Remember Neomarica caerulea ‘Regina’, Giant Apostle’s Iris? The stunning new iris from Brazil that does so very well in Florida?
Our own dear Farmer Rick sent an email to let us know it’s in Home Depots now! The bad news is, he sent it last Thursday and I didn’t see it until just now because it went to my Junk Mail box. (Note to Junk Mail Filter: Farmer Rick emails good; Better Living Through Colonics emails bad!)
If they’re not in flower, I can’t imagine they’ve all been scooped up. He says 20 per store were sent out. Here’s what they’ll look like on the shelves. (Thanks for the photo, Rick.)
Here’s the shopping update:
I stopped by the HD at Dale Mabry and I-275 in Tampa after posting Rick’s alert, and that store has two or three dozen, at least. But if you want them, I suggest going before Saturday. The garden centers are getting a lot of weekend traffic.
This store got 90 of them last week. They’re in 5-gallon pots (I think they’re 5-gallon!) and they’re $14.99. They had a display of them out front labeled Giant Iris, and a few more inside. They’re nice-sized, healthy-looking plants. One I bought is 3’3’’ tall, the other 2’10”.
What you can’t see on these, or the ones in Farmer Rick’s pics, is the buds. Some are just beginning to open. (I didn’t buy those.) Most have two buds. Look harder and you can find three, and if you’re really lucky, four. The buds seem to move up the leaf, and change appearance as they mature. If you’re new to irises, here’s what a pretty new bud, low on the leaf, looks like. Some are even less obvious than this.
And here’s a more obvious one, much higher up the leaf.
The clerk I talked to (she bought hers on Monday) said people have been asking for them for weeks. Another reason to shop before Saturday. There’s a lot of conflicting information about them. She said she’d read they like water, so she’s planting in the wettest part of her yard. (I don’t have a wet part of my yard). The daughter of the man who introduced them in the U.S. told me they do well in sun or dappled shade, but the foliage looks better in the latter. And I haven’t read anywhere that they’re water hogs. My walking irises certainly aren’t.
Since they’re an FNGLA “plant of the year,” they should be pretty hardy and well-suited to life in the Sunshine State. There’s absolutely no debate about how beautiful they are.
If they make it in my yard, I think it’s a good bet they’ll make it anywhere.
If you find them at your HD, please share! Who wants to drive across this vaaaaaast county if they don’t have to!
I put a beer-soaked corned beef brisket with vegetables in the slow cooker this morning.
Yes, I know. Ho-hum. Same ol’ Irish dinner every year for St. Patrick’s.
But because of Margaret Johnson, I’ll be doing things a little more differently.
Tonight I’ll give Irish Soda Bread a shot for the first time. And I’ll be doing a tomato chutney to pair with some Kerrygold Dubliner cheese. And there might be some Black and Tan brownies made with Guinness.
That’s right. I said it. Beer brownies.
My image of Irish cuisine took a new direction after I had a chance to chat with Johnson, author of seven cookbooks. She visited Jacksonville, Tampa and Sarasota last week to do demonstrations at the Publix Apron’s Cooking Schools on behalf of Kerrygold butter and cheeses.
Johnson comes to Irish food honestly. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were 100 percent Irish American.
After she started to travel to Ireland in 1984, she began to observe that not much was being written positively about Irish food.
“So I thought that I would right this wrong,” she told me.
With a background in English and journalism teaching, “I could write and I could cook, so I thought I’d put the two together and have a nice little retirement job, which I do.”
She started writing cookbooks in 1991 wit the first published in Dublin called “Ireland: Grand Places and Glorious Food.” Because the restaurant scene was a bit stunted back then, the book instead looked at how hotels and country houses were cooking with indigenous ingredients as lamb, pork and salmon.
“It was my attempt to show that there was more to Irish cooking than just overboiled meats,” she says.
Her second book was devoted to Irish spirits. Many of the chefs from the first book cooked with Bailey’s or whiskey or Guinness, including Beef and Guinness Stew. The Guinness has a sweet aftertaste that can often be overlooked.
In Cooking Light magazine this month. Johnson and her family are featured in a 10-page spread.
In there is a recipe for Black and Tan Brownies which calls for Guinness to be added to the chocolate portion of the brownies.
“It’s delicious,” she says.
