Enjoy The Beauty Of Fall    Fall is one of our favorite seasons. It's a time when the trees and shrubs dazzle with a palette of rich golds, burnt oranges, brilliant burgundies and vibrant reds. It’s a time when asters, pansies, mums and ornamental grasses can take your breath away with their beauty. And when pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks and straw bales are the perfect companion to fall’s bountiful harvest of color.    We’d like to give you a whirlwind tour through Merrifield Garden Center, where you’ll see a gorgeous autumn panorama as well as a wide assortment of beautiful tropical plants and must-have accents for your home or office. Complete Story >> Chef's Corner    We’re excited to introduce a new feature – Lilienne’s Recipes.    Lilienne Conklin is the fantastic chef at our Merrifield location. For months now, she’s been spoiling our customers – and employees! – with her tasty dishes. Her delicious sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts are such a hit that we wanted to share her recipes with you every month in this newsletter.   Complete Story >>

   Fall is one of our favorite seasons. It's a time when the trees and shrubs dazzle with a palette of rich golds, burnt oranges, brilliant burgundies and vibrant reds. It’s a time when asters, pansies, mums and ornamental grasses can take your breath away with their beauty. And when pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks and straw bales are the perfect companion to fall’s bountiful harvest of color.

   We’d like to give you a whirlwind tour through Merrifield Garden Center, where you’ll see a gorgeous autumn panorama as well as a wide assortment of beautiful tropical plants and must-have accents for your home or office.

   During the next few minutes, we’ll be visiting stores in Merrifield, Fair Oaks and Gainesville, Virginia. Let’s start with Merrifield’s Café, which is located in the center of the nursery at our Merrifield location. Lilienne Conklin, our extraordinary chef, prepares fresh, healthy soups, sandwiches and salads daily. Breakfast is served all day long and be sure to check out the daily specials. After grabbing a bite to eat, let’s wander through the annuals and perennials sections.

   Step into the annuals section, where you’ll be greeted by a sea of pansies. What’s great about pansies is that they’re winter annuals, which means you can plant them now and they’ll continue to live and bloom until next summer’s heat. Pansies, violas and hybrids - called panolas - have vibrant colors or soft pastel shades that suit any color scheme. For best results, get them planted soon to allow time to get their roots established before the really cold weather. You’ll also need to check on them every couple of weeks throughout the winter to see that they have enough water to prevent them from drying out.

   Chrysanthemums are also spectacular now, blooming in all the colors of fall. With a long and storied history, chrysanthemums have been grown in gardens for over 500 years. This had led to hundreds of varieties of flower shapes, colors and sizes. Also stop by the perennials section and discover our collection of reliably hardy mums including Igloo, Bolero, Samba and Sheffeld varieties in a wide range of colors.

   Inside the store, you’ll find Merrifield’s custom blended grass seed, lawn fertilizers and everything else you could possibly need to keep your lawn green and your garden healthy. And you’ll meet experienced, knowledgeable plant specialists, such as Tim Guy, to help answer all of your garden questions. Tim, who has worked at Merrifield for 34 years, is our go-to guy for anything you need to know about gardening. He puts his encyclopedic knowledge of the plant world to work for our customers every day.

   There are many, many other things to see here at the Merrifield location, but that’ll have to wait for another day. Now it’s time to venture out to the Fair Oaks location of Merrifield Garden Center, just eight miles down the road. Arriving at Fair Oaks, we’ll begin our tour inside the store. The first thing you will notice is a huge display of bulbs.

   Lining the walls of the store are tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, iris, alliums, cyclamens and many other bulbs that you’ve probably never heard of. These bulbs can be planted anytime before Christmas. During the fall and winter, they establish their roots. After fulfilling the required weeks of time in the ground, they’re ready to bloom and you’ll be rewarded with cheerful flowers in the spring. Now is the time to get started.

   After looking around the store, you can visit the greenhouse packed with tropical beauty and seasonal color. Begonias, florist mums, dish gardens and orchids are just a few of the flowering plants that can brighten up your home or give as a gift. Before long, as you’re surrounded with bananas, palm and dracaenas, you begin to forget that you’re in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Let your imagination take you to your favorite tropical paradise and just enjoy the displays and all the greenery.

   When you’re at Fair Oaks, you’ll meet Peg Bier, David Yost and Debbie Capp, who star in our television show “Merrifield’s Gardening Advisor.” Our interesting and informative show airs every Saturday at 8 a.m. on NewsChannel 8. Check it out!

   Again, we could spend all day here at Fair Oaks, but we want to be sure there’s time to look around our newest store located in Gainesville, Va. Arriving at the Gainesville location, the first reaction is always, ‘Wow, this place is big!’ With 37,000- square feet of greenhouse and 11,000-sq. ft. of store space and acres of trees, shrubs and flowers, you can be sure to find everything you need for your next landscape project. In addition to offering gardening products, the Gainesville location has expanded to include a wine shop, pet care products, a dog park, hand dipped ice cream and more.

   There’s so much to see here at the Gainesville location, it’s hard to decide where to begin our tour. But since it’s October and many of the trees and shrubs are beginning to show their fall color, let’s peruse this part of the nursery.

   In the tree section, the black gum trees are already a blazing red. One of the first trees to announce that fall is here, black gum is a wonderful, native tree that will tolerate dense, poorly drained soil better than most other trees. A recent introduction is ‘Wildfire’, which features burgundy leaves in the spring that mature to a dark green before turning red in the fall.

