Wine and Cheese Please – Braun Ranch, Gatesville, Texas

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Jay White

Ginger Braun, owner of Braun Ranch in Gatesville, Texas

I love surprises! A few weeks ago I got a comment on my blog from reader Ginger Braun of Gatesville, Tx. A couple of years ago Ginger read my articles about Making Mustang Grape Wine and Bottling Christmas Wine and she used them to make her own wild grape wine. She had so much fun making the grape wine she decided to try the recipe to make watermelon, peach and pear wine too. Well imagine my surprise when she sent me a note last week telling me that she would be passing through Brenham and she would be happy to bring me some of her wine. How could I refuse?

Ginger used my recipe to make watermelon, peach and pear wine. She also shared two bottles of cider with me.

When we were setting up our meeting I learned that Ginger is not just a hobby wine maker. She is a bit of a modern day homesteader. She owns and operates the Braun Ranch. She raises and sells Nigerian Dwarf goats, homemade bread and farm fresh eggs. However, her favorite thing on her ranch is serving as milk maid for her momma goats. She uses the fresh milk to make three types of chevre (goat cheese) and goat’s milk soap.

Ginger truly loves her Nigerian dwarf goats!

You know how you just hit it off with some people? Well Ginger was one of those people. As soon as we met we were talking and swapping tips and stories like old friends. She is so open and personable and an absolute joy to visit with. I feel truly blessed that she went out of her way to share her wine, cheese and soap with me.

If you would like some great last minute stocking stuffers I encourage you to go to her Facebook page and leave her a message. Her soap is amazing. I used it last night and it felt so good and smelled heavenly. While I used the “leather” fragrance she also has pumpkin, bamboo, cucumber, lavender and citrus.

I love homemade soap! Ginger’s goat milk soap is so creamy and smells heavenly!

I haven’t had a chance to use the chevre yet but it smells and tasted terrific on the tip of my finger. She has plain, Jalapeño and chive plus garlic, dill and chive. My wife makes an amazing chicken breast stuffed with chevre and sun dried tomatoes. I plan on using the garlic, dill and chive cheese in that recipe. When I told my daughter about Ginger she told me about a recipe where she roasts carrots in honey and then places them on a puff pastry with a dollop of chevre. I can’t wait to try this recipe with Ginger’s plain cheese.

Chevre is so creamy and it works so well in both sweet and savory recipes. And of course, fresh homemade is always way better than store bought!

This has been an unusually hectic month at our house. We have been so busy that I had not started feeling the Christmas spirit yet. That all ended at 10:30 yesterday. Thank you Ginger for the early Christmas present, thank you for reading the blog and thank you for reminding me it is time to slow down and start enjoying this most joyous time of year! Merry Christmas!

The Flutter of Fall by Patty G. Leander

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Jay White

So long, mosquitoes! One of the reasons that fall gardening is such a wonderful season is because {most} pests tend to quietly fade away this time of year, and the one I am happiest to see go is the mosquito. It’s hard to think of anything that sucks the joy out of being outside more than a single, determined mosquito. Good riddance. I hope their annoying buzz and bite is waning in your outdoor environment as well.

Butterflies love Gregg’s mistflower (left) and tithonias (right).

As the mosquitoes retreat the butterflies arrive in throngs, fluttering gracefully among the flora. We’ve been enjoying the queens and monarchs while they’ve been enjoying the bright orange tithonias in my garden. I highly recommend planting tithonias next year; they are easy to grow from seed and tolerate hot and dry conditions. A good match for summer in Texas!

Butterflies are drawn to the vivid orange blooms of tithonias.

I planted mine in the vegetable garden in late March, between some pole beans and peppers, and they bloomed all summer, growing even taller than the 6’ trellis nearby. They outgrew their space and I had to pull them up in early September to prepare for fall planting; with no effort on my part they reseeded and the resulting plants burst into blooms a few weeks ago. They will bloom until frost, providing a bright accent in the garden, nectar for the butterflies and cut flowers for the house.