“Guinness and chocolate is quite a great combination,” she says. “You can steam mussels in Guinness. You can make a Guinness mousse. It’s deceptive because it has a sweetness to it.”
The problem with Irish-American cuisine is that it hasn’t evolved as the food in the home country has changed.
“The perception is of meats and stews, but Ireland is an island with fabulous, clean rivers and lakes with wonderful seafood,” she says.
When she first visited Ireland in 1984, her cousin didn’t have indoor plumbing. So refrigeration was out of the question. If you didn’t live near the water, you probably didn’t eat seafood.
“Now chefs are using what’s in the river next door in the next town,” Johnson says. “The better restaurants will have fishermen knock on their back door in the morning and say, ‘This is what I have today.’ The catch of the day is becoming a very big ingredient in their menus.”
Here are some of Johnson’s recipes, including the brownies from the March issue of Cooking Light.
TOMATO CHUTNEY
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 pounds (6 to 7 medium) plum tomatoes, quartered
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup golden raisins
Freshly ground pepper to tasteIn a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine first 7 ingredients. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to simmer, and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the mixture thickens. (As the tomato skins separate from the pulp, remove with a fork and discard.) Spoon the chutney into a clean jar or bowl, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. MAKES 2 CUPS
BLACK AND TAN BROWNIES
Historically, the phrase “black and tan” referred to the much-reviled auxiliary force of English soldiers sent to Ireland to suppress the Irish rebels after the 1916 Easter Rising. Eventually, a much-loved drink made with half Guinness Stout and half Harp Lager assumed the name, and now this two-toned brownie (with the addition of Guinness) shares it.
Yield: 32 servingsTan Brownies:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cooking sprayBlack Brownies:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness Stout
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon saltPlace one rack in lower third of oven; place another rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare Tan Brownies, place 6 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Add flour mixture and pecans to sugar mixture, beating just until combined. Spoon into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly with a knife or rubber spatula. Bake at 350° in lower third of oven for 15 minutes.
To prepare Black Brownies, melt chocolate and 4 tablespoons butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until melted, stirring after every 20 seconds until smooth. Add granulated sugar, stirring until well combined. Add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and Guinness, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Pour mixture evenly over Tan Brownies.
Bake on the center rack at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack; cut into squares
SALMON WITH KERRYGOLD GARLIC & HERB BUTTER SAUCE AND CHAMP
Salmon, both fresh and oak-smoked, is probably Ireland’s most popular fish. Here it’s paired with a sauce made with fresh vegetables lightly seasoned with garlic and herb butter. Champ is a traditional potato dish made with spring onions or chives and served with a pool of melting butter, Kerrygold, of course, on top. (Source: “The New Irish Table.”)
CHAMP
8 medium potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish Butter (salted), softenedCook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return the pan to the stove to dry out a little, and then mash the potatoes. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and chives for about 3 minutes, or until the chives are softened. Beat the milk mixture into the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm while preparing the salmon. Reserve butter for topping.
BRAISED SALMON
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small zucchini, chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup packed baby spinach
4 salmon filets (about 5 ounces each), skin and pin bones removed
1 stick (3.5 ounces) Kerrygold Garlic & Herb Butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
Freshly ground pepper to tasteIn a large non-reactive skillet, cook the white wine over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the fish stock, lemon juice, bay leaf, and vegetables. Place the salmon on top, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the salmon is translucent. With a slotted spoon, transfer the salmon filets to a plate and keep warm. Stir in the butter, one piece at a time, until well blended. Season with pepper, and cook for about 1 minute to heat. To serve, place a salmon filet on a serving plate and spoon the sauce over. Serve a scoop of Champ with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter melting into the top.
Serves 4.
So, I took one day off last week, and wouldn’t you know it, because I didn’t drive past Chamberlain High School on Friday, I missed the opening days of their annual FFA plant sale. I didn’t see the sign until Monday.
Fortunately, the sale lasts a lot longer than most – they’ll be out there every day until 1 p.m. Sunday.
I stopped by today and, of course, I had to buy something.
The first thing I spotted was a box full of candy corn plants (Cuphea micropetal).
I bought one of these at last year’s sale, and it has been a favorite ever since. I have it in a basket hanging from our pergola (dappled shade), and it blooms like crazy year-round. I brought it into the lanai and covered it during the coldest winter days, and it held up better than any other potted plant I have.
