Hear ye, hear ye!  Come get your PINK on during our ‘Pink is Chic’ event benefiting the Joy to Life Foundation on Thursday April 14^th!  That’s just two days before the 10^th annual Joy to Life’s Walk of Life (and 5k)…it’s perfect timing.  Perfectly PINK timing that is.

Wear pink to either store location on Thursday April 14^th only, and receive 20% off your entire purchase*!  Travel over to our Vaughn Rd location and from 4-7pm, enjoy a free wine tasting by Peppertree Steaks ‘N Wines, sweets & savories, live music, “pretty in pink” manicures by L’Esprit Salon & Spa, silent auction and even a fashion show presented by Dillards from The Shoppes at East Chase!

We met with Joy Blondheim and her husband, Dickie, just a few weeks ago and approached them on the idea of putting on an event to help benefit the tremendous foundation that they have put their heart and soul into – the Joy to Life Foundation.

We’re not sure who is more excited about the event, the Blondheim’s or SH&G?!  Either way, it’s shaping up to be a pretty fantastic day any way you look at it…

*Thursday April 14^th only.  Excludes purchases of Vera Bradley, Textraw, pinestraw, synthetic mulch & gift cards.  Other exclusions may apply – see stores for details.  Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount.

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Vera Bradley debuted her Summer colors & styles today, and we’re hooked!  We love the va-va-voom feel of Viva la Vera, the serenity of Watercolor, the freedom of English Meadow and the impactful Deco Daisy – and so we wondered,

“What could make today’s debut even better?”

Not one, promotional offer, but TWO!  Vera Bradley stepped it up a notch with the Summer launch, offering TWO fabulous (& we do mean fabulous!) limited-time-only offers:

So swing by our Vaughn Road store location to pick out (obsess over) the latest edition to YOUR Vera Bradley collection…we promise, we’re just as addicted to Vera Bradley as you are!

  But let’s just keep that between us.

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Guests this year can expect to enjoy store-wide specials all weekend long (Friday – Sunday) on all their favorite plants, patio furniture, home decor, gifts and more!  Don’t forget to register throughout the entire weekend for fantastic door prizes and even a chance to win a beautiful 3-piece Bistro Set!

Free Seminars:  Saturday March 26th only

Click seminar titles for times & locations

• Roses by Tom Seibert of Weeks Roses
• Perennials by Phil Easter of Southern Homes & Gardens
• Walking Plant Tour by Russell Brown, Matt Camp & Charlotte Fricke of Southern Homes & Gardens

Free Refreshments:  Saturday March 26th only

• Enjoy complimentary cookies, coffee & water at both store locations
• Enjoy special tastings from 10am – 2pm at our Vaughn Rd store location only from Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q and Nancy’s Italian Ice!                                                           �
                                     

Activities for the Kids:  Saturday March 26th

Vaughn Rd location only

• Let ‘em come jump to their heart’s desire…we’ll have an inflatable bouncehouse! 
• Join our friends from Earth Fare as they’ll provide a fun & FREE project for the kids too!

Special Guests:  Saturday March 26th

Vaughn Rd location only 

• Bulger Creek Farms - Back by popular demand from our Fall Farmer’s Market, Bulger Creek Farms will be on location selling their famous (& mighty delicious!) goat milks & cheeses, in addition to their goat milk soaps and lotions! 
• Gigi’s Fabulous Foods  You’ll love her famous baked goods including rolls & cinnamon bread and salivate over her chicken salad, salsa, casseroles, cheese straws & more
• Brendan Crimi of local band favorite, House on Wheels, will provide live music

Watch for new details to emerge online: 

 southernhomesandgardens.com          Facebook          Twitter

Have a specific question?  Call (334) 387-0440 and we’ll be happy to answer them! 

Hot! Hot! Hot!  Meet Vera Bradley’s newest Summer colors & styles that debut this Thursday, March 24th!

Watch Vera Bradley’s own ‘Liz on Location’ in New Orleans as she introduces you to the ‘it’ colors of Summer 2011!

Viva la Vera :  With this festive swirl of bold flowers, you can’t help catching the summer spirit!  Exaggerated motifs in hot pink and purple, sunny yellow and bright green float on a background of white sprinkled with confetti leaves.  A sweet trellis lining adds to the party.

Deco Daisy:  What’s black, white & red all over?  This deliriously fun daisy design!  Simply striking, it combines both Asian and art deco influences into a bold, lively arrangement that’s a delight to carry through summer, fall, winter and spring.  Inside, a statement making, classic houndstooth pattern.

Watercolor:  As sweet and romantic as a watercolor, this ultra-feminine design depicts soft floral bouquets in two very trend-forward shades – purple (here in its lilac and pink-lavender forms) and pale grey.  A simple, modern lining also echoes hand-painted style.

English Meadow:  Picture a field of summer wildflowers in a quaint English meadow.  Now, cary it with you!  Inspired by vintage prints and the current mircro-floral trend, this countryside-fresh bouquet of periwinkles, greens and yellows feels bright as a sunny day against the white background.  Inside, a tiny millefleurs (“thousand flowers”) garden blooms.

Enter to WIN some sweet Vera swag when you tell us your favorite new color on Facebook or Twitter by 9pm CST Wednesday March 23rd!  We’ll announce the winners on Thursday, March 24th – the day the Summer colors & styles debut at our Vaughn Rd store location! 

