Obstacles

So, it would seem that I've skipped another month - November. It wasn't really my best month, anyway. It started out with a pretty significant health scare for me. I was hospitalized for 4 days with hypertension. And right after I got out of the hospital with my 3 new daily meds, I learned that a friend had committed suicide.

Both events took me by complete surprise, and the combination took me to a pretty dark place for awhile. I'm still getting used to the extra pills, and I'm really afraid that my blood pressure will spike up again and I'll have a stroke. I've never had high blood pressure before, other than during pregnancy (which I am not currently experiencing) so this is a new issue for me. Yay.

And then Phil. He was a friend of a friend, and I was just getting to know him. Super nice guy, really smart, talented musician.  Phil's best friend, who was like his brother, is like family to me. I've spent many holidays with them, dining and celebrating, talking and laughing.

With suicides, conversations seem to go 'well, he seemed happy' or 'so many people loved him, how could he do this?' which in Phil's case were both applicable. Having battled depression for many years, I understand suicide inasmuch as I've experienced what they call "suicidal thoughts." It isn't so much a desire to die as a longing for peace, a rest from the constant barrage of awfulness in your mind. I don't begrudge Phil for what he did, but my heart breaks for those he left behind.

So in the midst of all this, hospital stays and funerals, my mind couldn't have been further from the project at work. And now, as we plan for the holidays, we're also looking ahead to next year. Barring any proof that the Mayans were right all along, this ball needs to get rolling again.

There have been some developments - we are officially addressing the Farm and the Market as separate projects now (whereas before, it has always been one, the Farm & Market). Joe and I are assigned to the Market, which will hopefully be a full-fledged Jenks Farmers Market next spring. And the farm is being managed by my Dad and a young man named Kyle who used to have his own farm and has a ton of ideas for ours.

Right now, most of the work is on spreadsheets, as we prepare our budgets for 2013. Once we have our next year's plan in place, I'll be able to go into more detail. But today, my brain is still trying to claw its way back from the serious rattling it has recently taken. I'm pretty unfocused these days, and the holidays being around the corner are no help. So I'm going to spend some time with my family, pick myself up, and get going again next year.

The Show-Off Show

I started keeping a diary in the 4th grade - at the age my oldest daughter is now.  It had Snoopy and Woodstock on the cover, and a little lock with a code, which probably never prevented my sister from reading it. If I were to somehow locate the thing and re-read it, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the entries (which were generally separated by about a month) started with something like, "Dear Diary, I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote." I thought of that when I damn near started this post with the same sentiment. Dear Blog, I wanted to write at least once a month, and sorry but I missed September. I must have assumed that my diary always accepted the apologies, and hopefully the blog does, too.

Whatever. We've been extra busy at Southwood, in preparations for a most exciting event: our first ever visit from the Garden Center Performance Group (GCPG)! We - meaning Southwood's duly appointed representatives, my Dad and the nursery's GM, Joe - have been members of this illustrious group for a few years, meeting every few months for comparisons and discussions, and once a year visiting a member nursery. It has been a terrific learning experience

You can't imagine a bigger par-tay: the owners and managers of 10 garden centers dishing about such riveting subjects as growth regulators, point-of-sale software and employment practices. Every industry has the equivalent, and unless it's the lingo you use every day and the stuff you make incessant spreadsheets about, it would be as clear as mud and utterly dull.

But since that is our lingo and spreadsheet fodder (and I truly believe it's possible for a person to become addicted to Excel), we are approaching this visit with supreme gusto. The purpose of a site visit, besides the usual meeting business, is a tour and critique of the host member's garden center. These are people who have been colleagues for generations (many are family businesses) and although they aren't generally competitors for the same market, they are nonetheless competitive. I imagine this critique will be a humbling experience, as well as one that will produce some truly remarkable feedback on what we're doing, from people who know what they're looking at and aren't afraid to say what they're thinking.

