Episode 213- Vegetables and Flowers
Host J Schwanke shares ways to incorporate healthy vegetables into your flower life—whether arranging flowers along with—or IN—vegetables, you’ll find some creative new ways to use vegetables off your plate with flowers.
Vegetables and Flowers go together naturally- and it's fun to incorporate vegetables into your flower arranging. Today on Life in Bloom- I share different ways we can include more vegetables and flowers in our busy lives!
A Visit to Full Hollow Farm- My friends Bradley Smith and Jamie Wilbraham are the owners of Full Hollow Farm- I took the crew to the farm so we can see how this cute couple- have created a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Plan with their Local Farm. Kelly and I visit them every week at the Fulton Farmers Market- and we can't wait to see the AMAZING display they create- it's truly magical to see all their beautiful vegetables displayed at the market- and it's hard to choose- from the amazing selection.
Honestly- we travel quite a bit- so it's not a workable for us to get involved in the CSA program- because we have to be there every week to pick up our ration- from the farm- so we are the ones that buy all we can each week... but let me explain a bit more about CSA and the Full Hollow Farm program- this concept - provides an opportunity for customers- to purchase "Memberships" in the Farm- there are different level (amounts) you can choose- and each week you get a portion of the Farms Produce. This is really truly amazing because it allows you to benefit from the entire selection of crops that Jamie and Bradley grow- and at the same time it allows you to ENJOY the harvest- when they have An Amazing Year for Tomatoes - you get more Tomatoes... and you also get first pick- the best of best - is divided up at the farm- and rationed out to the CSA Members... then the surplus goes to the farmers market.
I really wish I could be a part of the CSA Program- and maybe in the future- I'll do that... I love supporting a local farm and enjoying the organic produce and our friends Jamie and Bradley. The other great benefit of Full Hollow Farm is that they are farm 365 days/52 weeks a year... Kelly and I go to the farmers market every week- we are year round supporters- and Full Hollow Farm is one of the farmers that participate YEAR Round- because of the greenhouse and hoop houses you see in this week's show. So they have Micro Greens and Root Vegetables along with Potatoes and Garlic- all year round... it's an amazing process... and a wonderful part of our Healthy Lifestyle!Learn more about Jamie and Bradley in my Flower Friends Blog here!
Creating a Flower and Vegetable Arrangement at Full Hollow Farm- I couldn't resist when Jamie and Bradley offered me a surplus of vegetables during our visit- I wanted to create an arrangement from the produce they grow at Full Hollow Farm. I used a maché container - and filled it with flower foam- leaving room around the foam for extra water- I also stacked the foam- so that I wouldn't have use so many vegetables- and could have the foam - create the "MOUND" of produce I wanted to create... it's a fun project- check out more information about this Unique Flower Arrangement Here!
Recipe in Bloom- Cauliflower Popcorn- I'm always looking for ways to add more Fresh Organic Vegetables into our daily diet... and this recipe for Cauliflower Popcorn is great for munching - while movie watching or sitting on the deck- Check out the complete recipe here!
Flower Cocktail Hour- Capresé Martini follow this link- for this wonderful cocktail- that includes Organic Tomato Infused Vodka, Balsamic Vinegar, Marinated Mozzarella Balls, and Blue African Basil- it's a Capresé Salad in a glass! here's the complete recipe! https://ubloom.com/blog/2020/09/26/caprese-martini-flowercocktailhour/
Simple Entertaining- with Peppers and Flowers- I Love this project- it's a simple way to make a Pepper into a flower vase- it's easy- just remove the center of the pepper and you have a water tight "Vase" that is organic- I added a small piece of flower foam-(Soaked of course) and then arranged a few short stemmed flowers right into the pepper... I could use a few flowers from the garden- or even a selection of herbs, or foliage from the yard. It's a great way to create a quick and easy flower arrangement for a picnic or dinner party.
Featured Flower- Artichoke Artichokes have been around since 8th Century BC... and was introduced as a food- by the Greeks and Romans. Artichokes provide the largest amounts of Anti-oxidants of any vegetable. Part of the Thistle Family... the Artichoke is actually a flower- the edible part of the Artichoke is the flower before it blooms. However when a flower does bloom it is magnificent- hundreds of bright purple strands in the blooms.
Flower Tip- Asparagus Vase Decoration - This is a simple trick is easy to do- and creates a remarkable vegetable decorative vase. You can use other vegetables with this technique... like carrots or celery- it could also work with Bamboo- or cattails too... Using a Cylinder Vase- and 2 rubber bands- you simply arrange the asparagus stems around the cylinder vase- and secure with the other rubber band. Using Rubber Bands- is ideal- because as the vegetables dry- the loose volume- and the rubber bands keep them secure. You could also conceal the rubber bands with ribbon - for a more decorative look!
I hope you enjoyed this episode all about Vegetables and how we can use them in our Flower Arranging- and other projects, recipes, and cocktails in our Flower Lifestyle! Season 3 of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" will be coming to PBS in the Spring of 2021!