We are very excited to announce that The Garden Gates will be participating in this years Avenue Marketplace for the Academy of the Sacred Heart on Friday, November 11.
Luncheon by Clancy’s Individual Tickets will be sold. Three course meal begins at 11:30 AM Seating is limited: Reserved tables may be purchased (8 seats per table). Individual seating is not assigned and will be on a first come first serve basis. Shopping tickets are included with luncheon purchase. Shopping Information Tickets $5 at the door 10 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Avenue Marketplace – November 11, 2011
One of the easiest and most effective ways to bring the holiday spirit into your home is with a Christmas Tree. The Garden Gates has you covered with their Fraser Fir Christmas Trees, all delivered and they come with or without Christmas lights. Fraser Fir are the superior tree due to the fact that they retain their needles the longest of any other commercial Christmas tree. Make sure to order your tree by calling The Garden Gates at 877-780-6699 or by logging on to their website here. With Fraser Firs ranging from 5’ to 14’ they have the perfect tree to match any home.
So you have your tree and you are wondering, “now what?” Well you have to decorate it with beautiful ornaments. Once again, The Garden Gates has you covered with an amazing collection of beautiful handcrafted ornaments by Katherine’s Collections, One Hundred 80 Degrees, Creative Co-op, Raz, and more. These are some of the most amazing and beautiful items on the market sure to be the start of many holiday traditions in your home.
One of the most popular items is the Mystical Chubby Fairy by Katherine’s Collection. She brings magic, joy and whimsy to everyone that sees her.
I’ve been spending time with walking in the mornings in my neighborhood, a beautiful section of New Orleans. lot of the things that I see reminds of stuff coming from The Garden Gates’ Home and Garden section. No, this isn’t the Home and Garden punk band from Cleveland, this is the home and garden that people dream about. My neighbor for instance has a new set of Fermob Bistro furniture. It looks like a Parisian cafe on his porch! He has some wonderful religious statues back there too, a Buddha Statue and a St. Francis of Assisi statue. I’m sure he loves his morning coffee back there.
As I continued my stroll I noticed that the neighbor next door also has a bunch of garden statues, but these are animal statues. His cat garden statue looks familiar because it is Cleo, carried at The Garden Gates. He has some bird baths too which are really wonderful, I’ve noticed various species splashing around in it, doing what birds do best. I am sure his wife and he have wonderful evenings enjoying all of this.
It takes a steady hand.
One of our favorite things in the store right now isn’t really a specific product, but the India Stewart display itself. Refreshed by our merchandiser and display coordinator Emily it breaths new life into an already exciting line of jewelry and home decor. I asked Emily about her influences and if she had a background in display design. She said she has always been interested in art but her formal training in architecture really was the inspiration in the display. Combined with the landscape architectural influence of The Garden Gates she created a pastoral and rolling environment for India Stewart’s designs to live and breath.
India Stewart loves to feature the things that inspire her, be it the creatures of her garden or the southern Louisiana nature that she has grown up around. This inspired Emily into creating sprawling landscapes alive with ladybugs, flamingos, dragonflies and even the Banana Leaf earrings. And of course this wouldn’t be New Orleans without an assortment of Fleur de Lis designs.
Some of the other unique items featured in the display are also featured on TheGardenGates.com, for example the Gold Leaf Painted Fleur de Lis Plaque (also featured on the cover of our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide). This cool plaque is hand painted so no two are exactly alike. Lots of earrings are featured, including earrings like the Snow Angel, Ladybugs, and the Calla Lily.
People are loving the new Holiday Gift Guide from The Garden Gates, and rightfully so. The 40 page catalog comes chock full of great ideas for the holiday season, from pre Christmas lighted Fraser Fir trees to the the ornaments that will hang on them and the gift ideas to go under.
Felix showing off his pride & joy.
The Garden Gates’ art director Felix Miralda says his favorite part was working with the photographer Marc Roman Bravo on the color palette to run with. A metallic copper color was what they focused on, and it is very visible on the various elements that flow through the catalog. When you flip through the pages the consistency is apparent. Marc Roman Bravo’s favorite part was working with Beth Harris (co-owner of The Garden Gates) on creating the product displays for him to shoot. The Garden Gates’ Marketing Director Alyse Mouledoux says her favorite part was both doing the research for the copy and just the process of creation, from the initial brainstorming sessions all the way through to opening it up from the box when it was hot off the presses. General Manager Sara Draper had the complex role of proofing it throughout the process, something we are all grateful for. She did a great job staying on top of all the revisions and changes.
The cover features the gold Fleur de Lis plaque by India Stewart, one of the many local New Orleans artists we feature here at The Garden Gates. Her work, mostly inspired by the nature and character of South Louisiana and the plants, birds, fish and other creatures that crawl around her garden. She loves it so much that she wants to share it with everyone through her art. Unique and beautiful she has items that are perfect for everyone. One of my favorites is the Nativity Scene Pin. It comes in both Silver Plate or Gold, and is a wonderful and illustrative expression of the nativity scene in all its glory.