Southwood has been spiffed up, freshly painted, and will have our best feet forward in two weeks. Of course, the point is for us to be doing business as usual, because that's what we want the feedback on. The nursery will be open, and after being treated to a delicious breakfast and Power Point presentation, our guests will saunter about, asking questions of our employees, peeking into our greenhouses and inspecting our landscape designs. They will then retire to our Market House, where they will be treated to more food, another Power Point presentation, and the opportunity to ask us whatever they want. It is here that they will hear all of our Big Plans for the Farm & Market.

And it is here that I get a little bit panicky. What if they don't like it? Even more terrifying, what if they don't think it's do-able? I honestly don't think that will happen, because at the last meeting (in Minneapolis, which I attended with my mom and sister as guests), they heard a little bit and seemed intrigued. The industry brass generally opines that the concepts we're pursing align well with the future of garden centers. Still, critique is critique, and as helpful as it can be, it can certainly sting, too. Southwood is pretty polished, but our little project is still very raw.

So, we're preparing ourselves emotionally as well as physically for this event. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing them - they're really creative and intelligent people who obsess about the same things we do. They run such innovative and successful businesses: Hicks Nurseries on Long Island, Bordine's in Detroit, Chalet and Platt Hill nurseries in Chicagoland, Rogers in Orange County, Watson's in Seattle. Brothers Corey and Calvin Bordine alone are worth the admission.

It's in 2 weeks, right after Oktoberfest (which my father claims is "better than Christmas!"). Dear Blog, I'll let you know how it goes.

How To Grow

The design phase of the Market is officially underway! We are starting to lay out the buildings on paper!

I tend to over-celebrate my milestones sometimes, because it's hard not to get impatient with this development process. We've been talking about this project for what feels like forever, and I want so badly to reach the point where we start to actually build something. But, of course, time never moves so slowly as right before something you're anxiously anticipating.

Besides inspiration, this summer's task has been discovering How to Grow - in two ways, actually. The first is literal. Our tomatoes, via the Food Bank, nourished hundreds of families who wouldn't normally experience a fresh, sun-ripened, locally-grown heirloom tomato. Growing them also allowed us to provide feedback on the harvested product to OSU's Department of Horticulture, facilitating the education of future agriculturalists.

And for the past few weeks, we have also discovered that the platiculture method allows - despite record-setting heat - for a bumper crop of watermelons!

Once again, they have given us the opportunity to nourish others with what we've grown. The Food Bank received 200 melons late this week, and I'm sure we'll be sending more. I'll soon be calling the Farm-to-School coordinator at Jenks schools, as well.

Throughout this first week at my kids' school, we've loaded the back of our minivan with watermelons and handed them out to our friends in the 3:00 pickup line. And last night we took ten melons to our back-to-school picnic. We were handing out slices at the tail end of four tables stacked with hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and desserts, and we didn't take home any leftovers.

The melons are also our first crop to sell at Southwood in the retail store, which is big because it's the first time the Farm & Market has brought money into the organization, instead of out.

Which leads me to the second meaning behind the title - a more figurative meaning - which pertains to the business itself. We've been pretty hunkered down through the economic slump. Our last major growth period was in 2003 when we started the production division, where we grow many of our own plants.

As much as this Farm & Market mean to me, and as much as I believe this venture will be a great addition to our business, it is absolutely essential that we don't cannibalize Southwood to make it happen. There is still a lot of economic uncertainty in this country. Although Tulsa's oil and gas industry have insulated us from the worst of the recession, undertaking growth in a weak economy requires a leap of faith.

Before we begin, I'm doing everything in my power to plan properly, do my homework, and ensure that nothing we do hurts Southwood's ability to do what it does. It's a tricky process, but I am energized and ready to go.

Operation: Inspiration - Checking In

I'm getting a little lax with my postings this summer. I'm lax with many things lately, a phenomenon that I find happens when it's over 105 degrees for very many days in a row. Right about now, I'm really hoping that the climate isn't shifting in this direction, and that these incredibly hot summer temperatures aren't a vicious new normal. It will be interesting to see what's in store for us this winter, because in the last two years we have had both the wettest and driest winters on record in Oklahoma.

