Podcast, Ep. 36 with James Farmer, decorator, author, and entertaining expert

‘Jack-of-all-trades’ is the only way to describe this week’s guest. He is a licensed landscape architect, a gardening expert, a flower arranging expert, host extraordinaire, celebrated decorator, and even a cookbook author. James Farmer does it all , so we were thrilled when we finally caught up with him at Discover ADAC to bring you this show.  

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• James talks about how one of his earliest memories foreshadowed his life now
• We talk about pruning, hydrangeas, and crepe myrtles
• We talk about James’ new house Farmdale
• We talk about James’ interior design projects and why he finds himself working all over the country
• James shares his secret for building a new home that looks old
• James tells us about his latest antique find
• We talk about china patterns and how many James has
• James spills his dinner party formula — pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and biscuits
• Taryn asks James for a suggestion for the centerpiece of a shower she’s hosting
• We talk about James’ projects, his approach to layering, and how many projects he’s working on at once
• We talk about James’ next book
• We talk about trends and using the classics

Decorating Dilemmas:

Hi Ladies,

I found your podcast with Margot Shaw from Flower magazine very enlightening. I have several roses and hydrangea that I grow in my backyard. I love bouquets and though I love the idea of cutting flowers and sorting into vases in my home, the flowers often include spiders and mites. I’ve soaked them in water before arranging, but often the delicate rose petals will fall off in the water bath while the hydrangeas will continue to harbor bugs even with a good soaking. My question to you is, “How can I get rid of the insects on my flowers before I arrange them in the house.”

Thank you!
Julie Soja

…..

James suggests addressing the critter issue before it’s time to cut your flowers. You can create a solution of Murphy’s Oil soap and water that’ll coat the blooms so bugs can’t climb on them. This solution won’t hurt your plant but it should help the bug problem. You can use it for either indoor or outdoor plants.

Show Notes:

• Watch James’ floral frog videos
• Shop James’ books on his website

Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, pleasesubscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you never miss an episode. Of course, you can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone.

Happy Decorating!

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