WBAL and Valley View Farms Collaboration 2024

 

Extras Abby, Georgie, Matthew and Marlin were on set this week

Last week, WBAL's crew produced 10 + commercials and 5 upcoming Sunday Gardener segments in our greenhouse. Scott, Sandy, Jen, Rachel, Matt and others from Valley View Farms created the set for us. Wow, it is beautiful and will remain up through next weekend, March 2 and 3.  

Sandy, Scott and Jen

The sod was brought in last fall and laid out in our unheated greenhouse. When it was moved to our heated glass greenhouse, it was still dormant. The heat, light, and water turned it green in two weeks. 

An amazing mid-February lawn

The house facade was slightly updated from last year. A stockade fence served as a backdrop. Scott and his crew added a flagstone patio, a gravel seating area, a dry stream bed, (later a pond; thanks Carl and Nick), and a nice stone bench. The team then "planted" the trees and shrubs, adding pansies, bulbs, perennials and annuals as needed throughout the week of filming. The sky was clear blue, without a cloud (or wrinkle). Curtained windows and doors added to the realism of the house. Didn't they do a great job?

Beautiful set in our greenhouse

I could spend some time here

WBAL's crew, led by  Senior Producer/Director Don, moved in Monday to set up the cameras, lights, monitors, audio system and much more. Photographer Mike, gaffers and grips Stu, Mark and Rhett got everything ready and were able to start shooting Monday. 

"Playback!"

Rhett, Mark, and Stu

Our Garden Shop kept everything going, providing product, people and knowledge to lead the shoot and worked very closely with Don. Annie, WBAL's Commercial Production Manager, kept thing organized, provided call times, set up the script, worked with the teleprompter, timed the segments and did anything else that came up. 

Annie, Don, and Mike (behind the camera) review 

Dick P, our advertising agent, had already written the commercial scripts and had them okayed with our vendors. He, with Brian, Annie, and Don, made sure the scripts were followed and that the actions that accompanied the scripts were relevant. 

Kevin, our Armstrong Bird Feed vendor, sets up the product shot with our Garden Shop manager Brian

Another member of the crew, Dawn, provided make-up and hair styling for our "talent" including Carrie, Rachel F, Brent, and Rachel W.

Photographer Mike and Rachel W

Dawn had her work cut out for her

Most of the commercials were shot by Thursday. Mike, our cameraman, was taking still photos on the go too. The results of all of the work on the shoot was phenomenal. 

Mike looks, listens, and photographs us for Sunday Gardener

Yes, Rachel and Scott really did vacuum the lawn

Ava Marie stopped by in late morning to do the Sunday Gardener segments with Carrie. We usually do this without lights, the fancy set, and all of the perks we had set up. We were able to use the set for all 5 of the episodes, airing through March at about 9:20 am Sundays on WBAL TV 11.  The vendor  commercials will air from March thru June.

It was a lot of work, but what fun we had!

We look forward to doing this again in 2025. The technology has really changed in the 30 years we've been collaborating with WBAL TV 11.

Thank you to our vendors who invest in our ads. 

Thank you to all my un-named coworkers for keeping the store running, plants watered, and providing customer service to all who stopped in this week. 

And, a big thank you to Dan J, CEO at WBAL, and Andy F, CEO of Valley View Farms for providing all the people and resources that we used to create these videos. 

Photos provided by Mike from  WBAL, and Jen, Scott, Rachel, Cynthia, and Carrie from Valley View Farms

Plant of the Week: Helleborus

Hellebores are a perennial favorite for early blooming.

What's not to love about Helleborus? The first perennial to bloom in the new year, they are very hardy, have evergreen leaves, and that is just the beginning of all that is good about Helleborus. They grow in part sun to full shade, are resistant to pests and diseases, including deer, and make adorable cut flowers for this time of year. 

Beautiful cut flowers for late winter/early spring

Mine are beginning to bloom now. I wait to clean up older leaves as the flowers appear. New leaves will fill in in no time and the flowers will be on upright stems above the foliage. Also called Lenten Rose, a nod to their blooming time, Hellebores have become a very sought after perennial. 

Our growers offer an amazing variety of Hellebores

Newer breeding has led to cup shaped flowers, many with yellow centers, that stand up straight, unlike the nodding flowers of earlier varieties. Frostkiss have been bred for the upright blooms that are borne above the mottled bushy evergreen foliage. The flowers come in different shades, of red, pink, purple, cream, and almost black. 

The Frostkiss is a beautiful, newer variety

When they were planted over a decade ago, we created a river of hellebores through our shady foundation planting in front of the house. Surrounded by other shade tolerant plants like Osmanthus (False Holly), Cephalotaxus (Japanese Plum Yew), and various hostas and ferns, the Hellebores have thrived. Deer have left them alone; even the discovery of a nearby rabbit warren left me worry-free. I do admit to spraying the hostas with a deer repellent. 

Consider planting Hellebores early this year. You'll be sure to enjoy them for many years to come. Click on the Plant Finder tab on the Valley View Farms website to see the many varieties that we may carry this year.