So many of you are enjoying "The Martha Stewart Podcast." These shows are when I sit down for one-on-one conversations with fascinating people from all walks of life to learn how their individual careers began, how they have evolved, and what stories they can share with listeners. These talks are filled with information, inspiration, and lots of laughter. If you haven’t already, please tune in - it's available on the iHeart media app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, we're releasing another great episode - my first-ever LIVE podcast done from the beautiful New York Botanical Garden located in the Bronx, New York. My guest is actress and activist Jameela Jamil. Jameela is new to gardening but is so excited to sit down with me, learn about a new pastime, and share a little about her background and career. This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Miracle-Gro.
Here are some photos.
The New York Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark set on 250-acres of land with more than one-million living plants included in its extensive collections. If you are ever in the New York City area, I encourage you to pay a visit – its gardens and collections are stunning. I was so happy to be able to do my first-ever LIVE podcast from the NYBG.
The day’s events began at the NYBG’s Hudson Garden Grill, its elegant farm-to-table restaurant located right on the grounds.
Our friends at Miracle-Gro showcased beautiful plants for an interesting green backdrop where guests could take photos for social media.
Tasty hors d’oeuvres were passed around to all the guests…
… And a buffet of wonderful foods was set up indoors.
Outside on the terrace, a “Stitch and Sprout” booth was set up where guests could get personalized Miracle-Gro “Dirt Nerd” sweatshirts and hats. Remember my “Dirt Nerd” commercial?
It was a popular station and Miracle-Gro provided many “stitchers” to help.
A Garden Bar was also set-up with spring-themed drinks. The day’s forecast called for rain, and although the skies were cloudy, the weather held up nicely.
Here I am with two “influencer” guests. they were so excited to take a photo with me.
Gift bags were provided for everyone who attended.
Our event was held near one of the New York Botanical Garden’s entrances in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery and Lecture Hall, where many of NYBG’s lectures, meetings and presentations are held. This Hall seats 430. We invited friends, colleagues, media influencers, and gardening enthusiasts.
iHeart’s Podcast Network Chief Operating Officer, Will Pearson, welcomed all the guests to the event and began introductions.
On the right is NYBG’s Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Bernstein. Jennifer also addressed the audience and introduced me. (Photo provided by NYBG)
And here is Jameela. If you’re not familiar, Jameela is in the cast of the award-winning fantasy comedy series “The Good Place.” Jameela is also an activist for women’s body positivity, climate change awareness, and LGBTQ+ issues.
It was a most interesting discussion about her background and career. Jameela is very funny, even a little bit raunchy on air, but the audience laughed through the hour – you must listen to this podcast. It will leave you laughing as well. (Photo provided by NYBG)
Jameela is new to gardening, so Jennifer and I also shared our thoughts on the essentials of any gardener’s tool bag. They include a trowel, Hori Hori knife, weeder, folding pruning saw, loppers, snips, scissors, pen, labels, a notebook, hat, and of course sunscreen. Aside from jokes, we offered her some good tips and ideas for starting a garden.
Jameela was interested in all we had to say, asking lots of questions and offering her own humorous interpretations. (Photo provided by NYBG)
And here I am after the podcast with Jameela, Jennifer, and Will. It was an excellent show and a very informative and interesting conversation.
If you haven’t yet purchased a copy of my 101st book, MARTHA STEWART’S GARDENING HANDBOOK: The Essential guide to Designing, Planting and Growing, be sure to order one today. It is a fully comprehensive gardening guide with everything one needs to know to curate a beautiful, thriving garden. You’ll want to read it cover to cover, over and over again.
Spring is the perfect time of year for dining al fresco with friends.
After a delightful and successful morning at the Trade Secrets Garden Tours and Rare Plants & Garden Antiques Sale in Lakeville, Connecticut, we drove to a tranquil town in New York State, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch at the weekend home of friend and colleague, Patsy Pollack. It has become a favorite tradition to go to Patsy’s after Trade Secrets. This year, she served a delicious buffet of Mediterranean-inspired dishes.
Enjoy these photos.
Patsy’s New York State weekend cottage is nestled among tall trees and lots of green foliage. It is always so relaxing to come here after a busy morning at Trade Secrets.
Across from the main house is a charming garden shed. The walking paths are covered with quarter-inch round stone – a beautiful ground cover for the bold green of the boxwood. The branches on top of Patsy’s shed are those of wisteria. Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes 10-species of woody climbing vines.
The side of the shed is also very charming. A potting table is situated just right for summertime gardening tasks.
The ferns are so lush. Planting multiples of one plant in a section of a garden can look so stunning and dramatic, especially flanking these natural stone steps.
Everyone admired the shade garden. The hostas fill the space nicely. Hostas are among the most popular perennials – they are shade-tolerant, low maintenance, and incredibly elegant with their variety of foliage and striking green colors. There are many stone garden pieces all around Patsy’s home. She has been collecting them for many years.
This is Patsy’s boxwood garden. While the most familiar forms of boxwood are commonly referred to as “American” and “English” boxwood, there are about 90-species and more than 365 different cultivars.
This round iron planter is used for growing chives. Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest species of the onion genus. It is a popular edible, and used to flavor many dishes.
On the expansive wrap around porch is a very inviting space with this large, comfortable sectional for cool summer evening chats.
On the other side of the home is this quaint stairway leading to Patsy’s enclosed porch and kitchen.
Up the stairs and inside is an inviting room filled with many of Patsy’s “finds.”
Her dining area is also decorated with lovely collectibles. Platters designated for various dishes wait to be filled. It’s always a good idea to pull serving plates early, so there is no rush to hunt for them later.