Schoolhouse lilies appear like magic in early fall, reminding us that school is once again in session.

Another enjoyable aspect of fall is the seasonal color in the landscape. Just as wildflowers herald spring there are certain plants that announce the arrival of fall in Texas. Year after year, schoolhouse lilies, also known as Oxblood lilies, dutifully pop up, usually sometime in September, along with fall asters, Maximilian sunflowers, Mexican mint marigold and native ornamental grasses.

Fall aster and Maximilian sunflowers harmonize in the garden while gulf muhly shows off its spectacular purple plumes.

The rhythm, color and seasonality of plants is amazing and people who say that Texas only has two seasons – green and brown – just aren’t paying enough attention.

Big Muhly grass frames a yellow spray of Maximilian sunflowers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Ornamental grasses look their best in fall but not all grasses are native to Texas. There is one type of non-native grass in particular that I have noticed everywhere this year along roadways, medians, fields and even in my own backyard.

It’s called KR bluestem, a clumping grass native to Europe and Asia that was found growing on the King Ranch in the early 1900s. For years it was incorporated into seed mixes that were used for soil erosion and forage, but it outgrew its usefulness when it started “messing with Texas”, spreading to unwanted areas and threatening to overtake wildflowers and other native species.

KR Bluestem, a non-native invasive weed, growing along Mopac near Davis Lane in southwest Austin.

If you find this grass in your landscape don’t let it go to seed. Mow regularly, before seed heads form and dig out clumps if feasible. Keep your lawn watered and fertilized so it can outcompete any KR bluestem that tries to move in.

Keep KR Bluestem mowed so it does not have a chance to reseed.

Our Assets Go Home at Night – How Jonathan Saperstein is Changing the Green Industry

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Jay White

I have decided that I am, at my core, a bit of a hippie. While you wouldn’t know it by looking at me, I am a Subaru driving, yoga doing, no sugar eating hippie. About the only thing I like better than my Birkenstocks and organic garden are the people that try to make the world a better place by taking care of the earth and the people that inhabit it. My botanical brother Morgan McBride works for one of these people. Jonathan Saperstein is an outstanding young man that is proving that you can profitably produce high quality landscape products while taking extremely good care of the people that grow them.

Jonathan Saperstein, CEO of Tree Town Enjoys time with his co-workers at an industry trade show

Jonathan Saperstein, CEO of Tree Town, sharing some trade show antics with his wife and a loyal customer at an industry trade show

When Jonathan Saperstein became CEO of Tree Town USA in 2015 he set out to change the way the green industry produces live goods. In many agricultural entities labor is an input not much different than seed or fertilizer. It is an expense to be managed. Jonathan sees his employees as something different. To him, his employees are the most important link in the entire production chain. His employees have a direct impact on the quality of his products and they also greatly impacted the cost at which he can sell his product. This understanding that the employees truly are the main asset of his business lead him to coin his company’s motto – “Our assets go home at night”.

Jonathan with some of Tree Town’s most valuable assets – its employees!

Today, each of the “assets” at Tree Town USA have access to one of the most progressive benefits packages in the green industry. In addition to paying the employees at rates well above the industry average, every Tree Town employee is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical insurance and access to a 401K. Agricultural workers are also offered an incentive plan that includes safety goals and team development activities that can give them addition pay bumps every two weeks. The company offers (and encourages the employees to participate in) free GED classes and free English and Spanish classes.

This past summer, Morgan told about one of the more unique things that Jonathan has implemented at Tree Town. Each day at 7:00 am, every employee that is on site at each of their seven farms lines up and does calisthenics. This was very interesting to me and I asked Morgan if the employees were embracing it. He said, oddly enough, they were. While the time is great for stretching cold muscles it is also time for the teams to come together in a relaxed environment and listen as the supervisors and safety leads lay out the day’s work, provide safety briefings and celebrate safety milestones.

