Walter Knoll's "A Musing Florist"

For all you Mr Stinky fans! And I am continually amazed to meet someone new who asks about Mr Stinky when they find I am the WKF blogger!
The beautiful flower from past posts shriveled away and I was left with a pot of dirt – for weeks and weeks nothing was growing out of the dirt – I poked around and found at least a dozen corms so I did some re-potting and shared a few corms/plants and waiting for what was left to sprout. Today, July 3 here is what Mr Stinky’s family looks like:

Mr Stinky and Family

As you can see they are just beginning to sprout – much more interesting is the fact that several corms I left in the garden have been growing for about 2 weeks – REALLY GROWING! Two plants are over 3 feet tall and nearly that wide – take a look

See the smaller Stinkies in front of the steps?

This one showed up in the middle of the Iris Patch

I love the speckled stems

Strange foliage - looks pre-historic to me

So I guess with the mild winters we now have in St Louis, Mr Stinky will be perennial!

We have brought back our Summer Rose Special! Stop into any of our retail locations thru July 15 and pick up a dozen roses at only $12.50!!! These are 12 to 15″ roses and although generally available in red, other colors will also on occasion be available! These are fresh, wrapped loose roses, pick up a dozen in a vase for $29.99! Such a deal! Available for delivery from our website (vased only for deliveries) in 1 dozen, 2 dozen or 3 dozen to a vase. And only at Walter Knoll Florist!

Secure your place on the couch by surprising the little lady with a dozen or more roses!

Summer Side Walk Sale- Walter Knoll Florist

South St Louis Store (Walter Knoll Florist Hampton Ave Location)

Walter Knoll Florist 4620 Hampton Ave

Anyone who has driven South from the City of St Louis has seen this sign

Last Saturday that man who calls me his wife (I’m not) and I headed over to the Lodge at Grant’s Trail for their Breakfast Buffet – only to find they are only offering the Breakfast Buffet on Sundays now. No problem, we live close, we went back on Sunday and loved it!

Our hostess, Carla, seated us in front of a fireplace under Bullwinkle and we were quickly brought a pot of the most delicious coffee as well as what tasted like fresh OJ. Okay, I thought, this is gonna be good – and it was.

Although omelets, eggs and Belgian waffles were available to order, we were quite content with the buffet which included fresh fruit salad, delicious biscuits & sausage gravy, perfectly crisped and hot bacon and fat link sausages, pancakes, and plain and cheesy scrambled eggs. As usual with me I took a bit of everything and had trouble cleaning my plate, but that man of mine managed to eat three moderately sized plates of food. We loved it and will be going back for more!

Chef Vicky

Chef Vicky told us the menu will be changing in June and will include Eggs Benedict! I’ll be heading back for some of that!

The only thing missing at the Lodge at Grant’s Trail was a nice bouquet of fresh flowers on the bar – hmm . . . I bet I know someone who could remedy that!

For more information on Orlando’s or the Lodge Lodge at Grant’s Trail and Orlando’s Garden Banquet Centers

I sure didn’t need green thumbs to grow my garlic this year!  Last summer I ordered some organic bulbs from Hood River Garlic in Oregon – never in my life have I seen such big garlic as they sent me – Around the end of August, perhaps even in September sometime, I received my 1 lb variety pack – enough to plant about a dozen toes of each type which included Siberian, Chesnook Red, Susanville and Zemo and I bought a Japanese variety as well. All are hard necks except for the Susanville. (The hardnecks produce the wonderful to look at and eat SCAPES – seeds I guess, but I only have eaten them or dried them in floral arrangements.)
I did not get around to planting the garlic until nearly Halloween but here is is May 17 and I am seeing the first scape appear on the Zemo variety.

Zemo Scape

I planted 3 rows of garlic between the patio and the neighbors fence – actually I shared some of the Hood River garlic with the neighbor and theirs is planted just on the other side of mine.

So anyway, here it is May 19 and I haven’t shared a single garden pic with you!

Here’s a trip down garlic lane

Three rows of garlic back by the fence

Cute Huh?

Happy Birthday

But, unfortunately my dyslexia took over – Rick is obviously not a day over 46!

Rick by the way was our host this past weekend for the Acardia Valley Bluegrass Music Festival down in Ironton, MO. See the Walter Knoll Florist Director’s Chair! That was a Christmas gift company-wide last year. Comes in very handy!

And finally, I wanted to share a family recipe I received from our customer and my blog pen-pal Sheri Vandermolen in India – another use for cherry pie filling that I can’t wait to try.

DENVER CRUNCH

CRUST
2 c. flour
1 c. pecan pieces
1 c. butter
1/2 c. light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soften butter slightly, letting it warm up some (I usually just set my wrapped sticks on the stovetop for a couple of minutes), and then use a mixer to combine it with the brown sugar and flour until crumbly. (It won’t be as smooth as cookie batter, since there are no eggs.) After it is blended, stir in pecans by hand. Press mixture into an ungreased 9X13-inch pan and bake approximately 15+ minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes, and then crumble the dough with a fork, setting aside about 1 c. to use as topping. Press the rest into an 8X8-inch Tupperware container, to form the crust (a 9-inch round casserole dish or a combination of smaller dishes works too).

If using the same mixing bowl for the crust and filling preparation, wash it thoroughly in between, so the residue doesn’t interfere with the rising action of the Dream Whip.

FILLING
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
2 pkgs. prepared Dream Whip (+ milk and vanilla, see package)
1 can sweet cherry pie filling (or any sweet filling of your choice)

Prepare the Dream Whip according to the directions on the packages (using 2 packets Dream Whip + milk and vanilla), beating it with a mixer for several minutes, until fluffy After finishing the Dream Whip, add the powdered sugar and cream cheese to it (in chunks/spoonfuls) and mix until relatively smooth.

After pressing the crust into the desired container, spread half of the cream-cheese mixture over the crust. Then spoon all of the pie filling over that. Spread the remaining cream-cheese mixture over the cherries. With your hand, finely crumble the cup of pecan crust held in reserve and sprinkle it on as a topping. (Layers = crust / cream-cheese mix / pie filling / cream-cheese mix / crumb topping)

Cover and chill immediately. It tends to taste best after it’s been in the refrigerator at least overnight (so I’ve been told).

Thanks Sheri!

So, as easy as Sheri’s Denver Crunch sounds, if you just don’t have the time or inclination and need something sweet for a celebration or hostess gift – might I suggest something from Mimi’s family’s bakery on the Hill like Italian Cookies, Peach, Apple or Cherry Pie, or our fresh baked cookies or chocolate covered fruits – or perhaps a fancy cake or cheesecake!

Well, now that the seemingly endless mother of all floral holidays is behind me this year it’s time to do some baking! The significant other is celebrating his birthday today and we both managed to swing the day off. At least he did . . . I’ll be doing plenty of forgotten jobs around the house . . . laundry, clean the kitchen and bath, stuff like that. But I’ll also make him his requested cherry pie instead of a birthday cake. I have made up the crust and it’s chilling in the fridge, also the filling is made and cooling. Just need to pre-heat the oven, roll out the crust and the pie is ready to go.

Easy transfer of dough to pie pan if you fold it into quarters

Have you ever bought tart pie cherries at the grocer? They are so expensive, nearly $4 a can and you need two cans for a decent sized pie. I found a generic brand on sale for $2 a can this week so I cheaped out – I’ll let you know what I think. I picked thru the cherries and didn’t find any pits, also tasted a couple – they taste just fine!

Below is the filling recipe – I used the vodka crust recipe from Blueberry Pie

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
4 cups pitted tart cherries
3-4 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 to 1 cup cherry juice
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
3/4 cup sugar

Stir sugar & cornstarch together in a saucepan. Add small amounts of juice to make a paste. Whisk in remaining juice and cook, stirring until sauce thickens. Stir in drained cherries and almond extract. Cool.

I made a double batch of 8 cups (4 cans cherries) for 2 pies

Put cherry pie filling in pastry-lined pie pan. Put top crust on. Bake at 425° for 40-50 minutes, until pie is bubbling and brown.

I like to decorate and brush my pie crusts with cream … number cutters I picked up at an estate sale came in handy today!

Everything

Special, isn't it!

Always make some cinnamon rolls from the extra pie dough!

Gone in less than 20 minutes

Don’t have time or inclination to make your own pie? How about a homemade pie from our Bakery friends on the hill?

Have you ordered your Mother’s Day bouquets yet? There is still plenty of time to order from www.wkf.com plus, I just have to share this fan mail we got after the Secretaries’ Week holiday – a lesson learned!

Walter Knoll Fan Mail

Here are some highlights of the letter:

Dear Mr Knoll, . . . The reason I feel compelled to write is that I have shared this story several times and I realize YOU are the person who should hear of this.  … I ran by the Ballwin WKF, but by now it was after 6pm.  I hoped they might be busy and still open but, no luck.  The next morning … I decide to go to UNNAMED grocery store instead of waiting until 8:30 am for WKF – at the UNNAMED grocers floral department I look through the display case to find an arrangement and ask if they have this, but in a larger version or if we could add gerber daisies – my assistant’s favorite.  I was met with a “what the heck are you asking?” kind of look.  I explain that it is for Admin Day.  The woman there tells me the arrangement in the cases are for sale, but were pre-made and cannot be altered.  After some discussion it is suggested that I pick up a (wrapped) bouquet.  I ask for a vase – and more discussion.  When she rings me up, the bill is only $19.  WOW!  Then I realize the vase and bouquet are in a grocery bag!  I ask if I can step back behind the counter and trim the flowers and arrange them but the surly woman says she didn’t realize I wanted an arrangement – WHAT!!!! . . . She takes the flowers, cuts the ends and shoves them into the (too small, I realize) vase and gives it to me.  . . . I thought a manager should know about this person who is representing them.  Guess what! She WAS the floral manager . . . As I am pulling out of the UNNAMED grocery store lot I realize I can’t do it – I cannot give this mess to someone we care about – and from four of us.  By now it is 8:15 am.  I drive to the WKF Ballwin location and sit in my car patiently waiting – okay, only about 30 seconds – I then walk to the door to “window shop” but the door is open – yeah!  I ask if I can enter and Yvette welcomes me . . .I find two gerber daisy arrangements that I think Carment would like.  I decide to go with the taller one.  Yvette works with me, WITH A SMILE, to finalize my decision.  She offers to wrap and as well to wrap for travel in my car . . . At 8:25 I walk out with a beautiful arrangment, GIFT WORTHY and at only $XX.XX!  [we don't want Carmen to know what was paid if she reads this!] . . . What did I learn?  that I need to go to the WKF Professionals.  What was I thinking going to the grocery store?  I know better.  I shop WKF, my husband always gets my roses there because they last longer, stay beautiful and are fragrant. .. That’s my story and I wanted you to know that every time I’ve done business at the Ballwin WKF or online  at wkf.com or on the phone,  everyone has been very nice and helpful with suggestions.  Last week was … a star service day.  L.H.

We are thrilled to once again be chosen as a top wedding professional in The Knot Best of Weddings 2009!

What sets this honor apart from others is that it’s not just our colleagues (or even the Knot) bestowing this award on our business – it is real brides who were thrilled with the level of service we brought to their wedding day! Cool, huh!

We’ve had a very busy week at Walter Knoll Florist, and again this year we gave a WKF gift card away with every Secretaries’ Day arrangement! The give away was so fun last year, we brought it back! We love new customers!

This week hasn’t been all work though, the office staff was treated to an afternoon off to go to the Cardinal/Mets game yesterday…and what a game! There were 20 runs! I’m not much of a sports fan, but I couldn’t say no to a sunny and warm spring day at the ballpark. I surprised myself by getting into watching the game!
Happy Secretaries’ Week to all you assistants out there! I hope your hard work was acknowledged also!

Cardinals Mets April 23, 2009