative home gardeners, therapy gardens, and educational programs. She began writing to log her garden therapy journey while recovering from a sudden and debilitating illness, and she soon connected with others who also used gardening as therapy. Later, she shifted the blog to focus on DIY healthy living, gardening, and craft projects. Garden Therapy now contains more than 700 diverse projects with step-by-step tutorials to ensure that gardening is accessible to everyone. Stephanie writes for BHG.com, eBay, and Evermine and contributes to print magazines like Willow and Sage, Romantic Homes, Country Woman, All You, and Women’s Day. Garden Therapy was recently named one of Better Homes and Gardens Top 10 Gardening Blogs. Stephanie’s first book, Garden Made: A Year of Seasonal Projects to Beautify Your Garden and Your Life was published in 2015 and showcases more than 40 down-to-earth ideas for garden crafts and more. She lives in Vancouver, BC, where she works full-time as a writer, photographer, influencer, and artist. As a Master Gardener, she volunteers with a school-to-farm program that teaches inner-city children how to grow and cook their own food.
Nancy Wallace, Wallace Gardens www.nancywallacegardens.com Nancy is the founder of Wallace Gardens, a residential garden design business located in the Atlanta-metro area, specializing in custom container gardens, garden design plans, and landscape renovation services. When the world economy went into an unimaginable downturn in 2008, Nancy's seven-year co-ownership of an awardwinning garden boutique suddenly became an unprofitable enterprise. Nancy's small-business recession story and how she coped with hardship was captured in two separate interviews on National Public Radio in 2008 and 2009, like a retelling of the Phoenix. Wallace Gardens is now a thriving garden design and installation business, collaborating with clients, architects, and builders to achieve the ultimate landscape concept. Sourcing beautiful and unusual plants is always part of the seasonal chase. Nancy personally designs and installs approximately 175 container gardens in the spring and again in the fall for her repeat clients. Wallace Gardens also provides weekly container garden maintenance services. She grew up in northern California's Santa Cruz mountains, with a view of the Monterey Bay and the California redwoods. She is now anchored to a garden (and home) in the state of Georgia with a partner she refers to as The Italian, where they cook together and discuss politics over the kitchen table with their favorite bottle of wine. 18 #Garden2Grow2016
Max Wastler, All Plaidout www.allplaidout.com Max Wastler is a writer, photographer, clothing designer, and television show host based in Chicago. With a decade of experience in the apparel world, working as a designer, producer, and traveling salesperson, Max has helped many of America's best-known manufacturers to share their stories in the everevolving digital world. He was the co-host of the web series, Made Right Here, presented by Maxwell House Coffee, and he is currently the Cultural Bloodhound for Basil Hayden's Bourbon, traveling the country to share stories on basilhaydens.com of folks who make products in much the same way Basil Hayden's is made: small batch, handcrafted, American made.
Kristy Wicks www.kristywicks.com Kristy loves and appreciates all that is beautiful in life. Her family has lived all over the world, and while traveling as a flight attendant for more than 17 years, she has developed a deep appreciation for meeting new people, learning about different cultures, and searching for interesting stories. She writes because she loves to do it, and she’s fascinated by the challenges of bringing together the right mixture of colors, textures and lighting to make the perfect “styling or vignette� and then expressing that beauty through photographing, editing and finally telling the story. Little did she know, her posts would attract more than 166,000 Instagram followers. Aside from the KristyWicks.com blog, she is first and foremost a wife, mother and a proud member of a large, "albeit competitive family" who lives for get-togethers, cookoffs and mass amounts of game playing whenever possible.