7:00 am is exercise time at all seven of Tree Town’s farms

These morning calisthenics were interesting enough to me that I decided to ask Jonathan if they were making a difference for Tree Town. Something about the way I asked the question made Jonathan grin. Jonathan said I was not the first to be skeptical about the benefits of his morning workouts. However, he informed me that since he implemented his exercise program there has been 39% decrease in incidents rates and the average cost of incident has gone from 34 cents per man hour to 4 cents a man hour.

Agricultural workers historically have low wages and very few benefits. tree Town USA is working to change that.

While Jonathan is excited about the decrease in costs his exercise program is producing, he told me the real proof that his policies are working is the increase in profitability that is allowing him to grow his business. While many live good producers are struggling to stay open, Tree Town is adding farms, employees and products. His employee focused policies have attracted (and kept) the best trained employees in the industry. Since he celebrates and rewards the contribution his employees add to the bottom line, they in turn consistently produce top quality products and provide the superior customer service that has allowed Tree Town to differentiate itself and its products in an industry that is often thought of as a commodity. In regards to Jonathan’s impact on Tree Town, David Stoeber of SiteOne Landscape supply said “As someone who has done business with Tree Town before and during Jonathan’s leadership, I can see what a huge impact Jonathan has made on Tree Town. They have gone from being a supplier on the list to The Supplier I judge the others by.”

These 670 gallon oaks are indicative of the quality trees that the employees of Tree Town consistently produce

I am very happy that I know Jonathan Saperstein. As a business man I am excited to watch a new leader in the horticultural industry take chances and implement policies that will positively impact his bottom line and hopefully change the way the green industry operates. As a humanitarian I am inspired that he is shaking up the green industry by taking care of the workers that produce the trees, shrubs and bedding plants that we use to make our little corner of the world more beautiful.

Fall Into Winter Vegetables on Central Texas Gardener

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Jay White

If you have questions about what to grow in the fall and winter garden, then this week’s episode of Central Texas Gardener is perfect for you. Patty and I were thrilled to be invited to talk about fall gardening on this award winning PBS (KLRU) television program.

In my opinion Fall is the best time of the year to garden in Texas. The temperatures are milder and the weeds are not nearly as aggressive. Plus, you can grow so many great vegetables! While it is a little late for tomatoes it is the perfect time to plant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. It is also a good time to plant root crops like beets, carrots, turnips, radishes and parsnips. It is also time to start your salad greens. Fall and winter are the ONLY time you can grow your lettuce and spinach in Texas.

I have been a fan of CTG for years. Growing in Texas is challenging and their experts and guest always have the right answers for the problems I am dealing with in my own garden. If you are not a regular viewer, or you do not get CTG on your local PBS channel, go to their website (http://www.klru.org/ctg/ ). Each and every segment they do is available on YouTube on their site or on their YouTube Channel.

This was my first time in a television studio and I was a little nervous. However producer Linda Lehmusvirta and host Tom Spencer (and the Hays County Master gardeners) made the whole experience so much fun. I would also like to thank all of the people behind the scenes at KLRU for making Patty and I feel so comfortable in front of your cameras. Heck, I didn’t even get offended when you had to put make up on my bald head to kill the glare!

Many thanks to the whole KLRU, and the Hays County Master Gardeners for a truly wonderful experience!

Many thanks to the whole KLRU crew, and the Hays County Master Gardeners, for a truly wonderful experience!

BBQ, Bluebonnets, and Rockin’ Out in Llano by Patty G. Leander

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Jay White

Today I’m taking a break from vegetables to remember a BBQ legend, revel in Texas wildflowers and be amazed by rocks.

In memory of and gratitude for Texan and BBQ icon Jim Goode, founder of Houston’s Goode Company Restaurants, who passed away last month at the age of 71. Like so many Texans, I have always loved Goode Company BBQ, Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie and the Goode Company logo, above. For a bit of nostalgia that takes you back to the 1977 origins of that first restaurant on Kirby Lane, click over to the Goode Company website: http://www.goodecompany.com/our_start.asp.