The plant is named for its cute little orange blooms, which really do look like candy corn. I bought three this time, but I left a few, so hurry and get yours!
I also bought a creeping Charlie, a plant I knew nothing about.
It’s beautiful, but now I’m seeing conflicting things about it online – good and bad—and I’m not quite sure what I have. Some plants called creeping Charlie are invasive, but I plan to keep this one in the hanging basket—and I’ll be hanging it over a paved area, so I should be OK.
They didn’t seem to have as many plants this year, but there were lots of azaleas, crotons and begonias, and a few trees. I also spotted the pretty baby sun rose that I bought last year. And there were some good-sized Chinese fringe flower shrubs – which I wish I’d known about two weeks ago, before I bought the tiny ones at Lowe’s.
You can’t beat the prices on these very healthy plants. Some are grown by students and the rest are provided on consignment by local nurseries. The money raised will go back to the FFA program.
The school is at Busch and North boulevards in Tampa. Get out there if you can.
My mood got a goose Saturday when I saw a couple of blooms on one (just one!) of my poor freeze-damaged plumbagos. Imagine what it must be like to still have those dirty piles of snow turned to ice out your lawn, and all you can do is look at magazines and Web sites. My friend Heather in Colorado penned a pathetic Facebook post a couple of days ago about reading gardening books by the fire. It was snowing, and she is so ready to plant!
Spring is nearly here, officially that is, and the folks at Yahoo! noted a 134 percent spike in searches for “gardening tips” in the past week.
According to Yahoo!, it isn’t just women who are looking for info; men are behind 39 percent of online searches for gardening. People are also looking for “gardening forums” (Well, hello!) for advice on planting and decorating outdoors.
Yahoo! says searches for garden design and plant nurseries are off the charts. Here are some of the other garden searches on Yahoo! in the past week:
• Raised garden beds (Yahoo! Says searches are up 149 percent)
• Garden tillers (up 115 percent)
• Vegetable garden (up 114 percent)
• Outdoor lighting (up 73 percent)
• Outdoor patio furniture (up 32 percent)
• Outdoor furniture (up 31 percent)
• Outdoor fireplace (up 23 percent)
• Outdoor kitchen (up 20 percent)
Hmmm … since I named them all, maybe we’ll be finding new friends on The Dirt. If you are new, welcome! And please join our conversation. (Northern gardeners, feel free to call us whiners when you read our posts about the cold. Southern gardeners, this is the place to commiserate!)
Sorry to be posting these so late!
I didn’t make it to “the reveal” Thursday evening, when DIY Network’s “Yard Crashers” unveiled the 48-hour ($35,000-plus) transformation of Brooke and Tom Iarossi’s backyard. But The Tribune had a photographer there, and I’ve grabbed his photos to post.
Here’s the finished outdoor kitchen with indestructible cabinets by WerEver, a local company. (For more details on all this stuff, loads o’ links, and before pictures, scroll down to the earlier posts.) I love that paver patio!
This is the view as you enter the backyard from the front yard. It looks a lot bigger than it actually is.
Raised pergola by Outdoor Impressions with the very cool fountain by BelAqua.
And it looks like the Iarossis might actually get to enjoy that new backyard today.
I don’t know whether to be more wowed by the water feature with the waterfall sheet, arcing fountains and fire; the remote-controlled synchronized LED lighting system, or the fact that all the work at “the Yard Crasher house” is being done by local, independent companies. Some of them owned and run by very young, very talented businessmen.
Heavy-duty rain bypassed the little house on Ballast Point Boulevard this morning so there was a lot of progress evident by lunchtime today, when I stopped by.
The raised patio (home of the wow-water) will have lounge furniture when all is done by sometime late this afternoon or early evening. The fountain was created by 2-year-old BelAqua, a local company owned and operated by 27-year-old Justin Stabler.
When it’s finished, it’ll have underwater pipes carrying propane gas. Hit the remote, and flames will dance on the water, says Justin.
It will be lit by LED lights connected to a system that runs throughout the landscaping and up into the big camphor tree. The system can be switched to suit whatever mood homeowners Brooke and Tom Iarossi are in, from subdued and romantic to flashing party time. All they have to do is turn this dial.
