Andrew and Bridget with their new container garden
Bridget O’Brien and Andrew Hoyt are getting married! Bridget is the Tours Program Manager at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and her betrothed is an English teacher at the Christo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston. To celebrate their upcoming nuptials, my daughter Heather and her friend Lindsey Smith threw them a “Garden Shower” this past weekend. Now from what I gathered, a “Garden Shower” is much like any other bridal shower. Invitations were sent, punch was made, cakes were baked and gifts were presented. However, where this one differed was in the entertainment. Now I have to admit, I have never actually been to a bridal shower before. But, from what I am told, the entertainment usually takes the form of silly party games. Not this one. This shower, being garden themed, featured a very engaging, entertaining and educational garden speaker.
If you haven’t guessed by now, that garden speaker was me. While I am not really all that famous, I do love talking to others about gardening. Most of the attendees were young museum professionals that have the desire to garden but are somewhat lacking in the space. So, we covered several topics related to container gardening. As one of Andrew and Bridget’s gifts, the group worked together to create a 15 gallon veggie/flower garden that they got to take home. In that garden, they will be growing and harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers and marigolds.
The yupneck explaining the finer points of plant selection
Most of the attendees are recent college graduates that work for non profits (translation-they are still poor), so we also talked quite a bit about plant selection and propagation. My friends at A&M donated a very large coleus that we proceeded to chop up and turn into about 20 new plants. Each guest got the opportunity to take cuttings and root them in their own 5” bio-degradable peat pot.
The betrothed and a large portion of the Education Department of the MFAH. From left to right: Andrew Hoyt, Bridget O'Brien, Lindsey Smith, Sarah Wheeler, Margret Mims and Heather White
All in all, it was a lovely event. We laughed, we learned and we gardened; a perfect afternoon! I would like to thank everyone that came and say a special thank you to my daughter for inviting me to participate in this celebration. Andrew and Bridget, I wish you all the best. May your life and your garden be bountiful!