Goode woode: Jim Goode’s use of mesquite for smoking brisket and grilling burgers earned him the title King of Mesquite

If you are reading this and you live in Texas let’s all pause for a moment and thank our collective lucky stars. We are a big, diverse, dynamic state with an amazing history, incredible natural resources, the best BBQ and the friendliest people around. Gridlocked traffic and contentious politics can weigh a little heavy at times, but spring is here, Texas is blooming and it’s a beautiful, invigorating sight to see.

Early blooms of Texas redbuds promise that spring is on its way

Bruce and I had the opportunity to take it all in recently during a drive from Austin to Midland. I had been invited to give a talk on edible landscaping at a monthly seminar hosted by the Permian Basin Master Gardeners, but they did not have to twist my arm to come; Midland is my hometown and it had been over two years since making the pilgrimage to my West Texas roots.

The highways bloom with Lady Bird’s legacy: Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush (left), Texas poppy and Indian blanket (right)

We took our usual route on Hwy 71, noting the landmarks along the way: the small Post Office in Valley Spring (never a line), Coopers BBQ in Llano (always a line), the rows of grapevines in Pontotoc (the Chickasaw word for “Land of Hanging Grapes”) and the “Heart of Texas” monument in front of the McCulloch County Courthouse in Brady (the geographical center of Texas). US 87 from Brady takes us to Eden where the main intersection in town offers us a choice of either DQ on the north side or Venison World to the south and also marks the halfway point between the house I now live in and the house I grew up in. From Eden it’s on to San Angelo for a pit stop and an iced tea at McAlister’s, then the cautious drive through Carlsbad where we were nabbed several years ago for exceeding the speed limit (it’s easy to miss the two mile stretch where the speed limit drops from 70 to 60 MPH). After Carlsbad the miles pass quickly – 30 minutes to Sterling City, 30 minutes to Garden City and then target acquired – the Midland skyline appears on the horizon. The Tall City.

Though Midland has changed over the years, through times of boom and bust, my nostalgia grows as the miles pass, anticipating familiar faces and places, a drive through my old neighborhood and a ‘meat chalupa, add guacamole’, at Taco Villa (can’t seem to shake this habit from high school). But this time the most exciting part of the 300 mile trek was passing rivers full of WATER. Every river and creek we passed – the Pedernales, the Colorado, the San Saba, the Concho – were flowing at levels we haven’t seen in years. I know this is a stark contrast to the flood conditions that so many are dealing with in parts of East Texas but after several years of exceptional and extreme drought conditions throughout West Texas it was a sight and a blessing to behold.

Stacks of rocks got our attention as we crossed the Llano River

On the way to Midland something caught Bruce’s eye as we crossed the Roy Inks Bridge in Llano…stacks of rocks strewn along the banks of the river. We were on a fairly tight schedule to get to Midland and with 250 miles left to go we decided to check it out on the return trip and we are so glad we did. We learned that the stacked rocks were part of the 2016 Rock Stacking World Championship sponsored by the Llano Earth Art Festival. There were four categories of stacking – height, balance, arches and artistic/freestyle – all created without adhesive, wire or any other aids. Visitors were invited to wander among the stacked creations, and to build their own if so moved. I think my rock-admiring, geologist dad would have heartily approved.

Rocks hanging in the balance – the rock stacks remain in place until nature displaces them

Inspired by the rock stacks I decided my garden needed to have at least one.

Thank you Permian Basin Master Gardeners and Midland/Ector County Extension for the invitation to speak and for your edible garden enthusiasm and welcoming hospitality!

I share these posts on Our SimpleHomestead Blog Hop. Be sure to stop by. The “hop” has tons of great information from gardeners and homesteaders all over the world!

Fixer Upper

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Jay White

Tomorrow night at 8:00 pm CST, the television show Fixer Upper will air it’s season finale. Be sure and watch because the house that they will reveal is the absolute most fabulous house they have ever done. You may be wondering why I know this information. Well, I know about this incredible little house because it belongs to my daughter and her husband! So thrilled that these outstanding young adults had the opportunity to be a part of the wonderful things Chip and Joanna Gaines are doing for Waco! Sorry I can’t show any more pictures until after the show airs. However, here is a shot to perk your interest from JoJo’s Intagram account.

