The gardens at Paula’s are in full bloom, which means all the fruit trees are loaded down with fruit. 

On the property we have kumquats, loquats, 14 varieties of bananas, olive trees, blueberries, peaches, pears, apples, lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges and plums. That’s a whole lot of fruit, y’all!

The bananas bloomed in January with giant purple blooms. The pear tree is in full bloom now and is stunning.  The new peach tree is loaded with baby peaches.  The loquats limbs are bending to the ground with so much fruit.  The kumquats still have plenty of fruit left over from winter, and the citrus trees are loaded with blooms, which means we will have a bumper crop this year.

The smell in the citrus garden is intoxicating.  The olive trees are just now showing olives, and the plum trees are producing too. I hope you enjoy my collection of pictures from the property I took this morning.

Paula and I both have a great love of orchids, but I seem to keep them alive in my home; she somehow kills all of them. 

So I was recently at a friend’s house and noticed they had stunning orchids.  I asked her what her secret was, her response LiveOak Orchids.  I couldn’t get the number quick enough from her to give to Paula.  This company has transformed Paula’s home into an orchid showplace.  Now everyone who visits the house comments on Paula’s orchids. 

They are low upkeep and add great color to any home.  Check out LiveOak Orchids on Facebook, they ship too!  Paula has a great collection of containers that we place the orchids. 

We change up the containers often and put in different locations.  We love to keep white orchids in Paula’s bathroom to blend with all the marble.  I like a punch of color in the foyer to welcome guests. Take a look at my pictures I took this morning and I hope it inspires you to bring an orchid or two into your home. 

Here’s a silver container we found at an antique store. It’s also really useful for storing plants. It looks great against all of the blue and aqua tones in Paula’s living room.

So its late in the Summer at Paula’s house and I took a walk around the property this morning to see how things are growing.  First stop the catfish pond, which Oprah made famous when she went fishing there with Paula.  Early in May I went a bought Lotus and Water Hyacinth for the pond.  They have exploded in the pond and the fish have loved hiding under and feeding on them.  We also go a surprise from my purchase.  Some of the plants had koi fish eggs attached to them.  They hatched and we have six eight inch koi living in the pond now.  The other fish don’t seem to mind them.  I was also at battle with the ducks early spring because they were eating my plants in the pond but the plants are now growing faster than the ducks can eat.  I did have to take out the water lilies because they almost ate them to death. I place them in the Koi pond and they have made a come back.  I think the pond just looks stunning and all the animals seem to be happy!

Aunt Peggy’s cottage just got 2 new planters for Fall.  It’s a great pop of color on her porch and she will be thrilled on her next visit to see them.

Walking thru the Citrus garden all the trees are loaded with fruit.  We have Myer Lemons, Lime, Kumquats, Satsuma’s, and Grapefruit.  The limes make the best Gin and Tonics I must say! Paula makes a killer sugarfree lemonade with the lemons every year!! We also have tons of pears and figs in that garden.

The Herb garden is out of control! We have enough basil for all of Savannah. The smell is amazing when you walk by. I think we have six different types of basil growing in the garden.  My friend Nancy McCarley has been making me amazing pesto with some of the basil.  I love it on my sandwiches for lunch or on crackers with a glass of wine.

We got two new members of the family this week too. Meet the Golden Girls, two new golden chickens. These hens have really hit the jackpot at Paula’s hen house!! They have settled in just fine.

I also have to say thanks to Live Oak Orchids of Savannah Paula has the prettiest orchids in the state!! The smell of these is just killer.  Paula and I both adore orchids and keep our homes full of them.

So late summer at Paula Deen’s is not a bad place to be to me! Every morning I spend at least 20 minutes walking the grounds and enjoying all the beauty.  So take a little time to stop and smell the roses before winter hits.

So, it’s true, I planned my own surprise birthday party and it was…fabulous!

Listen, I know I am a control freak, so I just go with it! I love paying attention to all of the little details of party planning.

Here’s what I did:

I chose my favorite fine dinning restaurant Noble Fare, and they were kind enough to close the entire restaurant just for my party. Thank you so much to Jenny and Patrick, the owners.  And of course Cheryl from Back in the Day Bakery had to do my cakes, yes I had more than one cake!

Pictures of the cakes, courtesy of Cheryl Day.

They were out of this world! I had 33 guests including my parents from Mississippi and Michael and Paula!

I love all the coffee table books I received.

My parents gave me a design book I have wanted to add to my collection. Paula gave me a giant gold leaf shell that I filled with turtle shells and placed in my living room.  I made all the guests give toast and tell what I mean to them.  It was so funny to hear their toasts; the whole night was a blast!