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Monica Willis, Modern Farmer www.modernfarmer.com A food and travel writer, location producer, and stylist based in New York City and Nashville, Monica Michael Willis is currently the editor-at-large at Modern Farmer magazine as well as a contributing senior editor-digital strategist for The Foundry @ Time Inc. The former features director at Country Living, Willis served as a contributing editor at Gardener magazine and Bobvila.com, and has written for Martha Stewart Living, HGTV Magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Real Simple, Parent & Child, and Family Fun, among others. She sits on the board of directors of the Lotus Garden, a 30-year-old nonprofit community garden on the roof of a parking garage on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Brett Youmans, Green Thumb White Apron www.greenthumbwhiteapron.com Some of Brett’s earliest childhood memories are of sitting on his Southern grandmother’s counter while she let him “help.” Or digging in the dirt in his grandfather’s garden learning lessons that he still uses today. Eating what his garden produces makes him feel more connected to the food he grows and inspires him to be a better cook. In his home on the web, Green Thumb | White Apron, he shares gardening tips, craft ideas, flavorful garden-to-table recipes, and the daily life of his chickens though the Chicken Cam, a live, HD streaming video feed.
Trudy www.pallensmith.com Our official hostess and resident equine, Miss Trudy, grew up on an Amish farm pulling a cart before settling down here at Moss Mountain Farm. She loves meeting guests, adores the camera, and enjoys spending most days grazing with her boyfriend Moose. Often, she can be persuaded to take just about anyone on a carriage ride in exchange for a bit of sweet crunchy apple.
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Sponsors
Sponsor Tab
Sponsor Tab
#GardenersEdge #AMLeonard
Dara Barclay Dara Barclay is a Marketing Coordinator for Gardener’s Edge, and a gardening novice who is taking on her first year of gardening with her husband. Growing up, her grandmother grew a variety of vegetables, and many tomatoes. She spent countless summer days helping her mother and grandmother water and tend to the garden. Then, eventually lending a hand with canning produce in the kitchen. Dara’s father nurtured her love of animals through various 4-H and FFA projects by helping her raise rabbits, pigs, turkeys and dairy feeders for the yearly county fair. Chickens are also a staple for Dara’s family, and they often have to sell eggs to family and friends to make room for more! Over the years the backyard was also home to several goats and two rescued miniature donkeys. After studying agricultural communication at The Ohio State University she found a start (and home) at A.M. Leonard, the parent company for Gardener’s Edge. Dara cherishes her childhood memories and plans to make new gardening memories with her husband, and re-learn the art of canning!
Beth Marshall Beth Marshall is the Associate Brand Manager for Gardner's Edge. A homegrown gardener, her love of gardening and nature began as a child growing up with a grandfather who was an avid gardener and outdoorsman. She was fascinated with the over-sized vegetables he would grow, and the contraptions he would invent to assist keeping them watered and supported. He had many friends in the small town they lived in that allowed him to take her and her brothers mushroom hunting in their woods, and fishing on their country farms. This lifestyle of sharing and learning about gardening, enjoying the outdoors and cooking is a tradition she continues. She persistently looks for new ways to improve her gardening experience with new products and methods. Her free time is often spent with her 3 year old granddaughter, teaching her about gardening and cooking. Beth is currently involved setting up a new garden located on site at A.M. Leonard. Her hope is this will be a place for employees to become more connected with the products sold by Gardener’s Edge while they get involved and learn and share their gardening experiences. This new garden will also provide a testing grounds to vet new products being considered for addition to the A.M. Leonard and Gardener’s Edge Brand. 23
Bonnie Plants began in 1918 in the backyard of Bonnie and Livingston Paulk in the small Alabama town of Union Springs. The company has grown to be a national wholesaler with more than 70 greenhouse locations around the country, providing vegetables, herbs and flowers to more than 15,000 feed stores, independent nurseries and home improvement retailers. Customers recognize our exclusive biodegradable peat pots,
#BonniePlants
family history and commitment to quality plants.