Without fire and lights, the fountain would cost about $5,000. With all the disco attributes, it would sell for almost twice that, Justin says.
All the cool lights, by the way, are the work of Morningstar Electric, a family-owned company powered by Ken and Tammy Morningstar of Brandon.
In the corner opposite the pergola, an outdoor kitchen is quickly taking shape.The cabinets are made of high density polyethylene, a material impervious to rain, wind, sun and mud, says Matt Boettger, 36-year-old owner of WerEver, a Tampa company that’s been pioneering ways to work with the material for 10 years. (
“It’ll last indefinitely,” Matt says of the cabinets, which look amazingly like wood. “We offer a lifetime warranty. ... Back at the office, we’ve had a piece soaking in water for five years.” So far, no change.
When it’s done,the unit will have a built-in gas grill, side burner and under-the-counter beverage center. (I have no idea how the latter will work, but I’m all for easy dispensal of beverages.) There’s even a pull-out trash can hiding in one of the cabinets.
Without the appliances, this set-up, which has a travertine tile countertop, sells for about $6,000.
A lot of landscaping is also in. Beneath the big old camphor tree (where the foot-long earthworm was unearthed yesterday) there’s now a ring of big, healthy bromeliads. The landscaper is TropicScapes in Bloomingdale. (This photo doesn’t do the bromeliads justice, but I liked the rocks. There are a bunch of different bright-colored plants.)
Below are Hawaiian tis (red), Florida cypress (the green bushes—I need to doublecheck that’s what they are—there are a lot of them and they look really good as a perimeter buffer). Kim thinks the palm is queen palm, and to the left are birds of paradise, which should be striking when they get bigger. The small tufts of grass look like liriope. All very Florida.
Some of these companies work mostly through dealers, but those who’ve been working together at the Iarossis seem to have long-standing relationships. They all do a lot of work through Outdoor Impressions —also local, also independently owned by 25-year-old Jason Smith. That may be the place to start if you’re inspired to replace that rusty old garden swing with a fire-breathing fountain. (I have a 30-year-old fence to deal with first. Sigh.)
I hope when this “Yard Crashers” episode airs in July, all of these companies get a good plug. The owners are a bunch of good-natured, hard-working guys with a lot of talent. They all do custom work, and their youth belies their experience. But what’s really nice? Between the heckling (and there’s a lot of that), each sings the other’s praises.
(OK, Jason, you better say this is a really great post! The good thing is, it’s all true.)
I was out at the Florida Straweberry Festival on Tuesday working on a food story when I passed one of the Brandon Farms stands. Instead of being open, there was a wreath and two signs on the outside.
On one side was this note:
On the other, it read:
Over at the Brandon Farms stand by the main gate, I asked a woman working the concession about the closing of the other spot. Behind her, a photo of Ms. Gude hung in memoriam.
The lady said that Ms. Gude had been diagnosed with lung cancer about a month ago and had passed away on Thursday at age 37. The funeral was on Tuesday, which is why the one stand was shut down.
Ms. Gude ran Brandon Farms since August, when her father Eddie Jones died one day after turning 62. Jones started Brandon Farms in 1979 as a roadside stand with a few crates of berries at State Road 60 and Miller Road. He died from a heart attack as Ms. Gude was driving him to doctor’s appointment in Gainesville for his amyloidosis, a condition which abnormally deposits proteins in tissues and organs.
That photo above? The framed photo on the wall above her picture is of her father. Strawberry families tend to honor their loved ones that way at the festivals following their deaths.
This was the tribute Parkesdale Farms erected during the 2009 festival to founder Robert E. “Ray” Parke, who had died the previous June.
It’s been a hard year in the strawberry growing community’s ranks. In January, Charles Edwin Lawton, founder of Dixie Growers, died at age 57 after battling skin cancer undergoing three liver transplants.
As for Ms. Gude, you can read her obituary here.
A lovely and touching remembrance of her can be read over at the Sweet Jeanette food blog.
An excerpt:
A fond memory I have of Trenda was when Paul and I were dating. Trenda would come over and sit between Paul and I on my mom’s front porch swing. I couldn’t get this kid to leave! I’d tell her I thought I heard her mom calling. “I don’t hear her”, she was quick to say. Then in another desparate attempt I’d tell her that I thought her mom wanted her to come home for supper. “Oh, she doesn’t care”, she’d say. I knew it was a losing battle, so there she sat, between my boyfriend and I!