NOTE: Now that the show has aired we can show the pictures. Click here to see the entire gallery on Fixer Upper’s HGTV page.

My daughter’s house is the finale for season 3 of Fixer Upper!!!

A Garden Visit With Harry Cabluck

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Jay White

I love this sign that Harry has hanging in the back of his garden

Over the next twelve months we will be visiting with 12 gardeners from all over Texas. They will be sharing some of the knowledge that allows them to garden successfully in our beloved, but climatically challenging state. I have a masters degree in horticulture and I have gardened for years. However, most of my gardening knowledge came from visits with other gardeners. I hope these monthly visits will provide you, and me, with a few tips and tricks that will help us all become better gardeners.

Patty and I visited harry Cabluck and his incredibly well done garden earlier this month. We were blown away by how well down it was. Always humble, Harry gives much of the credit for his garden infrastructure to his good friend Tom Lupton.

Patty and I visited Harry Cabluck and his incredibly well done garden earlier this month. We were blown away by how well done it was. Always humble, Harry gives much of the credit for his garden infrastructure to his good friend Tom Lupton.

Our first gardener is Harry Cabluck. Harry gardens in the back yard of his central Austin home. While his garden is not the biggest I have ever seen, it is one of the neatest and most well managed gardens that I have ever been in. Harry was gardening organically long before it was “cool”. He collects rainwater for irrigation, makes tons of compost, has the nicest cold frame I have ever seen and grows tomatoes from seeds (click here to read how Harry grows his tomato transplants) and then grafts them onto other tomatoes that he has grown from seed.

Garbage bags over tomato plants Thursday, March 19, 2015, in Austin, Texas. ( Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Harry uses a piece of string and a rubber band to quickly and effectively secure his garbage covers to his tomato cages

Harry gives his beloved tomatoes a head start by growing them in an ingenious cage method that he developed. As early in March as he can, Harry plants the tomatoes he started in January in his neatly bordered beds that are extremely well worked with compost. He then takes a 55 gallon trash can liner, splits the end and bunches it around the tomato plant. Then he uses his heavy duty cages to anchor the the trash bag in place. To keep his trash bag liner secured to his cage he uses an ingenious string and rubber band fastener that is incredibly effective and easy to use. With bags in place he is able to easily pull the bags up over his frame at the earliest sign of cold weather, high winds or heavy rain. I was so impressed with this cage method that I seriously considered changing the way I grow tomatoes! Now let’s hear more from Harry:

Cabluck garden on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Austin, Texas. ( Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Name: Harry Cabluck

Location: Central Austin. **City garden of three 100-sq. ft. raised beds. We rotate a plot holding 12-15 tomato plants a year.

(Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Years gardening: 43+. First gardened as a child in late 1940’s. My mother had a green thumb and a source for manure, as her father was a dairy farmer. As an adult we have had small plots in Dallas and larger plots in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Columbus, Ohio. We made good use of our Troy-Bilt 6 hp rototiller. Often improved the soil in these gardens by importing soil, manure and/or spoiled hay.

Years in this plot: 20. **Our backyard was once the corral area for a nearby home. When we moved in it was black gumbo clay that would hold ankle-deep water for a few days after each rain. De-ionized the soil with gypsum. Built multiple compost piles 20-feet long before starting to plant in 1995.

Tomatoes under lights Sunday, March 2, 2014, in Austin, Texas. ( Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Favorite crop: Tomatoes. Usually start 60 seeds in trays under lights in the garage in January. This is the first year to use LED’s instead of T-5 or fluorescent lights. Hope to yield 36 heirloom/hybrids along with 18 rootstock for grafting. After starts in trays become root bound, transplant to four-inch pots. Some 12-15 pots stay under lights, the remaining pots are moved to the cold frame. Sometimes need to run an extension cord and heating pad to cold frame. Usually give away the tomato plants that are not planted in our garden. Crop rotation includes basil, green beans, arugula, spinach, marigolds. January crops include greens, carrots, elephant garlic, shallots, gumbo onions. Would like to attempt parsnips. Have never had good luck with sweet peas.