Lois Chaplin Lois Trigg Chaplin is the Director of Marketing for Bonnie Plants and a lifelong vegetable and herb gardener. She began gardening as a child by the force of fate and a little help from dad after moving to the piney woods of North Florida from her native, and very urban, Havana, Cuba. Wonderful gardening experiences led to the study of horticulture and entomology in Gainesville, Florida (Univ. of Fla.), where an insect accompanies every plant. After her first career as garden editor of Southern Living magazine (13 years), she went solo for 20 years, communicating gardening in print, web, TV, and on stage for companies, publications, and garden brands. She is also author of multiple books, including the best-selling Southern Gardener’s Book of Lists. In 2009, her work with client Bonnie Plants led to the position that she has now and the wonderful opportunity to help others grow vegetables and herbs through brand outreach at Bonnie Plants.
Amanda Davis Amanda Davis is in charge of all things social for Bonnie Plants. As a child, she longed to spend time in her grandfather’s summer garden, but was thwarted by his “no kids” policy. Having joined Bonnie’s marketing team in 2013, she’s since devoted herself to figuring out her garden style and soaking up loads of garden wisdom (in addition to her many online duties). Amanda is a 2011 graduate of Auburn University with a degree in public relations, and she actually attended the school’s first-ever course on social media. When she’s not snapping Instagram photos or tweeting her heart out, you’ll probably find her cooking, reading, or hanging out with her husband, Clark—and, sometime in September, their newborn baby!
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Byron Ford Byron Ford is Bonnie’s “web guy” and vice president of the Shelby County, AL Master Gardeners to boot. He’s passionate about the internet and is always thinking about ways to bring tech and dirt together in a way that makes sense. Before coming on full-time with Bonnie Plants, Byron, who has a BFA from Auburn University, was co-founder of a Birmingham-based software company, and has also been part of several web and marketing teams that have made great things happen. When he’s not bouncing between browsers and servers, Byron, with help from his wife Christie, stays busy ripping up the front yard for the family vegetable garden and watching their three boys learn about where food comes from – and, hopefully, changing those chicken nugget-loving palates to ones that crave all things fresh and homegrown!
Kim Harruff Kimberly Harruff is the Director of Bonnie Plants’ 3rd Grade Cabbage Program. Her grandmother, “Momma Mae,” had such a beautiful yard that traffic would literally stop so people could admire it. Momma Mae got her granddaughter involved in the art of growing early in life, making Kim act as lookout while she rustled fruit from pepper plants for seed during visits to Callaway Gardens (in Pine Mountain, Georgia). The garden bug firmly planted, Kim went on to earn a degree in environmental biology with a focus in botany. After graduation, she acquired the nickname “Swampstomper,” thanks to her work advising landowners on the best native plants to help improve their wetland areas. Kim joined Bonnie Plants in 2012 and now oversees the annual delivery of nearly a million cabbage plants to students in over 12,300 elementary schools in 48 states. She also manages the yearly contest in which each state selects a $1,000 prize winner, and works with schools to honor each child’s accomplishment.
Su Reid-St.John Su Reid-St. John is the Marketing Producer for Bonnie Plants. An enthusiastic vegetable and herb gardener, she has fond childhood memories of helping her grandfather harvest vegetables from his enormous garden, then later viewing with awe the groaning shelves of canned produce from that harvest in her grandmother’s root cellar. Partly in an attempt to make them proud, she became a Master Gardener in 2013. Before she came to Bonnie, Su, a Vermont native, worked as an editor for Health and Cooking Light magazines, and for Sharecare.com, a health information website. She is delighted to have found yet another way – and, she thinks, the best one yet -- to help teach people about living healthy. This includes her 8-year-old daughter, Zoe, who has been known to nibble growing bunches of red lettuce to nubs if Mama looks away long enough. Su also plays “Mama” to three friendly hens, one of whom left Garden 2 Blog in 2013 as a fertilized egg!
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#CrescentGarden #HuntingCrescent From its beginnings over 15 years ago, the approach has been simple; bridge design and functionality into every one of our products. From classic to contemporary styles we have products that fit every landscape and color ranges that inspire. Crescent Garden offers easy to install lawn and garden products that are lightweight, durable and come with a warranty. Come grow with us.