   Sugar maples reach their peak color just a bit later in the season. With yellow, orange and red colors often showing in the same tree at the same time, these are some of the most brilliant trees in the fall landscape. ‘Legacy’ and ‘Green Mountain’ are two varieties that withstand hot, dry conditions better than other varieties and are a good choice for our region. Sugar maples grow quite large, over 60’tall and 40’ wide, and cast a dense shade. So give it some room to grow!

   If space is limited, consider planting a paperbark maple, which matures at about 20’ tall. This tree is also prized for its upright form, dense growth, gorgeous red leaves in the fall and exfoliating bark.

   As you browse through the fabulous fall foliage, be sure to say hello to Robert Woodman, our plant specialist with the big smile and British accent. You may already have met him on HGTV’s popular show “Curb Appeal.” Before joining the Merrifield team, Robert worked for the prestigious Kew Gardens in England.

   Moving on to the shrub area, you may be surprised to see camellias in bloom. These shrubs flower in October, November and early December - and have been developed to withstand cold, winter weather. Camellias are shade plants, but require a few hours of sun each day to bloom well. Plant a camellia in a sheltered part of your garden and enjoy the blooms as all your other flowers are beginning to fade.

   As you can see, each of the three Merrifield Garden Center locations has much to offer. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our excitement of the fall season!

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Chef's Corner

   We’re excited to introduce a new feature – Lilienne’s Recipes.

   Lilienne Conklin is the fantastic chef at our Merrifield location. For months now, she’s been spoiling our customers – and employees! – with her tasty dishes. Her delicious sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts are such a hit that we wanted to share her recipes with you every month in this newsletter.

   “I love feeding people,” says Lilienne, who has been cooking since she was 14. “It’s a nurturing thing. It’s feeding their soul. It’s like as long as people are eating, everything is OK.”

   Before joining the Merrifield Garden Center team, Lilienne operated her own catering company, where she planned and prepared meals for weddings, special occasions and funerals.

   “I felt privileged to cook for some of the most important days of people’s lives,” she says.

   You’ll notice Lilienne’s Italian heritage in her recipes – and her love of fresh herbs. “You get loads of flavor without adding calories or fat,” she says. “Herbs are inexpensive and easy to grow in your garden at home. I use them every day.”

Here’s this month’s recipes. Enjoy!!! And be sure to visit Lilienne at our Merrifield Café!

Potato Gratin with Zucchini and Fresh Herbs
(Serves Six)

3 large russet potatoes
2 zucchini
3 red peppers
2.5 cups of grated gruyere cheese
About 2 cups of heavy whipping cream (don't substitute!)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 sprig each of thyme, sage and rosemary
Coarse salt and freshly cracked white pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 and generously butter a 9X12 gratin dish.

Heat cream on low heat in heavy sauce pan with the garlic and herbs. Let mixture steep for about 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Thinly slice the potatoes and zucchini using a very sharp knife or a mandoline into about 1/8 inch-thick slices. Place the sliced potatoes in a pan of water to prevent browning.

Roast the red peppers over the flame of a gas stove until the skin is well charred on all sides. Place the peppers in a sealed paper bag and let them soften and cool for about 15 minutes. Peel the skin from the peppers and slice into strips. You can also purchase roasted red peppers in a jar. Be sure to drain them well and dry with a paper towel.

Drain and dry the potatoes well. Strain the garlic and herbs from the cream. Pour enough cream to just coat the bottom of the prepared gratin dish and layer the potatoes on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a layer of zucchini and then a layer of red pepper strips. Add 1/3 of the cheese mixture and continue with layers, ending with the potatoes. While firmly pressing down on the potato layers with a large spoon, pour remaining cream over the top and down the sides, adding enough to cover the vegetables. Reserve 1/4 cup of cheese to finish the gratin.

Cover the casserole tightly with foil and place gratin dish on a cookie sheet lined with foil (You'll thank me later - I promise you!) Cook for 45-50 minutes, uncover and top with the cheese. Continue to bake an additional 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the cream is nearly absorbed. Let the gratin sit for an additional 10 minutes before serving. This dish can be served hot or warm and reheats well. Garnish the top with sprigs of herbs.

Enjoy!

You can also use different herb combinations and substitute fontina, gouda, swiss or goat cheese for the gruyere.

Rosemary Pear Butter

2 cups pear nectar
1 cinnamon stick
2 sprigs rosemary
4 lbs. Ripened pears
1 drop fresh lemon juice
½ cup wildflower honey

Peel and chop pears, place in stock pot. Add the nectar and cinnamon stick. Simmer for 30 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the cinnamon stick and puree the pears. Transfer to large baking dish and add the honey, rosemary and cinnamon. Bake two to three hours until the sauce is thick, stirring often. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Cool completely. Can according to standard canning methods or freeze in individual containers.

Enjoy with cambozola cheese, toasted walnuts and fresh rosemary.

Marinara Sauce

1 can San Marzano tomatoes, which have been crushed
2 chopped garlic cloves
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
6 or so basil leaves
Fresh bay leaf
Pinch of sugar
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Extra sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh chopped parsley

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Heat gently and add chopped garlic. Don't let the garlic burn, just cook until it's fragrant. Add the tomatoes, basil, bay and sugar. Let this bubble for a bit and when you're ready to serve, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add red pepper flakes if desired. Toss pasta and finish with Parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with rough chopped parsley.