I gave a talk in Tuscaloosa on October 26th at a regional Garden Club meeting. My speech was based on the Hot Plant articles I wrote for Alabama Gardener magazine, but I explained that the articles are very short, and I usually don’t have room to say everything. Also, I’ve learned some things that I didn’t know when I wrote the articles. And we get new cultivars all the time, so for some plants, like coral bells (Heuchera) and Lenten rose (Helleborus), there are better varieties available today than the ones I featured in 2011. My talk was ‘Hot Plants…The Rest of the Story.’
I think it went great. I had fun doing it, and my voice only got that nervous crack once, when I was about a third of the way through. I took a sip of water and a deep breath, and I got myself back in control. One person told me afterward that she “loved” it, and two or three others told me they liked it. Also, there were a lot of smiling faces while I was talking. And I’ve made notes about the times when everyone’s head was nodding in agreement. I got a few chuckles, and once I got roaring laughter. I’d write about it here, but I spent a ton of time on my PowerPoint, and I’d like to give it again, so I don’t want to spoil the best parts.
Most of the audience had big smiles on their faces, but there were a couple of frowns at one point. I’m reworking the part when I talk about my hairy balls. It’s all fine and dandy for me to make crude jokes on my blog, but I always clean up my act when I write for the magazine, and I need to do the same with my talks. I really should have known better. I was at a Garden Club Christmas party one year, and we were about to play a game called Dirty Santa. Two of the oldest members started discussing how the name offended them. One said very officially, “I move that the name of this game be changed to The Santa Shuffle.” The other seconded the motion, and the minutes of that meeting recorded the new name.
Anyone like those two ladies stopped reading my blog long ago, but they might be in my audience. In the future, when I want to say things like, “Garden visitors will stop dead in their tracks at the sight of your hairy balls,” I’ll just write it on my blog. Next time, I’ll still talk about my hairy balls, but just briefly. And I’ll restrain myself from saying things like, “Now, I’d like to lightly touch on my hairy balls.”
Red penta, purple Mona lavender, sweet potato vine and my hairy balls.
The other part that I need to revise is the ‘Name That Plant’ game at the end. It was probably the best part. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but it was a bit of a free-for-all. I started with an easy question, and they all shouted the answer in unison. I was immediately out of prizes – six packages each of four different seeds from Renee’s Garden. – Thank you Renee.
Luckily I had contacted Proven Winners and they sent me enough magazines for everyone, so no one was a loser. – Thanks Mark and Shannon.
Anyway, if you need a garden speaker, please consider me. And although I hate to do it, if you want, I’ll cut out my hairy balls. Leave me a comment on this blog, and I’ll get back to you.
We haven’t had our first frost, and I thought you might be interested in what’s still blooming, so here are some pictures I took this week.
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‘Irish Poet’ Tassel Flower (Emilia javanica ‘Irish Poet’)
American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Endless Summer Hydrangea
Goldenrod (Solidago) has taken over this area of the yard.
Fuchsia ‘Mendonoma Belle’
Loropetalum chinense ‘Zhuzhou’
Oxalis regnellii ‘Silverado’
Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’
There’s lots more plants blooming, but that’s enough pictures for one post. My next post I’ll go back to talking about the Garden Writers Symposium and my favorite part, free stuff.