Penny Carnathan

Penny’s a Nurture And Hold (NAH): Nah, I won’t pull that out yet, it’s still got a green shoot. She likes dragonflies, lady bugs and new stuff only after weeding, pruning and fertilizing.

Kim Franke-Folstad

Kim’s a Want It Now (WIN): Everything pretty, everything now. She will resort to full-spectrum insecticides in desperate situations, and believes it’s her duty and right to buy new plants every weekend.

Both advocate Plant Choice (SOMEthing besides crotons. Please!), lots of color and low maintenance. We don’t agree on everything, but we’re smart enough to learn from each other - and from you.

 @TheDirtTBO
 The Dirt
 Post your garden photos
 Bay area nuseries
 Gardening calendar
 Planting guide

Most Recent Entries

• USF Poly senate expresses alarm at independence bill in the Legislature
• USF showcases creationism critic tonight
• Times reporter goes to work at USF St. Pete
• Slutty Brownies, Homemade Snickers And Bacon-Wrapped Beef Hot Dogs [This Week’s Weekend Eats]
• USF Poly board member quits, saying USF is scuttling the “Poly model”
• Decision 2012: Florida’s Pizza Primary [Every Slice Of Newsroom Pie Tells A Story]
• USF gets big grant for veterans research
• Merlot Jelly, Korean Fried Chicken and Grand Marnier Souffle [This Week’s Weekend Eats]
• Researchers say cell phone waves can reverse Alzheimer’s
• Klasko and Obama grip and grin
• Genocide, memory and art the focus of USF conference
• Poly announces budget cuts; fires top administrators
• Debate turns into test of free speech. Some students failed.
• Homemade Potsticker, Pulled Pork With Fried Egg, And Unstuffed Pork Chops [This Week’s Weekend Eats]
• What’s up with the USF debate?

More

• The Stew
• The Dirt
• Hot Pursuits
• HOMEwork
• Inside USF
• L Archive
  • Green Lite
  • Bring It!

Monthly Archives

• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011

‘Yard Crashers’ visits Tampa—but there are no unsuspecting shoppers to ambush

Posted Mar 7, 2010 by Loren Omoto

Updated Mar 7, 2010 at 05:38 PM

I’m just gonna put it right out there: Ahmed Hassan is one hot landscape architect. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

He utterly charmed the crowed at the South Tampa Lowe’s during his “Yard Crashers” visit this morning—even as he struggled to figure out how to handle a major twist in his show’s format.

“He’s so cute! So bubbly!” I overheard Ami Cameron telling her friend Caryn Magherusan. “He’s as adorable as he is on TV.”

“Tell me he doesn’t look like the president,” the Lowe’s greeter said.

“Yard Crashers” (view it here) usually is filmed in California. The show has the energetic landscape architect ambushing unsuspecting shoppers at a home improvement store. He chats them up and tries to persuade them to let him come home with them. A few days later, he does a major yard renovation in 48 hours, with help from the homeowners.

But for the Tampa visit, there were no unsuspecting shoppers. The show’s producers advertised Ahmed’s appearance ahead of time—an experiment, said DIY Network’s program director, Ross Babbit—and the twist threw the handsome host for a bit of a loop. There would be no stalking shoppers through the aisles—they were all standing right in front of him begging to be crashed.

“What should I do?” he implored the group outside the front doors. “How do I do this?”

Finally, he came up with a plan. “Get in the store!” he told them, laughing. “I’m going to breakfast. Go do some shopping!”

Of course, he didn’t leave. He went inside and tried to interview some of the hopefuls. No, not this man—at least not while FOD Janna Begole and I were there.

Yes, this one, among others.

But that approach didn’t seem to satisfy him, either.

“How’s this gonna work?” he asked the crowd that orbited him wherever he moved. “This is crazy!”

As the crashee-hopefuls lumbered after him down the lumber aisle, it was decided he’d set up a table right there, have everyone line up, and he’d talk to each person. Someone found a table and Ahmed grabbed two buckets of drywall compound off a shelf for a chair.

(“Can I get you a chair?” one of his crew asked repeatedly as he hefted buckets. “I’ll get you a chair!”

“I actually do have a booty,” he told her)

Mm-hmm.

The line quickly grew. And grew and grew and grew. I made that observation to Ross. It looked like they might be there till Christmas.

He said if his celeb host had anything to do with it, they would.

“He really likes to talk to people. It pains him not to talk to everyone who’s come out to see him,” Ross said. “The producers will have to get in his way.”

It looked like it would take awhile anyway, so Janna and I decided to head out. (Ross is supposed to let me know the winner today. I’ll update.)

But first, a little professional consultation was required. I guess Ahmed had heard Florida gardening is a challenge, so he had a little tete-a-tete with a truly challenged Florida gardener.

Yup, me. And you’ll have to guess what I was sitting on.