Paula Douer After growing up in the family’s plastics business, Paula and her husband Harry Tchira founded Crescent Garden over 15 years ago. With her manufacturing background and their desire to cultivate the Lawn and Garden market, their venture has bloomed into the trend setting business it is today. Paula gets a majority of her inspiration for new products and designs working in the trendy Miami Design District and residing with her husband Harry and two seedlings, Gabrielle and Joseph, in stylish Miami Beach.
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Barbara Wise As a seasoned veteran in the horticulture industry, Barbara Wise joined Crescent Garden in 2015 to be a Sales Rep for the Ohio Valley area and to assist in growing their social media presence. During her career as a commercial landscaper and nurseryman, Barbara’s passion for creative yet functional garden design led her to becoming a nationally known speaker for container gardening and to write her first book “Container Gardening For All Seasons� (Quartos Publishing). Her transition to sales and marketing with Crescent Garden was a natural one when she realized how many of the beautiful planters in her power-point presentations over the years had been Crescent planters! As a garden writer, Barbara has written for Tennessee Gardener, Nashville House, Home, and Garden, and several industry related publications. She enjoys using her one-acre home in Brentwood, TN as a trial garden for new plants on the market, traveling with her husband, visiting her four grown sons and her grandchildren, and coming to Moss Mountain Farm whenever she gets the opportunity.
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#GoodDirt Our company was founded on the idea that gardening products should be effective, easy to use and ecologically responsible. As parents and seasoned gardeners, we aim to create products that not only help yield beautiful, lush landscapes but are safe for children to handle and sustainability produced so as to prevent harm to the planet we’ll one day pass on to them.
Alva Horton Alva grew up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina where she was mesmerized from a young age with her grandmother’s green thumb – growing award winning roses in sand is no small feat! Fascinated by color and the act of creating beautiful spaces both outside and in; she continued her design journey through obtaining undergraduate degrees in Interior Architecture and Studio Art with a later MA in Architectural History. After which, she spent several years in Northern England as a marketing director for a rather eccentric (but never boring) Interior Designer. Returning to the South; Alva began her own firm, Gingham Creative, a little over 2 years ago and since has worked with creative industries from Egypt to LA. Having met Suzy at an event and instantaneously admiring her vivacious personality, her adventure with GOOD DIRT began in late 2015. The opportunity to nurture this particular brand’s digital footprint is already one of the best experiences of her career thus far and working alongside Al and Suzy is nothing short of pure joy. Currently Alva is in the midst of cultivating four different varieties of Lavender and attempting to create a "Bohemian" feel in the back yard of her downtown Durham home, but first - more coffee please!
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Al Newsom Al grew up in North Carolina spending time with two grandfathers. One was a farmer and one an avid gardener. From early on, it was clear gardening was in his DNA. He started doing yardwork for neighbors at the age of thirteen and by the time he was fifteen, he contracted with a home builder to maintain the lawns of their newly built homes until they sold. He went to North Carolina State University and majored in Horticulture, all the while thinking that one day he would have his own nursery. But, soon he discovered he liked the creative aspect of gardening and started his own design-build landscape firm while still a senior in college. The company grew over the next 16 years and he added a retail store named “The City Gardener�, selling garden accessories and furniture, and also representing 50+ artists who specialized in garden art. Eventually Al sold his company and as a result, has spent the last 16 years working with Ball Seed Company, introducing new plant varieties to the trade and developing marketing programs and strategies for growers. Gardening and horticulture are not his only passions. He also loves to experience live music, both local and national, as much as possible. He also caught the Outsider Art fever several years ago and has a curated wonderful collection of works. Loving the art of cultivating friendships most of all, GOOD DIRT was born in order to connect with people on a larger scale.