I have to say that my sweet tooth has gotten the best of me and my favorite part of the catalog has to be the Sweet Treats section. Peppermint Bark makes an appearance, which is dark chocolate with natural peppermint oil and layered white chocolate on top of it. But wait! There’s more! Crushed peppermint candy sprinkled on top of it is the coup de grace on an already irresistible treat. You turn the page and you find Nam’s Bits, a bite sized chocolate cookie. Not in the catalog but now in stock is the Funkychunky Popcorn. A huge hit here in the office they area decadent mix of dark, milk, and white chocolates covering buttery caramel popcorn and almonds, pecans, and cashews. Incredible!
Other things featured are Himalayan candles, Nouvelle candles, Bellissima Jewelry, woodcut wreaths, Barr-Co., and Belle Notte Linens. If you haven’t received the catalog through the mail stop by The Garden Gates at 2918 Metairie Road, Metairie and pick one up and take a look around the store and garden center! Or you can always shop online 24 hours a day, seven days a week at our website TheGardenGates.com.
A great way to get inspiration for your own garden is by touring beautiful ones. I am convinced that Louisiana (especially around New Orleans) has the most beautiful gardens in the world.
Afton Villa
It is no surprise that one of the premiere gardens in the world is in St. Francisville. St. Francis was a nature lover and is the patron saint of the environment. His statues are extremely popular in gardens world wide. (The Garden Gates carries a number of St. Francis statues.) Founded by Senator Alexander Barrow and his family and currently taken care of by the Trimble family it has a Tuscan marble obelisk, erected by the United States Congress. Make sure you enjoy the world famous alazleas, in particular the strain known Pride of Afton, which was developed there.
The Gardens of the American Rose Center
From April to the October the gardens have a beautiful display of blooming roses to delight the senses of everyone that visits. Not just sight and smell, one of the main attractions is the Wind sounds Carillon Tower, a sound installation that emits beautiful chimes across the gardens. Coming soon is the Celebrate Christmas in Roseland. Starting on Thanksgiving and continuing to the end of the year they transform the gardens into a dazzling display of holiday cheer.
Longue Vue House & Gardens
A visit to the New Orleans area is not complete without a visit to the Longue Vue House and Gardens (about 5 minutes away from The Garden Gates!) You can explore the Wild Garden featuring native plants, The Spanish Court (based on the Generalife Gardens in Grenada), and the Portico Garden. Not only does Longue Vue have an amazing collection of plants in their garden, they also have a world renowned permanent art collection. Started by Edith Stern in the early 1960 it contains works by pop and kinetic artists such as Victor Vasarely, Pablo Picasso, Jean Arp and more. They also feature rotating special exhibits, such as one about Carnaval jewelry of years past and the photography of Clarence John Laughlin.
Jungle Gardens
About 2.5 hours west of New Orleans is the Jungle Gardens. Founded in the 1890s as a bird sanctuary by adventurer philanthropist and Tabasco mogul Edward Avery McIlhenny it features botanical exoticas from around the world. These 170 acres on Avery Island features an amazing Buddha statue brought there in 1936 by two friends of McIlhenny. Over 900 years old this was sent to the United States by a Chinese warlord and forgotten in a warehouse. The statue must feel at home now, it is surrounded by azaleas, sasanqua, camellias, and bamboo. To pick up your own Buddha Statue make sure to visit The Garden Gates.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park, New Orleans
Over sixty sculptures are displayed in this beautiful garden, part of the New Orleans Museum of Art. Installed by The Garden Gates. Almost five acres of meandering paths it features work by Louise Bourgeois, Lynn Chadwick, George Rickey and more. The art is beautiful, but reading a garden blog you want to hear about the plants: 9 live oaks, 15 pines, 63 camillias, 344, azaleas, and more.
Golf Course at Audubon Park
A great reason to enjoy golf is so you can get some exercise while walking around in greenery. Landscaped by The Garden Gates the 18 hole course features four lagoons and is easily accessible by the St. Charles streetcar line.
The Garden Gates headquarters just received a transmission from our team abroad (aka Chad & Beth Harris). It sounds like they are having an amazing time in China. Attached are some photos of the Buddha statues from Lantau Island, near Hong Kong.
Chad says “Today we visited Lantau Island to witness the Tian Tan Buddha, or Giant Buddha. Here’s a few snap shots to enjoy so you can plan your own trip. Excited to come home to compare these with the work of the artisans at Campania International’s Buddha Cast Stone Statues!”
Just got an email from Chad & Beth:
Beth and I have begun our journey in search of treasure for our friends to share with one another. After a long flight that seemed to be almost 22 hrs of flying we have reached our 1st stop: Hong Kong. Our taxi driver is doing what appears to be 140k per hr. I think that’s flying considering we have passed everyone. I’ll be sending Steve some pics during our trip so keep an eye on The Garden Gates Blog for more updates!
