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Penny already has reported most of the details from our very fun (and very hot!) trip to Riverview Flower Farms. So I’m just going to post some of the photos I took during our tour.
Did we mention that it was hot?
I have to say, the group I toured with was unbelievably un-whiney. Die-hard gardeners, no doubt about it.
Ours was the last group to tour the farm, and we had to wait a bit to get going. Penny kept our guests entertained (that’s her in the center of the photo) and answered some questions.
And there was plenty to look at, even inside. The pre-tour buzz: How does Farmer Rick Brown keep his plants looking so great? And will they stay that way when we plant them? (More on that later.)
Rick’s lovely wife, Sydney Park Brown, showed guests how to make seed cups.
And Lois Kessler of Temple Terrace got her seed on …
I finally got to meet some of the best Friends of The Dirt, including Janna Begole and this group: Chip Fulp, center; Chip’s wife, Diane, left; and Janis Vogt, right. Chip and Janis are regular commenters and we LOVE them! It was good to put faces to names. (Diane said she’s a regular reader, but doesn’t always have time to comment.)
We also worked hard to recruit new Friends of The Dirt, including Eric Young, 14, whose posts you started seeing Saturday after the tour.
Rick showed us several plants that will thrive in our gardens – including a sterile type of Mexican petunia that isn’t on the market yet. It’s called Purple Showers and will grow anywhere, Rick says – but it won’t take over your garden. Crossandra Orange Marmalade got much love from fans. And Rick had a dwarf purple cone flower that blooms year-round. It’s a new must-have for my garden. We got to see row after row of gorgeous Florida Friendly plants, including these great petunias.
Rick also showed us a handy “pot in pot” irrigation system using “Little Tunias,” a new kind of petunia bred for winter’s short days. We all wanted to kidnap and take them home with us. (They went on sale at area Home Depot stores this week.)
Tour guests came from all over, and had questions very specific to their zones. A gentleman from Brooksville noted that their temps get much colder than most Tampa area gardens – 17 degrees last winter, he said. Eda Marman came with other members of the Bartow Garden Club. She took more notes than I did, and asked great questions.
Many thanks – again – to Rick and all the folks at Riverview Flower Farms. And to my fellow Dirty Girl, Penny, for arranging the whole thing. You guys are awesome.
The after-tour buzz: Everybody was heading to Home Depot to pick up plants!
Posted by Penny L. Carnathan, on 11/03 at 09:36 PM
No Littletunias darnit!! I checked the label of every petunia at the HD on S. Dale Mabry and, alas, the new ones weren’t there yet. I did find really big flapjacks (those kalanchoes also known as paddles) and picked one up for just $4.97, which was really a good buy. I love those! And now I have a nice little succulent garden around my mailbox. A perfect place for plants that like neglect
Posted by Kim Franke-Folstad, on 11/03 at 06:46 PM
Oh, yeah, Penny: Did you get your “Little Tunias”? Surely if you had we would have heard it here first!
Posted by Kim Franke-Folstad, on 11/03 at 06:43 PM
Eric—I don’t know why your photo is so pixilated on the blog; it’s much better than it looks here.
And you guys are all right—everybody was smiling. We can’t wait for our next Dirty event—already in the planning stages.
Posted by Penny L. Carnathan, on 11/03 at 06:22 PM
Hey Eric, I’m off today, so don’t have access to my work email—I’ll check in the a.m. and let you know about the photos. (Thanks!)
I think you and this kid I met would really get along. He was at the USF tropical plant sale in summer 2008. He wasn’t doing edibles, but had a good-sized garden of butterfly plants along with a pond he stocked himself with bream. (What a great idea!) I will for sure try to find him for you.
Posted by mangoman, on 11/03 at 12:29 PM
Penny, that would be great if you could find his name! I’d love to find somebody to share my hobby with.
Yes, the Rare Fruit Council meeting is this Sunday. Thanks for the heads up.
Did you get the pictures I sent you? I just wanted to make sure they’re going through.
I’m leaving now to go help Mrs. Brandies but should be back by about 5.
Happy Gardening!
Eric Young
Posted by Penny L. Carnathan, on 11/03 at 12:18 PM
Eric, you look like a pack mule in that photo!
Chip, I totally agree with you on all points. I think a lot of the fun of gardening is that there’s always something new to learn, but you can have some success just knowing a little bit.
Eric, by the way, I met a boy a little younger than you about a year ago who is as into gardening as you are. I wrote about him here and I remember he lives in East Hillsborough somewhere. I’ll have to go back and see if I can find his name and email for you .... also, you know the Rare Fruit Council has a meeting coming up? This Sunday, I think
Posted by Chip, on 11/03 at 10:52 AM
It really is nice to see young people as interested in gardening as all of us! the more I learn about plant’s the more I find out how much I do not know.I could fill a book on what I know and a library on what I do not. That is why blog like this is so useful to fill in the gaps and have fun and meet some nice people on the way.
‘“Chip”
Posted by mangoman, on 11/03 at 08:53 AM
Thanks for the extra pictures! Ugh, I look really bad in that picture! Oh well. The trip was indeed a lot of fun!
Eric Young
Posted by Penny L. Carnathan, on 11/03 at 08:08 AM
I was surprised by a couple pictures I had, where you could see people had sweat-drenched hair plastered to their foreheads—and great big smiles.
If you want to see more pix, jump over to Farmer Rick’s blog at www.floridafriendlyplants.com. (I will be making paper pots today for my new seeds. Yay!)
Posted by Iluvpumpkins, on 11/02 at 10:47 PM
Kim, Yes it was very hot, but when you look on everyone’s face all have smiles. My friends are still talking about Riverview Farm and how much fun we all had. Janice
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Posted by Janna, on 11/04 at 09:19 AM
Thanks for posting the additional pictures! Just another reminder of what a great time we all had…