Suzy Newsom Suzy was born in Brazil and moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1989. She studied international business and marketing at Georgetown University and then spent 12 years working for a medical device manufacturer. As the Director of international sales, she travelled extensively throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia. Prior to her move to Raleigh in 1995, Suzy was living, working, and studying in France. She took an intentional break from the corporate world to start a family when she met her husband Al & simultaneously began seeking new ventures that were creative in nature but would also embrace her new family life. In 2014, the idea of GOOD DIRT began to blossom and the product came to market last fall. Since childhood Suzy has had a love for nature, animals and a respect for the Earth. She is passionate about her children, tending her garden, entertaining, meeting new people, traveling & studying new cultures. Just as importantly, she strives to give back to the community. Near and dear to her heart are organizations that promote gardening as an escape for at-risk youth and for the mentally ill. It is her hope that younger generations learn about the beauty of life through cultivating gardens either on the farm or in the city, one plant at a time.
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#HomeGrown #SunPatiens Sakata has been breeding and producing seed of innovative vegetable varieties for many years – over 100, in fact! Some of the company’s earliest breakthroughs are still popular today; and, many of their new offerings like Jalafuego jalapeñopeppers and Peppermint Swiss chard are fast becoming mainstays in the home garden. Nevertheless, they are not content to rest – that’s why they are so excited to introduce their new lineup, including Tiger collard and Majestic Red pepper. To ensure their home garden product line offers the finest in flavor, disease resistance, wide adaptability and early maturity, Sakata Home Grown selects the best of the best from Sakata’s worldwide breeding locations. In addition, their focus is on varieties that work for a range of regions, seasons and end-use. Seeds of Sakata Home Grown vegetable varieties can be found via mail-order seed catalogs and on retail seed racks, and plants of their varieties can be purchased in many garden centers. Plus, shoppers can find produce of Sakata varieties at farms stands and at grocery stores (FYI: Broccolini® was bred by Sakata). And, you might be surprised to know, Sakata is the Broccoli King! 70% of the world’s broccoli has been bred by Sakata. One other thing, none of their offerings, either flowers or vegetables, are Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products. From the garden to the table, Sakata Home Grown vegetables are sure to garner rave reviews! Sakata Home Grown is headquartered in Morgan Hill, CA.
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Tracy Lee Tracy Lee is the Product Development & Marketing Manager for Sakata Seed America’s Home Grown division. Tracy started life right here in Arkansas, then moved to the coastal low country of SC. There she grew up helping her Nana plant cockscomb and shell peas from her grandfather’s sandy garden (although her favorite activity was thumping the fruit on his watermelon plants). She headed to Clemson University to study Architecture, using her extra classes for a minor in Landscape Architecture. After graduation she worked on projects for the South Carolina Botanical Garden and quickly realized she wanted a more hands-on relationship with the plants. So, back to Clemson she went to get her graduate degree in horticulture. Tracy has since spent over 17 years in the vegetable and flower industry, first at Park Seed Company in SC, then at W. Atlee Burpee in Bucks County, PA. After coming to Sakata over 6 years ago, she decided to trade her substantial suburban shade garden for an urban setting. Now in a center-city Philadelphia rowhouse, Tracy plants a slew of edibles (and a few ornamentals) in her tight little back yard and on her bright, sunny roof deck. An avid foodie and cook, Tracy most enjoys being at the beginning of the supply chain to bring the latest and greatest vegetables to market. She is almost fanatical about ensuring Sakata focuses on flavor, disease resistance, wide adaptability, early maturity–all essential for the home gardener!
Alecia Troy Alecia Troy is the Senior Marketing Manager for Sakata Seed America’s Vegetable and Flower divisions. A second-generation native to the bay area of California, Alecia knows she’s quite spoiled with fantastic yearround gardening weather and tries to take advantage of it at every turn. Alecia always considered herself a very happy flower gardener. However, upon joining Sakata, she quickly realized she’d been missing out on the joys of vegetable gardening. Still a relative newbie to the veggie territory, she relies on knowledgeable Sakata Home Grown guru Tracy Lee for guidance and encouragement. Alecia has over 25 years of experience in the wholesale vegetable and flower industry and has been with Sakata for nearly four years. Alecia manages, coordinates and implements vegetable and flowers marketing communications plans and activities in the U.S.
