Written by Alex | February 11, 2011 | 2011 NewslettersNewsletter Tags: flowers, Gardening, jokes, recipies, stories
Are you Ready for Spring?
Newsletter 1 – Friday, February 11, 2011
- Recipe: Red Velvet Cookies
- Recipe: Cream Cheese Frosting
We come to love not by finding a perfect person,
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.
Are you ready for Spring?
Our customers mean so much to us. If you receive this newsletter, you most likely are very familiar with our business. You KNOW its true. We feel we have a personal relationship with you and we are always trying to make our bond with you even stronger. Our events and varied gardening classes, our Make and Take workshops. All those are special to us because we know YOU enjoy them. Were anxious for you to see the 2011 Calendar of Events, and would love to have your input on ideas for this next season. Simply email them to ed@americasbestflowers.com and he will pass them along to our Special Events coordinator.
All of us are getting so excited about our April 1st opening day, because we cant wait to see YOU! And, if youre planning on going to Garden Expo, please stop by our booth. Were right in the front of the exhibition hall next to the Garden Expo WHA TV booth. You cant miss us! Want some details? Keep on reading!
If your aunt ran off to get married, what would you call her?
Antelope
Dont Miss Garden Expo 2011
Alliant Energy Center February 11, 12 and 13
Friday 4-9 Saturday 8-6 Sunday 10-4
This year we will be bringing blooming African violets, primroses, and cyclamen, as well as mini orchids and roses. We will also have herbs, seeds, and hosta plants. Our lovely cyclamen plants, in a rainbow of colors, make the perfect valentine gift.
Known for our container gardens, we will have a how to display, and printed handout instructions available for you to plan your one-pot, four-season, eye-catching container garden, plus a schedule of our container workshops. These are some of our best attended events, and we offer free soil and assistance when you participate this spring. You wont want to miss it, and every year, many of you attend more than one, and design every kind of container imaginable, from mixed annual/perennial beauty, to a fragrant herb pot, a salsa, or even a pizza container, brimming with tomato, pepper, oregano and basil plants, and more!
What did the boy bird say to the girl bird on Valentines Day?
Let me call you Tweet heart.
Employment Opportunities
If you are interested in working here this spring, give us a call at 222-2269. We do have short-term seasonal retail positions open. Most of them require some evening and weekend hours. Plant knowledge and retail and/or customer service experience would be a plus.
Start Planning for Gardening 2011
SOME UPCOMING EVENTS
Even though we are closed for the winter, everyone at Americas Best Flowers is busy planning for spring. 2011 will be filled with many special events, planned with YOU in mind.
April 16-17 is our Spring Open House weekend which will feature FREE hot dogs and popcorn. April 23rd is our Community Egg Hunt. Other spring events will include our annual Herb Fest, a specialEarth and Arbor Day Celebration, featuring FREE childrens activities, followed by Container Workshops.
Our 2nd annual Pick-a-Pack event is April 29-May 1. We have teamed up with St. Vincent de Paul and their community gardens again these years as it was a huge success in 2010. Come and purchase a four pack of peppers and/or tomatoes for use in the community gardens that are used to feed the hungry. Approximately 45% of your pack purchase will be donated in the form of cash by us to help the community garden. Also consider volunteering to help in the community garden or growing a row of vegetables in your garden for them to feed the hungry of Dane County.
The first Saturday in May is our annual SALSA SATURDAY, when we celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Latin music, free samples of chips and salsa, and you can even plant a salsa container that weekend at our workshop. We will give away a $50 gift certificate for the best salsa recipe in our Salsa Recipe Contest.
Special Mothers Day activities and free classes on vegetable and perennial gardening will continue throughout the season, along with our Make and Take Workshops and plenty of childrens activities. We also promise you many exciting surprises. Our goal is to hold events that are interesting and helpful to our customers. Remember to give us your input. Were listening!
To keep your marriage brimming with love, whenever youre wrong admit it.
Whenever youre right, shut up.
Ogden Nash
Upcoming Events
Fri, Feb 11 – Sun, Feb 13 | Garden Expo |
Fri, Apr 1 | Opening Day |
Sat, Apr 2 | Workshop – Get a Jump on Spring 10-2PM Ongoing workshop. Buy your seed packets and seeding trays and we provide the soil. |
Sat, Apr 9 | Class – Herb Gardens 10AM Mari Lynn Haugh, of the Madison Herb Society walks you through planning and designing your herb garden. |
Sat, Apr 16 – Sun, Apr 17 | Open House FREE hot dogs and popcorn. 11-3PM |
Sat, Apr 23 | Community Egg Hunt Ongoing from 10am-2pm Rain or Shine! FREE candy. Children 6 and under. Bring your camera to take pictures with the Easter Bunny. |
Bonnie’s Kitchen
Red Velvet Cookies
- 1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. This will make a cookie dough. Roll into teaspoon size balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten down slightly (depending on the thickness you desire). Makes 24 cookies.
Bake at 375 degrees until the tops crackle (about 8-10 minutes) or until desired doneness.
Cool and then frost with…
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese – softened
- ¼ cup stick margarine or butter – softened
- 2 teaspoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Directions
Beat cream cheese, margarine, milk and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low speed, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.
Frosts one 13 x 9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts one 8-or 9-inch two-layer cake. Refrigerate any remaining frosting.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Add 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled, with the margarine.

Edward Knapton says Keep on Smiling!
Sec – Treasurer Berry Hill Farms, Inc.
DBA Americas Best Flowers Garden Center
4311 Vilas Hope Road
Cottage Grove, WI 53527
608-222-2269 Fax 608-222-1234 Cell 608-698-5627