Archive for December 2nd, 2010

A Few of Her Favorite Things: Denise Shoukas

Posted in Shop/Book Reviews on December 2nd, 2010 by Plant Talk – Be the first to comment

Denise ShoukasDenise Shoukas has crafted a life that revolves around food. Denise is a writer for FoodSpring, including the Food Forager blog, and a monthly food trends columnist for Specialty Food Magazine.

When not writing about the latest trends and best specialty foods, she can be found cultivating her organic garden at home, cooking in her newly renovated kitchen, or making handmade pottery to use while serving up her culinary creations. Denise’s varied interests make for a fun and varied list of her “Favorite Things” for holiday gift giving.

See Denise’s picks below.

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Posted in Around the Garden on December 2nd, 2010 by Plant Talk – Be the first to comment
Ann Rafalko is Director of Online Content.

Born to Fish - Sugar and Spice Bake ShopMaking a gingerbread house rocks. Let’s face it–the icing, the creativity, the candy, the sense of accomplishment, and then maybe eating it–all of these things are great. I was a pretty crafty kid, and my mom is undoubtedly very creative (she’s a stained glass artist). But no matter how creative we were (my mom would even help me melt crystal fruits hard candies to mimic her beautiful leaded windows) our houses never looked like the ones currently on display as part of the Gingerbread Adventures in the Discovery Center here at The New York Botanical Garden!

Gingerbread Adventures is a seriously good time and a fun adventure to tack onto any trip to the Garden to see the Holiday Train Show.  Kids can explore the plant ingredients that help give gingerbread its distinctive flavor, create a field notebook of their favorite discoveries, paint a pot and plant wheat seeds, and then decorate (and eat!) their own gingersnaps.

Whet your appetite for a visit to Gingerbread Adventures with a virtual tour below.

Morning Eye Candy: Tree Dance

Posted in Photography on December 2nd, 2010 by Plant Talk – Be the first to comment

The dance of the conifers and the deciduous. That’s in The Nutcracker Suite, right?

Tree Dance

Silhouettes (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)