Ms. Gude is survived by her husband Joe Gude and daughters Faith and Ashlyn Gude.
Donations in her honor can be made to Seffner Chistian Academy, 11605 U.S. Highway 92 E. Seffner, FL 33584.
Kim and I visited the “Yard Crashers” Tampa renovation this morning, where work got underway about 8:30. It’s easy to see how they can completely transform a yard in 48 hours. They have their own folks, but they also hire local companies and tell the homeowners to invite friends and family to provide manual labor.
With all that muscle, they can do in a few hours what would take me weeks!
That’s show host Ahmed Hassan in the center, with homeowner Brooke Iarossi’s mom, Colleen Keane next to him and Brooke in the pink top facing the camera to the right.
Kim and I were both impressed with how much Ahmed throws himself into the job. He works! He also barks orders (a friendly bark, but by no means a gentle invitation), and he seems to really get into the job at hand.
But what impressed me the most? He recognized me! Our brief lap encounter on Sunday must have made an impression. Lesson here: If you want someone to remember you, blather, stutter and, as a last resort, show him the scratches on your arms from pruning. Gross is always memorable. And if you’re perched on his/her thigh all the better.
Not long after we arrived, we heard a scream and shouts from behind the big camphor tree (not an oak as I originally thought) in the middle of the yard. People went running in all directions and Ahmed, dangling what looked like a small snake, chased Brooke (screaming) across the yard with it.
“What IS that?” I asked as he held it up for the cameras. On close inspection, it sure didn’t look like a snake.
“Earthworm,” he said. “Want to hold it?”
Of course I wanted to. The rare, anemic little earthworms I unearth in my sandy garden are pure treasure. I love worms! So yup, here I am holding Ahmed Hassan’s giant worm while the DIY cameras roll. (Didn’t Kim get a great shot? And why is it I always find myself in compromising positions without even trying!)
On to the details that y’all really want to know! We learned today that the show’s producers research local companies on-line before they come here and hire them to do a lot of the nitty-gritty planning and work. So for all of you wondering where the plants are coming from, that’s TropicScapes Landscape Design & Installation. It was their guy, Mac Garner, who produced the detailed plan.
The lead contractor is Jason Smith from Outdoor Impressions, which specializes in hardscape—pavers, outdoor kitchens, that sort of thing. He used a free on-line program SketchUp, to produce 3-D illustrations of the different elements. He says you can use this for plant planning, too. It has a whole database of plant images. (I will definitely give it a try!)
This is the water feature they’ll be installing. The black, looped lines indicate the fountains’ spray.
Because the big camphor tree in the middle of the yard provides a lot of shade, there won’t be a lot of turf. But there will be plants many of us know well. Bird of paradise, some of them 8 feet tall, will be focal points in some clusters, surrounded by Hawaiian tis, including varieties called Bolero bicolor and Auntie Lou. (I didn’t know there were varieties of ti!)
The existing tangerine tree will be encircled with rocks from the yard and recycled concrete and Super Blue Liriope. The existing chain-link fence will be covered with wood panels and Confederate jasmine. Variegated flax lily (big favorite among Dirt readers), purple impatiens, Chinese fan palms, Asian jasmine and arboricola are among the other plants being used. Bromeliads will go under the camphor tree. And it will all be covered with 108 bags of mulch. (Darn it, I didn’t look to see what kind of mulch!) But they’re not adding compost or other soil amendments, which I found interesting. I guess the giant earthworms indicate it’s good dirt?
(Ahmed said that worm was so big because there was a ton of dog poop in the yard. Do I need a dog? Or two?)
Here’s the mulch and everything else, including what’s left of the tin shed that was the yard’s main feature, all sitting in the front yard.
The yard will also get an outdoor kitchen and big grill.
An interesting note: The Iarossis had told the “Yard Crashers” crew they’ve been in their home for five years and hadn’t done anything in the yard. That’s understandable—young couple and now they have a 9-month-old baby. But watching Brooke and her friends “raking,” I wondered if they might be just posing for the cameras. They were tapping the ground with the rakes. Literally. Tap, tap, tap.
I looked around and, no, the cameras were all on the other side of the yard. So what were they doing?