This is Patsy’s living room – a relaxing after meal gathering place.
Outside, refreshing beverages are served on this antique metal gardening table. It is also a great spot for displaying various potted plants.
Nearby is the wonderful spread of delicious foods. Patsy cooks everything, sometimes preparing things days in advance.
This is a farro and pomegranate salad. Farro is an ancient whole-grain wheat that’s high in fiber, protein, and nutrients.
The herbed chicken skewers are so tasty – Patsy cooked these outside on the grill.
The grilled chicken sausage with lemon and kale was equally delicious.
And so were the lamb and feta meatballs served with pomegranate molasses.
This is a large herbed salad made with couscous, cherry tomatoes, and farm greens. Couscous is granular semolina, which has been moistened with water, lightly covered in flour and then rolled into tiny beadlike pellets.
A bowl of homemade multi-grain croutons with walnuts are provided to top the salad or eat out of hand.
There are also bread baskets filled with warm, fresh pita breads.
And green gazpacho – a chilled soup made from cucumber, tomatillos and a yogurt base. Also on the table – tsatziki and harissa, a spicy, smoky, peppery red chili paste that adds kick to any dish.
All our plates were filled, and then filled again. Here is my plate. Everything is so flavorful. It was a wonderful lunch and a fun afternoon – thank you so much, Patsy.
This past Sunday, a group of colleagues and friends accompanied me to the event in the picturesque town of Lakeville, Connecticut. The philanthropic sale draws growers, dealers, and artisans together to sell unusual plants, garden antiques, and other unique outdoor objects. Trade Secrets was developed by interior designer Bunny Williams in the year 2000 when she conducted the very first sale to downsize her collection of plants in her greenhouse. It was a success from the very beginning and is now the principle fundraiser for Project SAGE, a non-profit domestic violence agency serving Northwest Connecticut and the surrounding communities in New York and Massachusetts. At this year's Trade Secrets, I was also invited to conduct a book signing for my 101st book, "Martha's Gardening Handbook." It was a most productive and fun day for everyone.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I always like to get to Trade Secrets bright and early. I leave my farm promptly at 5:45am and always pull in to the parking lot shortly after 7am. Vendors and event coordinators already have everything in place.
Trade Secrets is held at Lime Rock Park, a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury. The views on this day were gorgeous.
At least 50-vendors from around the northeast region set-up under tents on the Lime Rock grounds. It is all very well-organized with lots of room for vendors and all the visitors.
Here I am with my niece, Sophie Herbert Slater. Yes, gardening runs in the family – Sophie and I are both very passionate gardeners.
One of my first stops was the Orangerie Garden + Home tent. The Orangerie is owned by my friends Anthony Bellomo and Christopher Spitzmiller. There were many beautiful plants and other garden objects to see. The Orangerie Garden + Home shop is located in Millbrook, New York – do stop in if you’re ever in the area.
In this tent, lots of blooming lupines, those colorful plants cultivated for their long showy racemes of blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers. I grow many lupines in my flower cutting garden.
Trade Secrets is a wonderful place to learn about interesting and unique plants. Vendors are extremely well-informed and willing to answer questions or offer tips.
If you’re a peony lover, you’d definitely want one of these, a strong, steel peony support that will last through many seasons. I have these for the peony plants outside my greenhouse and in my flower garden. I use a stake and twine grid system to support my giant peony bed designated for just herbaceous peonies.
Peony Envy sets up their tent every year at Trade Secrets – most if not all their peonies always get sold.
Dave and Bonnie Ferriss are dealers from Lake Luzerne, New York who specialize in art, prints, architectural pieces, and country furniture.
Recognize these two? My special projects producer Judy Morris and my head gardener Ryan McCallister. They also accompanied me to this event and left with lots of their own goodies.
There were items big and small. These are giant early 20th century hand crafted steel pots. There is a lot of energy and spirit at this sale – everyone always walks away with some kind of treasure.
Trade Secrets has so many beautiful plant specimens from which to choose. This is Hepatica, native to woodland habitats in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of Asia. This perennial is well known for its dainty flowers and interestingly shaped leaves. Two friends bought one each for themselves – I bought the rest.
Here’s my operations manager Matt Krack with his son, Charlie.
Once can always find interesting planting containers at Trade Secrets. These are antique faux bois urns.
Under this tent, cut flower vases and other tabletop offerings.
In this tent, many interesting and more utilitarian objects for the home and garden including all sorts of different brushes, markers, and insect swatters.
And here – a variety of baskets.
Look who else is with me – these three dedicated plant loving colleagues: Susanne Rupert, Ryan Mesina, and Patsy Pollack.
And here are the Ryans… Mesina, McCallister, and Conway.
When buying items at Trade Secrets, everyone is assigned an ID number, which is then tagged on each purchase and taken to a holding area for pick-up at the end of the visit. This very organized system makes it convenient for patrons to continue shopping. It is always so nice to see how much people buy for the great cause, Project SAGE.
My book signing was scheduled for mid-morning. Before the book signing event started, visitors were able to buy copies of the book.
The line was very full the entire time. It’s nice to always meet such enthusiastic readers and gardeners.
I always try to stop for quick photos at these events. And look closely, I am using a green pen – to match the book, of course. It’s another small detail that is important to me.
Here are two happy purchasers of my book “Martha Stewart’s Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing.” Do you have a copy?
And look at this happy customer – who even had me on his shirt! It was another successful and enjoyable Trade Secrets event. Hope to see you all here next year!
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