In the meantime, I'm going to revisit my goal of getting inspired this summer. It's hardly a measurable goal, which leaves me some room for subjectivity on the matter, in which case I am going to call it a success. Interestingly, the location for my greatest inspiration on where I want to take this project was not only California, but right here in Oklahoma, and also Minnesota.

California was beautiful, of course, with its flowers and beaches and perfect 85-degree days. We had such a great time, reconnected with our daughters, and saw what wonderful things can be done when open minds allow creativity to flow. I love places where imagination is embedded into a culture, as it seems to be on the West Coast (not to mention Disneyland, which is like imagination on steroids). 

Back home, we put our own creativity to use as we harvested hundreds of pounds of tomatoes and quickly realized that we needed to find ways to use them, fast. We entered the SalsaFest, held an heirloom tomato-tasting event at the OSU Extension offices in Tulsa, had adventures in canning with my dad and received some exciting media attention for donating 200 lbs. of tomatoes to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

Also this summer, the very exciting Tulsa Health Department initiative, Pathways to Health kicked off. Not only is it my first real Board service, but I truly believe this collective impact program has the potential to make a real difference in addressing Oklahoma's health issues. I am so proud of my cousin Lynnsey, who is spearheading this effort. I will post regularly about it on this blog, and you can follow it on Twitter (@TulsaP2H).

So my takeaway from the activities this summer is the power of passion and common goals. I'm finding such a powerful movement of people who refuse to settle for poor health options, not just for themselves and their families, but for their communities as well. At the P2H event, a 20-something young woman proudly declared herself "a total public health nut." Don't tell me this country is doomed and that the government is going to destroy us all. This City-County Health Department employee shows me otherwise.

Which, finally, brings me to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I tagged along to a meeting of our Garden Center Performance Group. This group of garden center owners and managers meets three times a year to discuss their performances (as the name of the group probably indicates, but it seemed to need more explanation). On the first day, we took a tour of area garden centers, which included Tangletown/Wise Acres, which is doing pretty much what we want to be doing with the market, running a very successful CSA and restaurant. Plus, the group had some amazing discussions about where the garden center industry is going, and it is very much in the direction of local foods and farming.

All in all, I feel like we're on our game with this project. Now that everybody is back from vacations, and school starts back up in a couple of weeks, we are launching into our Strategic Planning season. We will be starting to sit down with designers soon! So excited!

The tomatoes right we took to the OSU Extension for tasting.

The Food Bank donation: 200 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes went to Iron Gate Soup Kitchen.
They sent out a quick press release the day before, and four TV stations showed up!

Fruits of Our Labor

We are nearing the completion of our first season as farmers. Our first tomato and pepper crop yielded a decent harvest, and we were able to grow them organically. Next we'll harvest the onions, watermelons and pumpkins, all of which are coming along nicely despite the drought.

SalsaFest was a fun project with a surprising win for best use of local ingredients! It gave us the chance to break in the Market House kitchen and involve some of our Southwood employees: Anna , Emmie and Juan. The salsa turned out delicious, with the sweet flavor of the heirloom tomatoes against a little heat from the jalapeño, anaheim and bell peppers.



Ginny (my mom), Emmie and Juan prep the tomatoes for the salsa.
The varieties we used included Cherokee Purple, Brandywine and Azoychka.

Joe (my husband) appears pleased with the salsa display at SalsaFest.

The salsa took all of the tomatoes we had harvested, and the festival took almost all of the salsa - we did put bowl of it in the employee break room at Southwood right after we made it. I understand they ate it all.

This Friday, July 13 from 9-11 a.m., we're offering our friends one more way to taste the fruits of our labor, at the OSU Extension Center on 15th Street. We'll have the heirloom tomato and pepper varieties available for tasting. Dr. Brandenberger is bringing forms for participants to fill out as part of the trial we're performing for the OSU Horticulture Department, too. Drop by if you have a chance!