As I was watching, apparently Ahmed was, too. He appeared out of nowhere, took Brooke’s rake, and gave her a quick lesson in raking.
Which makes me wonder—how long will the landscape portion of this makeover last?
On a last, personal note, Kim is a longtime fan of this show, so I had to get a picture of her interviewing Ahmed. (She’ll have something in the Tribune on Sunday.) I think it’s important to note that she did not wear the dress (unusual attire for her) in anticipation of meeting one of her favorite gardeners. She was wearing it, and she won’t like me sharing this, because she was going to a Gordon Lightfoot concert tonight.
“For my husband!!”
(That was what she said to everyone at work today who asked why she was wearing a dress—and then, why a Gordon Lightfoot concert?)
Ahmed thought she was Janna, who went with me to Lowe’s on Sunday when they were searching for the makeover winner. Kim was very flattered, Janna.
He can’t say I didn’t warn him.
When I asked my husband to trim the bougainvillea on Saturday, he didn’t hesitate to get up on the ladder and start hacking away.
He didn’t seem to notice that the bougainvillea was hacking back.
“You might want to change into a long-sleeve shirt,” I said, having done battle with the bougie many times before.
But he didn’t want to take the time. And so …
That’s what he looks like today. Ouch.
Right after he finished, Rick ran up to Lowe’s to get me several bags of mulch (yes, he really is a great husband), and two customers kidded him about the scratches. They recognized the culprit right away—he didn’t even have to tell them it was a bougainvillea.
One guy suggested he try welders gloves because they have a long protective cuff, or gauntlet. I started looking online and came across these Bionic Rose Gauntlet gloves for both men and women at http://www.therosegardener.com.
They’re on sale right now for $38 (usually $45). That’s kind of pricey, I know, but come on. Look at those arms!
I’m already hearing from some of the people who had SO hoped they’d win the “Yard Crashers” landscape makeover today. They are truly disappointed.
The one family that’s not is the Iarossis of Ballast Point Boulevard. For their very long day, they’re going to get their big, empty yard transformed. This is Tom, Brooke and Isabella (on the right) in their yard. The woman on the left is part of the “Yard Crashers” team.
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Here’s what DIY Network program director Ross Babbit emailed about them tonight.
“Brooke works in medical sales. Tom is a project manager for commercial construction. Daughter is Isabella, 9 months old. Been in the house almost 5 years. Have done a lot of indoor projects, but the yard is a MESS!! Nasty grass, shed and patio in shambles. Dog poop everywhere.
“They’re fans of the show, and heard we were coming a few days ago.”
I’m really curious about what they’ll come up with for the yard, which is pretty big. It has a beautiful oak tree, and apparently a citrus tree or two. In the back, you can see a metal shed.
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Here’s another view. It’s definitely what show host Ahmed Hassan said he was looking for—something pretty bare, a blank canvas, that could produce some startling before-and-after images.
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The couple showed up at Lowe’s on South Dale Mabry at 8 this morning. I’m betting they had one long day, because when I left about 10 a.m., there was a long, long line of people, and Ahmed and the producers had promised them that someone would speak to every single one. Ross says, all totaled, 400 to 500 people came out.
Usually, the “Crashers” crew—Ahmed and the producers—find their winner in about three hours, then head to the person’s home in the afternoon. Ross said he’d let me know when they had that winner, so I could meet them at the house.
But it all took a lot longer than usual because they switched up how they usually operate. Ahmed usually pops into a home-improvement store and “ambushes” unsuspecting shoppers. As it plays on TV, he has trouble talking any of them into letting him into their yard. Definitely not the case today!
The “Yard Crashers” folks didn’t have a plan for dealing with this twist, and it seemed like they really wanted to show everyone some appreciation for showing up. They finally picked the Iarossis at about 6 p.m.—- a half-hour before I was due at Mom’s for Sunday night dinner with the clan. So, yeah, I didn’t go to the Iarossis. When Mom says “Dinner at 6:30,” she’s not fooling around.
Monday and Tuesday are planning days for the “Crashers.” Wednesday and Thursday are work days. I’m hoping to get an idea of what they plan to do on Tuesday, and I’ll visit the house Wednesday and Thursday.
That yard looks like it has lots of potential. Anyone want to guess at what they’ll put in it? And what do you want to know when I follow up with them this week?
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