Tune in to Facebook & Twitter to find out if you’re the lucky winner!!

Today is indeed the day to wear green to avoid getting pinched in honor of St. Patricks day, but choose to live green and you’ll be a happier (and healthier!) person – who might just out-last all those St. Patty’s day ‘pinchers’!

Living a greener lifestyle doesn’t have to happen overnight.  Take baby steps to ensure you’ll stick with the new lifestyle – otherwise, like a bad new years resolution, you’ll only have failure on your hands.  A great & EASY first step is something so simple, most folks tend to overlook it completely:  getting a houseplant!  Yep, it’s that easy.

Most houseplants are very easy to care for, considering you purchase the right type of houseplant for your home or office environment.  Most only need watering a few times a week (if that) - and add the perfect amount of color to any space (even if it is just green!).

Here are a few houseplants that are proven to mini-miracle-workers when it comes to our health & well-being…

Peace Lily:

An outstanding foliage plant that also produces beautiful white flowers, the peace lily should always be included when seeking a variety of indoor plants.  It posesses all the qualities to make it one of the best indoor plants.  It’s ability to remove air pollutants and its excellent performance in all categories makes it the MVP…most valuable plant! 

Boston Fern

Ferns are probably one of the oldest groups of plants.  It is grown strictly for its foliage (as it doesn’t produce flowers).  It is best displayed in a hanging basket or sitting upon a pedestal.  Of the plants tested, it’s the best for removing air pollutants, especially formaldehyde, and for adding humidity to the indoor evironment.

Ficus

Expect some leaf drop until the plant adjusts to its new location.  A magnificent large plant, its ability to help purify the air, ease of growth and resistance  to insects make it an excellent choice for the home or office.

We’ve got lots of great houseplants  – just ask our greenhouse experts to help find the right fit for your home, office or classroom.  And we promise we won’t pinch!

Mother Nature has us itching for her  spring weather to make an appearance (& stay!) and when it does, we’ll be r-e-a-d-y!

We’re aching to get our hands and knees dirty with soil and smell its natural richness – all in the name of planting up our favorites for spring.  And to upstage our neighbors efforts of course!  Arriving with our new Monrovia plant Boutiques, came a generous helping of gorgeous new plants that has us salivating and wanting more. 

Surely we’re not the only ones yearning to stretch out on our favorite patio furniture and sip sweet tea, right?  Or sit around the outdoor dining table with our favorite friends over a good ol’ southern meal – we’re simply ready for Spring…are you?

If we’ve just induced spring fever, followed by mild panic – we apologize.  However, don’t fret – shop our latest storewide specials on springtime planting favorites and save 30% off on selected patio furniture too with your Garden Rewards card (The Seville Collection and The Lexington Collection only thru Sunday March 13th only)!

We’ve even added NEW spring hours for your shopping convenience:

Every Sunday 12noon to 5pm
Beginning Sunday March 13th, 2011

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The long awaited spring planting season is upon us, which means spring cleaning indoors and out.  When the weather and temps cooperate, be sure to make time to clean up flower beds and surrounding areas, in preparation for the all-important Spring growing season! 

So, what can we be doing?

Removing cold-damaged foliage/stems from our perennials to prepare room for new growth.  In general, leaving an inch or two of the stems above the ground surface should be fine.  Although we might want a ‘cleaner’ appearance by removing this old growth after the first killing frost in the fall, we need to remember that even this ‘dead’ foliage will offer the plants some protection against extreme low temperatures.  And with our recent history of dramatic winter temps, that could have made the difference between survival and cold-kill.

Remove old, possibly disease-harboring, mulch, leaves, etc from the beds – you’ll  need to be aware of the foliage of Spring Blooming Bulbs (Daffodils, Jonquils, Hyacinths, etc.), that are already in bloom with some of the earlier bloomers too.   And, as bulbs and perennials make themselves more evident, you’ll want to apply new layers of mulch or pine straw (have you checked out attractive, long-lasting Textraw synthetic pine straw?).  The mulch will help keep down weeds, conserve moisture around your plants and protect them from extreme summer temperatures.

 Out with the old & in with the new!

Take a nature walk around your landscape – making notes about what you’d like to add in order to have good color and interest  year ‘round.  Make notes about each area that include

• how much sun (and at what time of day) it gets
• mature height of plants/shrubs/trees you want to add (reducing the need to trim)
• how easy/accessible is it to water that particular area 

Then visit our nursery to research what’s available to meet your requirements – with lots of new fresh varieties arriving daily, selecting your favorites will be the hardest part! 

Still stumped on what to tackle first or how to do it?  Snap some photos of your existing landscape and bring them in to show our knowledgeable staff – they’re happy to offer their expertise and guidance!

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Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (Own Root)

We promised that with the arrival of our Monrovia Boutiques, we would have spectacular new plant material, right?  One of our newest arrivals is delivering just that!  Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick is a unique deciduous shrub offering extreme visual interest with its gnarled and twisted branches that lasts year-round. 

Come fall, it grows terrific foliage color; showy greenish-yellow catkins that will brighten the seasonal scene. Makes perfect “thriller” material in large containers too (remember our container formula:  thriller, filler & spiller!)!   Go ahead and be the envy of the neighborhood – you can thank us later!

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