Little by little, I'm finding a niche for myself and my project in Tulsa's local food and health nutrition scene. At SalsaFest, I knew a lot more of the core organizers and volunteers than I expected. The event was held by Sustainable Tulsa and Elote Restaurant, both very active in the drive to bring more local food to Tulsans. The two groups who are working to build community grocery stores in the downtown areas (Cam's and Archer Market) were also represented. I'm discovering an exciting sense of community and common goals among these people, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with them.

Another exciting project I'm working on is Pathways to Health, through the Tulsa City-County Health Department. My fabulous cousin, Lynnsey Childress, is spearheading this collaborative effort to improve the health of the Tulsa population. We had our first planning meeting at the end of June, and I'm so impressed with what they've done so far to build momentum. If anyone is interested in hearing more about it, please email me or leave a comment. The more people who join in the fight to take Oklahoma off the top of about every national bad health rating, the better.

Next up, we're going to launch into the design phase for the Market, and some long-range planning for the Farm & Market as well as Southwood's Production department. That department, which grows a lot of the plants we sell at Southwood, is located at a greenhouse range about two miles from the retail facility, but will also expand to include part of the farm. A new Production Manager just joined the Southwood staff, and we expect that department to grow as part of this venture.

My Dad says the secret to growth and development is "measure twice, cut once" so that's what we're doing!

I couldn't resist posting our trophy! Best Use of Local Ingredients.
We're proud of our upside-down bowl, mason jar and basil plant!

Salsa Party, Less Ambitious Version

While we were dallying about the West Coast, our salsa garden was growing away and filling out. Not being a prolific gardener myself (I liken myself to the shoemaker's daughter who had no shoes), I forget how quickly it happens. So we have:

April:

 May:

 June:

Next up:

We decided that in lieu of trying to put together our own Salsa Party, when we weren't at all sure about our crop, we would join in this celebration with our friends at Elote and Sustainable Tulsa.

So this week, the beautiful crop you see pictured on the Market House counter will become Southwood Grown Salsa, an official entry in SalsaFest 2012. Emmie Sherry and Anna Morgan will be helping us create our masterpiece. And unless plans change, we will also be donating some of our Habañero and Jalapeño peppers to the Pepper Eating contest.

We tried out some of the tomatoes this weekend at the lake, over hamburgers, in salads and in guacamole (we are very thorough researchers). They were phenomenal. I'm not normally a tomato eater but after this weekend I'm going to rephrase - I'm not a grocery store tomato eater. These are nothing like those - meaty and flavorful. I can't wait to taste the salsa.

Speaking of which ... we would love to have you come by and visit us on Friday at SalsaFest 2012! It's Friday evening (June 29) downtown on the Centennial Green at 6th and Boston near Elote. It will be hot - we're expecting 105 and downtown Tulsa is not known for its cool breezes anyway. But I think (hope) someone said there were misters happening, and there will be great food and drinks. Participants get a bag of tortilla chips and 2 oz. of each salsa.

Plus, who doesn't love a good chihuahua costume contest? See you there!

California Pictures!

Lush vegetation makes everything prettier.
Dining at the Proud Bird restaurant by Los Angeles airport.

We had a great time in California! Beautiful state, friendly people, insane drivers. We touristed, chatted with locals, enjoyed the scenery and stared longingly at the sea.

We took our kids to the Santa Monica Pier, up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, through Hollywood and Beverly Hills, to Anaheim and down to Orange County. We gave them a true Disneyland experience (thanks Mom for joining us for that portion - you made it just that much better!) and introduced them to cousins they'd never met.

Joe and I decided before we had children that one of our priorities in parenting was to show them the world. 