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#Jobes Easy Gardener, a manufacturer and distributor of garden products, has been in business since 1983 and sells to the top retailers both domestically and internationally. Its brands include Easy Gardener, WeedBlock, Ross, Jobe’s and Jobe’s Organics. Easy Gardner’s newest hit product line is the Jobe’s Organics granular, the most successful launch in the company’s history. Please join us for an interesting session in bioremediation, organics and solutions for the Baby Boomers. We will provide some really interesting facts and figures and move into a fun interactive, hands-on session that is sure to be informative and memorable.
James Herrmann James Herrmann is the new Vice President of Marketing for the Jobe’s Company and a novice gardener working towards his master gardener certification. He has spent most of his career working in the Agriculture industry in various aspects from animal feeds to all-natural insecticides. In his various roles he has worked to combine cutting edge technology while preserving product heritage. Now at the Jobe’s Company he is continuing to integrate his reverence for company heritage with innovate technologies. In his short time with the company he has introduced a new website, updated product packaging and worked to introduce new organic products into the Jobe’s Organics line. Throughout his career he has helped to launch and promote new products and brands but he especially enthusiastic about the potential of the Jobe’s Organics line of products.
Martin Rainey In 1993 Martin began his career in the Lawn and Garden Industry working for a small DIY retailer. In 1997, he relocated to Florida where Martin was the Garden Department Manager at The Home Depot for both the inside and outside garden. Following his new found gardening products passion, he was hired by the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company where he worked for 11 years in various sales and business development roles. In 2011, Martin left Scotts and went to work for Oldcastle managing their lawn and garden national business at Lowe’s. He recently joined Easy Gardener Products as the Director of Product Development and will be relocating to Waco, TX in the coming months. 32 #Garden2Grow2016
#StargazerBarn Some might call Humboldt County a dreary place. Roughly five hours north of sunny San Francisco, it touches the Pacific coastline, shelters a forest of Redwoods and habitually wears a cloak of fog and clouds. Ironically, these conditions make it the ideal place to plant fields of bright tulips, irises and stunning Oriental and hybrid lilies. Stargazer Barn put down roots in Humboldt California recently and now ships its bounty across the country, delighting recipients with fresh, gorgeous blooms straight from the farm. The barn also serves as a gathering place for growers, makers and artisans who share a dedication to quality. The flowers are grown on the edge of the ocean, and a vintner grows grapes in the mountains, 30 miles inland. Few people know the Stargazer Lily was bred by Dr. Leslie Woodruff where the barn sits, so its name is an homage to that amazing lily, says Bill Prescott. He tells the story behind its discovery and gives some insight into the flower field’s daily operations.
Bill Prescott Bill Prescott is the Marketing Communication Associate for the Sun Valley Floral Farm in Arcata, California. Sun Valley is the largest flower farm in the United States. Mr. Prescott has written the “Flower Talk with Lily“ blog for Sun Valley weekly for the last three years, and manages all aspects of their social media platform. Mr. Prescott is also frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, usually writing about flowers and flower trends. He sits on the promotion committee of the California Cut Flower Commission, and the Board of Directors of Humboldt Made, as well as running www.prescottdesigns.com , his social media consulting business. Mr. Prescott’s his latest project is the www. StargazerBarn.com e-commerce website which brings the best farm fresh flowers, small batch wines and artisanal delights to connoisseurs across the United States. Stargazer Barn recently partnered with P. Allen Smith, to share their wonderful flowers with the P Allen Smith community.
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#WestRockCoffee “We believe in people and the drive not only to survive, but to live with dignity and achieve great things. We also believe that honest, fair and efficient commerce can fuel great, positive change.” An international company, proudly based in Arkansas, Westrock’s strength is their people. The coffee roasting and packaging facility is located in North Little Rock, their trading desks are in Europe, and origin export facilities are in Rwanda and Tanzania. Westrock works with smallholder farmers around the globe to create some of the finest coffees in the world. Westrock is committed to creating great coffee from crop to cup. By operating at each level of the coffee supply chain, Westrock offers complete transparency to consumers and fair, honest trade to their farmer partners. In turn, the partnerships impact the farmers, their families and their entire communities. Learn more at WestrockCoffee.com.
