I know we’re all thinking about Sunday’s big game, but V-Day is right around the corner.  And we all know what that means: the Your Livable Garden Romance in the Garden Contest.

Yes, it’s a Valentine’s Day Giveaway! Send in your story about romance in the garden–to shawn@mirrorlakedesigns.com–and the best story will win a $1400 courtyard design. 

Seriously, it’s a better gift than a box of chocolates or a bunch of roses.  Both of those will be gone in no time, but a romantic courtyard where you may snuggle with your honey?  That’s going to be a part of your life where you can make memories!  Yes, it sounds like a greeting card, but that’s what we ladies like on this, the fluffiest day of the year.

But back to the sports theme.  Specifically, the football Super Bowl theme.  Now those who know Shawn are familiar with his tendency to make sports analogies in most of life’s situations.  Well, he’s at it again.

This time, the game is on…in the garden.  And he’s talking about different plays, different players, different formations, and it’s all about your plants, your design, and your maintenance.

For instance, you have your Star Player–that plant that just makes the rest of your “team” shine.  Blinda suggests the Evergreen Pear for its jet black bark, white flowers, and its lovely shape.  That fall color is awesome, too!

They also talk about doing Superbowl flower cuttings: for the Saints, you can do Evergreen Pear cuttings with something yellow, or for the Colts you can do just blue and white pansies.

They talk about your defensive strategies too.  Don’t let the renegades–weeds, bad drainage, overwatering–screw up your game plan.  Figure out how you’re going to outthink these opponents and get ready to do it.

They do intersperse these sports analogies with some lively interviews.  Like with Stewart Thompson, founder of Martha’s Bloomers .  Stewart talks about their beautiful little operation in Navasota, TX.  They have a tea room that attracts ladies from all over the country…like Huntsville and Waco.  

And, according to Stewart, since folks tend to eat more than they plant flowers, the tea room is a good idea–it’s a place where people may enjoy themselves and feel serene as they look out over the plants that Martha’s Bloomers has to offer.  

PS–It’s a really a good place to go if you’re not into watching The Big Game this weekend.

The interview with Randy Heinbaugh of the Houston Cactus and Succulent Society is my favorite.   He talks about succulents: there’s an endless variety to get involved with, and he’s seen them artfully displayed in mosaics before & even describes how you can create a succulent mosaic yourself.

The society  meets the v4th Wednesday of every month at the Houston Garden Club in Hermann Park.  

They also interview John Currence, contributing editor of Garden & Gun Magazine, the Big Bad Chef Himself, to talk about Bacon Explosion.  

Apparently this recipe is the result of a Twitter Challenge, and it’s a deliciously decadent, bacon pie-crust-style lattice layered with sausage, rolled up and smoked.  Whoa, yeah.

But John has his own version (not that there’s anything wrong with the original) and he does it with a mix of ground chuck and ground pork, then runs a strip down the center of Italian sausage, a pound of cheese, and then some boiled eggs…making it The Bacon Explosion meets The Scotch Egg.  

What you do is weave the bacon on some plastic wrap, fill it with the above-described ingredients, then twist it all up and let it sit a couple of hours so it holds it shape.  Cook it on a smoker for 2 hours to an internal temp of 135 degrees.  When it came off the grill, it will be delicious.  John said the first one he made just smelled so amazing that it looked…sexy. 

Really, John?  Perhaps I am lacking that manly part of the brain that would look at bacon and thank, “Sexy.”  Ah, well.

John says you may eat it however you like: with an ice cream scoop, a bayonette, a blowtorch.  No, really, just slice it.  Eat it immediately off the grill (it’s a glorified meatloaf, so eat it like you would a meatloaf–with ketchup, on bread, however!)

And if that doesn’t have you salivating, it at least should be making your heart pound a little.  Perhaps out of fear for your arteries, but no matter.  You’re a part of the Livable Garden community, so you like to get moving outdoors–no Bacon Explosion can slow you down!