Best tips: Make good garden dirt.

Compost!!! This year’s compost pile of ground leaves, mixed with kitchen scraps, cottonseed meal, bat guano and molasses, seems to be the best ever. In previous years used cooked barley malt (byproduct of brewery) mixed with coffee chaff (byproduct of air roasting). That stuff needed to be turned at least once daily, as it would putrefy.

Harry composts directly in his beds

Although not necessary, we get great results using our cold frame and 800-gallon rainwater catchment. A two-inch rain on our 20X20-foot garage roof will fill the tank. It is usually empty around July 4.

Make use of store-bought soil for seed-starting and transplanting. Happy Frog brand seems best. Don’t waste time and money on cheap tomato cages. Read Bill Adams’, “Texas Tomato Lover’s Handbook.”

Cold frame in Cabluck back yard garden Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Austin, Texas. ( Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Pest control: Havahart traps for varmints. For bugs, mix a one-gallon cocktail containing 50-squirts Tabasco, one ounce of liquid seaweed, one ounce molasses, one ounce fish emulsion, dash of dishwashing liquid…when necessary add BT. I love my Hudson sprayer.

Weed control: We control weeds by cultivating and mulching regularly. **Best stuff seems to be wood chips. Long-tined rake, six-inches wide, four tines.

Biggest challenge: Thwarting the squirrels and leaf-footed bugs. **Would like to have a moveable pergola, because a hoop house is always a challenge to erect and doesn’t look good.

Favorite amendment: Cottonseed meal AND anything with trace elements…especially glauconite, WHICH seems to help blossoms set fruit in heat and cold.

Do we preserve: No. **Not large enough garden, small yields.

Favorite advice: Have a good friend who has great ideas. ***Thanks to Tom Lupton.

What would you like to do better? Would like to learn more about tomato biology. How to ensure more tomato blossoming and fruit set and how to improve brix.

Harvesting Grapes at Paradox House Vineyards

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Jay White

If you drop by our house on most evenings, you will find Sally and I sitting in the backyard sipping a nice glass of wine and feeding blueberries to our chickens. Sally and I really enjoy our evening glass of wine. In fact, my love of drinking wine inspired me to learn to make mustang grape wine. While we really enjoy making our homemade wine, it just doesn’t taste like the wine we are willing to pay for. Our mustang grape wine making experience made us wonder if we could learn to make wine that tasted a little less like cough syrup and whole lot more like the “store bought” wine that we really enjoy.

These Blanc du Bois grapes will soon be turned into a fine Texas white wine.

Thanks to a chance meeting, Sally and I recently had the opportunity to learn how to make good wine. We volunteered to help Doug and Linda Rowlett of Paradox House Vineyard harvest their white grape (Blanc Du Bois) crop. Paradox House is a small, family owned vineyard in Industry, Texas. When harvest time comes, they rely on a small army of volunteers to get their crop to market. In exchange for a morning of hot, sweaty labor the Rowlett’s provide the volunteer’s an absolutely fabulous meal, free wine made at the vineyard (which was excellent), access to several dedicated hobby wine makers and the opportunity to help Doug and Linda make 200 gallons of really good wine.

Paradox House Vineyards relies an an army of volunteers to bring in their crop.

Sally and I had so much fun harvesting these white grapes. While it was hot, we really enjoyed the work and visiting with all of the seasoned volunteers. Since I do not know that much about grapes or the wine industry, the horticulturist in me truly enjoyed everything about the day. I learned a lot, made new friends, ate well, sampled a variety of great wines and learned how to make “store bought” wine. What more could you ask for?

People aren’t the only ones that like these grapes. The little purple grapes have been damaged by birds.