Tori Cochran Tori Cochran is the Director of Green Coffee and Certified Q Grader at Westrock Coffee Company. She believes that Westrock Coffee is unique because of its direct partnerships with employees at origin and feels honored to work hand-in-hand with Westrock’s farmer partners. Coffee of choice: Westrock’s Roaster’s Choice
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Elizabeth McLaughlin Elizabeth McLaughlin wears many hats as the Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Westrock Coffee. She feels blessed to work for an organization whose goal is to help make life better for those in less privileged places who are willing to work hard. Coffee of choice: Westrock’s Meza Morning Blend
Tori Gay Tori Gay is the Marketing Manager at Westrock Coffee Company. She is passionate about working for a company that goes the extra mile to do what will create real change while also empowering all who are involved to do their best work. Coffee of choice: Westrock’s Rwanda Select Reserve Dark Roast
Tim Greulich Tim Greulich is the Senior Manager of Sales and Marketing at Westrock Coffee Company. His passion for Westrock Coffee comes from knowing that each bag or box of coffee sold is making a difference for someone, somewhere. Coffee of choice: Westrock’s Rwanda Ngoma
Peter Guerin Peter Guerin is the Director of Blend & Product Development and Certified Q Grader (Coffee Taster Level II) at Westrock Coffee Company. What drives him is the fact that through Westrock he has the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of people around world. Coffee of choice: Westrock’s Rwanda Select Reserve Light Roast 35
Special Thanks!
John Mayner with Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau Arkansas Parks and Tourism J Schwanke with uBloom Kelly James Blank with Blank Art and Design Ben E. Keith Co.
Staff
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Staff Tab
A few of the people who made this happen: Head Cheese P. Allen Smith Master Marketer Mike Mueller Keeper of the Head Cheese Laura Leech Emissary to Our Partners Beth Porter Mr. Manager Laura Grimes Social Butterfly Heaven Mercer The Creative Minds Katherine Laughlin, Katie Lunsford
Hortus, Ltd. is an integrated media and marketing services company that operates across a broad spectrum of lifestyle topics. Our brand is rooted in the garden and the land, but in the last few years has organically evolved to encompass the following themes: outdoor living and design, interior design, homebuilding, food and cooking,
DeMandy Mandy Shoptaw
entertaining, pets and animals and agriculture
Word Smith Melissa Tucker
content that is sent out every day – from Allen’s
and farming. As a company, we help to create the television shows to online articles, book publication
Guard of the Coffers Pam Holden
to guest appearances. The company includes
Shutterbug Mark Fonville
and marketing strategy development. It is the
Photography Hoarder Suzanne Selby Scottish Ambassador James Sumpter Hucksters of Fine Goods Shannon Lloyd, Chance Slaughter The Man Who Makes the Internet Work Todd Orr Makers of Video Magic Brent Walker, Christie Kratz, Patrick Green, Chip Simons, Heaven Mercer, Jeff Cerino Green Thumb Goddess Jeanetta Darley Garden Task Master Nicole Claas Garden Designers Mary Talbot, Caleb Melchoir Farm Sentinels Joyce Smith, Chris Smith
broadcast, digital and print publications and sales partnership of each of these branches that helps bring P. Allen Smith to consumers worldwide every day. The online segment produces PAllenSmith. com and its microsites and manages all social media accounts while the publication segment develops content for books, e-books and the countless number of retail and trade magazine articles. The broadcasting segment is made up of our production crew, a hard-working team that captures and directs all video footage, and our editors, whose skills produce three weekly national television programs, segments for news programs, commercials, tips and both of our eHow shows. And the marketing segment designs packaging, promotional and advertising materials and the licensing of various trademarks. Together we take the experience and skill of P. Allen Smith and deliver it to our viewers each day.
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2016
Brought to you by P. Allen Smith Garden Home in partnership with: