There’s a NEW holiday tradition being added to St. Louis’s social calendar this year! “Holiday Magic” comes to America’s Center, December 4-6, and it promises to be an exciting and entertaining event for families and shoppers. Enjoy wood carving demonstrations and hands-on crafts, a dazzling light show with over 40,000 holiday lights choreographed to holiday music, and a full-scale indoor carnival.
And best of all . . . Walter Knoll Florist will be there with a special treat for children . . .

It’s gonna be great – we’ll have hundreds, maybe thousands of white poinsettias for kids to paint – as well as protective gear to keep their little outfits tidy – so come on down and get in the Christmas Spirit!

As we prepare and set up our booth for the big show we are also installing over 75 real live Christmas trees around the center-complete with lights!

And our booth will have lots of fully decorated trees and ideas as well as special “show” pricing – there will be ornaments and garland and wreaths and swags you can buy and take with you and we will also have on display our Holiday Arrangements (you may have seen them on our Holiday Unwrapped 2009 brochure we mailed out last week) – so come on down, bring the kids (and $5 of course-proceeds benefit Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club). Tell ‘em Di sent you!

Speaking of poinsettias – you know it’s an old wives tale about them being toxic, don’t you? Well, although we don’t recommend you eat them, they are NOT poisonous.

Here is a pic of a poinsettia painted by a 73-year old!

How about a blue or purple poinsettia?

Can’t get down to the Convention Center this weekend? Don’t despair – visit our garden center at California and LaSalle and see all our poinsettia varieties – here’s a sampling!

Walter Knoll Florist was pleased to decorate and design floral centerpieces for The Marlin Perkins Society’s annual Black-tie Recognition Dinner last night at the Ritz Carlton in Clayton. Spheres was the word of the day!

The following is from the St Louis Zoo website:
Today, the legacy of Marlin Perkins – his compassion for the world of animals, his desire to conserve endangered species, and his commitment to sharing that message with others – is carried on by the Saint Louis Zoo’s Marlin Perkins Society. More than just a charitable concern, the Marlin Perkins Society is key to the many attractions and programs at the Zoo.

By joining the Marlin Perkins Society, you can help the Saint Louis Zoo in its efforts both to serve our millions of visitors each year as well as to help save wild things in wild places. Gifts to the Society are made through the Saint Louis Zoo Friends Association, one of the support organizations for the Saint Louis Zoo. This Association has been in existence since 1963, and it helps the Zoo achieve its goals and maintain its status as a world-renowned institution by providing financial support, public awareness, human resources and education. The Marlin Perkins Society is one of the critical programs necessary to the Friends’ success.

Walter Knoll Florist designers can do custom designs for your party or event or wedding also! Short on ideas? We’ve got lots of ideas!

I’m ahead of the game this year – hoping to have dozens of knitted gifts to give –
Here are 5 hats I’ve made since mid August or so

Wacky Hats

I especially like these two, so if you see someone wearing something like this, ask them if Di made that hat!

Cool you say? No, very warm!

Please don’t ask me for the pattern! I figure them out as I go along or I copy a previous pattern from one I have made.

Are you perhaps not so nimble fingered and wondering about holiday gift giving? Walter Knoll Florist can solve that problem! Call us about our holiday corporate gift giving ideas! We’ll have beautiful poinsettias, wreaths (decorated and plain – live and everlasting) as well as a whole line up of holiday floral bouquets! After all, we’re Walter Knoll Florist, Your Personal Florist Since 1883 Call us at 314.352.7575 or toll free at 1-800-341-ROSE (7673) WKF.COM

Red Velvet Angel Food Cake - Great Color!

Did I tell you I got selected to be a home-cook tester for Cook’s Country magazine recipes?  Cook’s Country is a spin off of America’s Test Kitchen on PBS. In the midst of the madness of the Valentine’s floral holiday I got an email with my first recipe – I have to make the recipe and fill out a survey by 2/23 – rather than wait until this weekend, I finagled leaving work a little early today and stopped by the grocery and picked up some red food coloring (- I needed 2 bottles, and they only had one, I took every bottle of every color off the shelf, and finally found a second bottle behind all the yellows!) I want this red food coloring because I thought the plain angle food cake recipe sounded a little boring (!) A N Y W A Y, I had decided to make it with a twist – I turned it into a Red Velvet Angel food cake.  Have you ever had Red Velvet Cake?  It’s a chocolate cake basically with a lot of red food coloring in it.

Since I had decided the recipe was boring (as I mentioned above) I went to the grocery store and bought 2 bottles of red food coloring to make it a red velvet angel food cake (added cocoa also) ($2.50 per bottle! geez, that *&^%&*^’s expensive, I could have bled 2 oz, but it might not have made a red cake) it’s a beautiful color – can’t wait until it comes out and I can go do the survey – I wonder if they will kick me out for altering their recipe!!!

Before I could get my beautiful batter into the oven I remembered that Wally told me to print 100 things for Mark at Anmar Photography – ooooops, I’m in trouble, forgot about it.  Hope I don’t get fired! 

Here’s the recipe they sent – I mixed 3 tablespoons of Dutch process cocoa with 2 bottles (2 oz) of red food coloring and the vanilla and added it to the mix where it says add vanilla and mix well.  This is a recipe for  an angel food cake I don’t know if you’ve ever made one but it includes 12 egg whites beat until they are very big – I got some great height out of mine and as I go to put the batter into the oven I can’t get the friggin door open! I figure my oven thermometer has fallen and wedged in the door somehow so I’m shaking the darn thing and shaking it and I notice on the panel it says “door locked” – I had accidentally hit the auto clean button! 30 minutes later I can put my cake in, it deflated a little – not a whole lot – but who knows if it will work!

About this time I figure it’s happy hour and time for a cocktail, I get my Maker’s Mark and splash of Cointreau poured and open up one of those cute little bottles of ginger ale and poor it in and it doesn’t bubble, friggin ginger ale is flat! and it’s a new bottle! and it’s the last bottle!

I’m having a day I think. I’ll try to save you a piece of cake! The batter is delish and such a great color!

Here’s the cake right out of the oven, those little framed portraits in the background are Richard and my Paris Metro Pass pics from 1988 – cute, huh!

Out of the oven at last!

GOAL: Angel food cake from the supermarket bakery is dense and chewy – more like a very sweet sponge cake. We wanted a classic angel food cake with light, pillowy texture that melts in your mouth like cotton candy. Since angel food cake relies on a tricky technique and laborious steps, we wanted to take the fear out of angel food cake and simplify the technique to produce a cake with heavenly texture every time.

Cooling Down - Not as tall I hoped!

ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Serves 10 to 12
If your angel food cake pan does not have a removable bottom, line the bottom of the tube pan with parchment paper and gently tap pan upside down on counter to release it from the pan. Do not grease the tube pan before baking the cake or it will not rise properly.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4½ ounces) cake flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups sugar
12 large egg whites, room temperature
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. PROCESS SUGAR Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk flour and salt in bowl. Process sugar in food processor until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Reserve half of sugar in small bowl. Add flour mixture to food processor with remaining sugar and process until aerated, about 1 minute.
2. BEAT WHITES With electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high. With motor running, slowly add reserved sugar and beat until soft peaks form, about 6 minutes. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
3. SIFT AND FOLD Sift flour mixture over egg whites in 3 additions, folding gently with rubber spatula after each addition until incorporated. Scrape mixture into 16-cup tube pan.
4. BAKE Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cracks in cake appear dry, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool, inverted, to room temperature, about 3 hours. To unmold, run a knife along interior of pan. Turn out onto platter. Serve.

What can I say! I’m a monkey who can bake and knit hats!

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Wigger's From Otter Box's Sock Monkey Hat

otterbox

This tree is in the Lobby of the Metropolitan Square building in downtown St Louis (Located at 1 Metropolitan Square).  This year the tree has been transformed to tell the story of the history of St Louis. Included in the ornaments are 32 large, custom luminaries that were hand crafted by Walter Knoll Florist.  These luminaries show a pictorial history of St Louis.  The luminaries are made from Lexan, a clear polycarbonate that has been cast into tubes that then have historical images from St Louis’ past displayed with back-lit illumination.  Images featured include Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson,  Lewis and Clark, The 1904 Worlds Fair, Charles Lindbergh & the Spirit of St Louis,  the construction of the St Louis Arch and many other Saint Louis historic moments.

Standing at over 45 feet tall, this is the largest Indoor holiday tree in the St Louis area.

The Christmas tree in the lobby of the Metropolitan Square Building

This year we added a podium and a book with copies of the images and a description of each photo.

The Podium and Picture Book feature LED lighting

Some Close Ups of the Luminaries

Many of the images came from the Missouri History Museum and  several from the personal collection of Mark Allen from Anmar Photography.

If you are out looking at holiday decorations this season, it is worth your time to go by and see the biggest and best tree in St Louis. The Metropolitan Square Building tree is a great backdrop for a holiday photo.

This tree was assembled and decorated by Walter Knoll Florist and we manufactured many of the decorations as well.

If you would like to ask Walter Sr a question about the decorations click here.

Fields of Poinsettias

The Garden Center is a riot of color right now!  So many poinsettias!  If you are in the city, plan to make a trip to Florist Row and the Walter Knoll Florist Garden Center -

Red Pink Red

Close Up

Friendly Staff - ALWAYS!

Many Sizes

Traditional

RED RED RED

Pinks and Greens

Pink and White

Feathery Pinks!

Red and White

Beautiful Pinks

Green!

with Santa!

You can read about Pointsettia care and feeding or visit our web site wkf.com for more of our holiday selections

We at Walter Knoll Florist we were honored to be able to create the flowers for the memorial service of Stan Kann the organist of the Fabulous Fox on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.  As well as being the organist for the Fox, Stan was known for world class vacuum cleaner collection, his many gadgets and more that 70 appearances on the Tonight Show. Below is a photo from his memorial service on Sunday October 5th, below that are some you-tube videos of Stan.

The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ at the Fox at the memorial service

Stan Playing the Intro to Phantom of the Opera

KETC Channel 9 Interview with Stan

A tour at the Fox with Stan Kann

It is so fun when the kids come for a field trip to Walter Knoll Florist.  This group from Lindbergh School district got to learn about potting begonias at our LaSalle Garden Center location.  We love to show off our stuff, so if you have a group that would like to come for a tour (children or adults) we’ll be happy to show you around.  Who knows, maybe you’ll get to re-pot some begonias yourself!

About the care of Gladiolus and how to make them bloom and last long

It is spring and this is some of what is new at the florist row greenhouse at Walter Knoll Florist.