The Rowlett’s grow two main crops – white Blanc Du Bois and red Lenoir (also known as Black Spanish). They sell their grapes to some of the top wine makers in our great state. If you would like to help them harvest grapes (and learn how to make wine) you are in luck. They Rowlett’s will be harvesting their Lenoir grapes this weekend. If you are looking for a fun and unusual way to spend your Saturday, use the contact info at the bottom of this post to contact them (you must contact them before you show up). They will appreciate it and I promise you will have a great time! Families are welcome so load up the car with kids, cousins and friends. The more the merrier! Just be sure and dress appropriately. Grape production is Texas agriculture. Please wear close toed shoes and dress for the heat!

Doug and Linda Rowlett

paradoxhouse@gmail.com

Paradox House Vineyard, Inc.
8544 Bermuda

Industry, TX 78944

281-435-7227

Celebrate the Fourth at Bayou Bend!

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Jay White

If you live in the “Brenham to Houston” part of Texas, and you have stepped outside this morning, you realize that we have two things to celebrate today-America’s Birthday and lower temperatures! This cool weather has inspired me to write … Continue reading →

Whitney and Ryan Jump the Broom!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Jay White

Fathers of sons will never get to experience the feelings of shock, pride, amazement, joy and deep, pure love that overtakes them when they turn around and see their daughter in her wedding gown. A few weeks ago, my youngest daughter Whitney gave me this incredible gift. She was beautiful –and I cried. As I walked her down the aisle, I cried. When I toasted them, I cried. As we danced, I cried. When I hugged her and her new husband Ryan as they were leaving for their honeymoon –well you get it, I cried!

When I was not crying like a little girl, Sally and I had a fabulous time celebrating Whitney and Ryan’s nuptials with all of our (and their) friends and family. Whitney and Ryan were married in a beautiful afternoon ceremony in Seattle’s Martha Washington Park. While lovely, it was a bold move. As our dear friend Debra Prinzing said to us “only a Texan would plan an outdoor wedding in Seattle in April!” Luckily, their gamble paid off. Whitney and Ryan were truly blessed to be able to celebrate their love for each other in a beautiful place, on a perfect, rainless day in the Pacific Northwest.

As a man, I may never fully understand why weddings are such big deals to women. However, after being a part of four weddings in the past four years, I have learned one thing about them. Weddings are BIG EVENTS and they cannot happen without the help of a whole lot of people that care a whole lot for the bride and groom. This wedding was no exception. We could not have done it without the help of many, many caring and generous people.

As a budding (pun intended) floral entrepreneur, Whitney is friends with many talented people. Several of those friends chipped in to make sure this wedding celebration was beautifully adorned and beautifully documented. Many thanks to Adam and Alicia Rico of “Bows and Arrows” and Erica Knowles of “Botany 101”. They used locally sourced, sustainably grown seasonal flowers from the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market to create stunning arrangements that, despite the grandeur of the setting, pulled the guests in and made them feel a part of the small, intimate event. Robert Kitayama of KB Farms donated the gardenias that comprised the simple, yet elegant bridal bouquet. Also, huge thanks go out to Angela and Evan Carlyle of Angela& Evan Photography. All of the photos in this post were taken by them. As you can see, their photography is amazing. They are also incredibly professional and amazingly fun to work with.

Finally, I want to say a very special thank you to Debra Prinzing. Debra has been so kind and generous to Whitney over the past year and half. She is the mother of the “Slow Flower” movement in the US and a big part of the reason my daughter moved to Seattle. To call her a friend greatly understates how entirely wonderful she has been to Whitney and our entire family. In typical Debra fashion she opened her home to the entire bridal party for the entire day! She started by hosting the loveliest of bridal luncheons (with help from Cynthia Alexander of Quarry Flower Farm) for all of the women that were there to celebrate with Whitney. Then, once the luncheon ended, she allowed the wedding party to stay and have hair and makeup done, make floral head pieces for the ceremony and dress. She even delivered Whitney to the ceremony!

There are many kinds of wedding gifts. While matching silverware is nice, the giving of your time and talents to make a special day for the people you love is the best gift of all. Whitney and Ryan, you are blessed to have so many people in your lives that care so deeply for you. And all of us are blessed to have you in ours!