We don't have a huge showy house or expensive cars, and we watch our expenses so that every year we can pull together a family vacation. We do sometimes rely on our friends to host us if possible, and our families help us or even join us some years. The rewards for us as a family are unparalleled.

We learn a lot about each other on our vacations. Getting out of our own daily routine and seeing how other people live gives us a lot of perspective on the choices we make. It often makes us appreciate what we have, including the ability to travel. It sometimes makes us wonder how people get to where they are - from the mansions of Beverly Hills, to the barrios in East LA (which we avoided, but glimpsed from the highway). We experience a little envy of those who lead lives beside beaches and in stunning homes overlooking the Pacific. We appreciate the sheer number and variety of bizarre people and behaviors we came across. We even reflect on what we love about our own home, and what parts of Oklahoma are missing in other states.

Mostly, though, we just enjoy being together, seeing new things and having fun. The four of us really have a good time together. Sometimes daily life gets so hectic and structured, it's easy to forget what charming, intelligent and unique daughters we are raising.

Audrey, with her artist's soul and caring spirit,  is fascinated by everything from zoo animals to breaking surf. Everywhere she goes, she creates: sand castles, sketches on menus, song lyrics about Disney characters. And when she goes to a playground, she seeks out small children to nurture and entertain, invariably striking up charming conversations with their parents as well.

Audrey turned 9 on our second day at Disneyland. They give you a badge if its your birthday, and everybody who sees you mentions it. Not being an attention seeker, Audrey said it made her uncomfortable having all of those strangers wish her a happy birthday, so she took it off. Catherine, on the other hand, was more than happy to receive the attention. She got herself a badge by telling them that even though it wasn't her actual birthday, she was celebrating it there at Disneyland. She graciously accepted "happy birthdays" long after her sister had stopped.

And that's my Wild Cat. Brave, athletic, outgoing and always entertaining. She tells great jokes, dances like a beast, and is up for pretty much any adventure, unless its culinary.

Catherine has always loved beaches, but this was her first experience with the Pacific surf. She would run like crazy towards that freezing water and then hurry back to the shore as the surf came towards her, getting soaked and knocked down, and cracking up laughing the entire time.

But all good things come to an end, and we are glad to be home. We could have done without the fridge going out while we were gone, causing an extreme stench that had us looking for a dead animal until we realized what it was. But oh well.

Amidst the sightseeing and family fun, Joe and I managed to find some personal inspiration in California. It bears repeating that it is really a beautiful state. There's vegetation everywhere - palm trees, tropical flowers, fruit trees. Flowers that die out in our Oklahoma winters are perennials out there, and they're huge. I grew up in a nursery, but my husband is the walking plant encyclopedia in our family. Everywhere we went he snapped pictures of plants and landscapes, against the backdrop of the rolling ocean.

We also got a lot of ideas for the farm & market, particularly at a visit to a Edendale Urban Farm in LA's Silverlake neighborhood. We're excited about the "Idea Books" we're putting together this summer in preparation for the design process this fall. We are rested, rejuvenated, and reminded of how lucky we are. Enjoy more photos of our trip below.

Audrey investigates Edendale Farm



Catherine and her Solo Cup befriend the chickens at Edendale.



And pose in front of a makeshift potting bench.



A green roof at the Los Angeles Zoo

Not amused by my mock fear of the gigantic snake.

Too busy with new stuffed animals to notice the lion.
I opted to not mock fear this time.

So many beautiful flowers!

Audrey declared the Hollywood sign "totally awesome"

So many people ... so much smog.
This is one reason we prefer Oklahoma.

Disneyland! Overpriced, overcrowded, totally worth it.

But this is really our preference. A solo stroll on a quiet beach.

Catherine thought these guys were "so cool" in Malibu.

We notice irrigation techniques. Do you?

Orange County Beach with our niece (Joe's brother's daughter) Holli, and her husband, Eric.

Their little dude, Eric Jr.

Their sweet daughter Cora Lou - they call her Lulu.
She and Audrey both got cold and decided to snuggle up.