This shell is the accent piece for my living room.

I totally suggest throwing your own surprise party.  Patrick, the chef, served all my favorite dishes like Heirloom Tomato Basil Bisque, House Rules Salad, Ahi Tuna Tartar, Vindaloo Chicken, New York Striptease, and Alaskan Halibut! It was a night I shall never forget, and not because of all my gifts!

Next party please!:
Well, now I am planning Corrie’s, Paula’s niece, gender revel party that Paula is throwing for her. The party is to revel the sex of the baby - have y’all ever been to one?

The gender will be revealed once Corrie and Brian cut the cake. The inside of the cake will be dyed blue or pink depending on the sex of the baby.  Cheryl from Back in the Day Bakery is making (you can tell we love her!).  We are going to toast with champagne that Oprah sent Paula as a gift. We have been waiting for just the perfect time to drink that champagne!

For this party, I am planning a sit-down dinner in the dinning room for 16 guests. The amazing Susan Mason will be catering, so Paula can truly enjoy the party. All guests are wearing pink or blue to represent their guess of whether or not it will be a boy or a girl.  The party should be a very special night at Paula’s home. I am going shoot this party and put in an upcoming of Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine so y’all can enjoy, too!

We just finished at Paula’s house planting the new summer gardens. Paula has an amazing gardener named Steven Boyce who always comes up with bright and new inventive plantings.

Last fall, Paula chose several different tropical bulbs of Alocasia and Colocasia. Steven got them in the first part of the year, and has been growing them off in the green house. She decided that she wanted her garden to have more of a tropical feel, so we also planted many banana trees.

For color this year, we planted tons of Angel Wing Begonias, Impatiens, a wonderful bed of Sun Coleus by the koi pond, and even planted 200 Amaryllis buds, to cut and bring in doors for table arrangements. We also added our own peach tree onto the property!

Paula’s citrus garden is in full bloom, with tons and tons of lemons, limes, tangerines, grapefruits and kumquats. Also, on the croquet court for loquats are loaded down and everyone that sees them goes over and picks them to eat. This is the third year of the garden.

The rule of thumb is, first year: sleep, second year: creep, and third year: leap! That saying is currently holding true at Paula’s; everything is leaping!!

Planting your own garden? Here are four tips to keep in mind:

1. When planting bedding plants, a great tip is to sacrifice the first blooms, by pinching them off. By sacrificing the blooms, you encourage a healthier and branchier plant.

2. Don’t forget to fertilize!  We like to use Osmocote, which is a slow-release fertilizer. At my house I prefer to use the Miracle Grow spray wand, but I have a much smaller garden.

3.  I always like to add new soil to my garden every year since the minerals in the old soil tend to get bleached out.

4. Also, read the small tags, which will tell you where to plant your plants.  A lot of people plant Impatiens in the sun – it’s a shade plant! (It’s a pet peeve of mine!

At my garden, I planted all white and green. White Impatiens, white Christmas Caladiums. It’s more of English boxwoods feel. I planted climbing white roses on my white picket fence, which are currently in full bloom. And I am most proud of my latest plant vine, which is a ten-foot tall seeded eucalyptus tree. This is the second year of my garden, so we’re just in the creeping stage. I do like the depth that my Japanese Red Maple gives the garden!

Do you garden? I’d love to hear about it, no matter how big or small!

Best dishes,
Brandon

So a few months ago Paula had Liza Minnelli on her show and I got to spend some time with Liza. She was everything I could have hoped for and more.  We sat at Paula’s dining table and had lunch, The Lady & Sons, of course!  That was a moment I will never forget.  I mean, how many times do you get to say that you got to eat fried chicken with show biz and entertainment legend, Liza Minnelli? Also Paula and Liza in Paula’s chicken coop is a moment also I will never forget.  Liza was dressed in Gucci holding a chicken, you know, just another day at work.  One of the best things about my job is all the amazing people I get to meet.  Every day is different and wonderful, and I’m so thankful for it. I wouldn’t change any of it.

On a different topic, my house is coming right along.  I have tons of furniture on order, rugs coming in and am out antiquing almost every day.  It’s a lot of work on top of my job, but a lot of fun!  My guest bedroom is done except for the drapes which are being made.  I chose a bold color for my bedroom- Real Red from Sherwin Williams!  That room is still under construction so I don’t have a picture right now, but stay tuned.  I found the perfect table for my foyer.  It reminds me of Louis Vuitton luggage.  And I love the antique runner that I found at my favorite antique store Seventh Heaven in Savannah. 

Living in Savannah no home is complete without a bar, so here is mine tucked underneath the staircase. 

I found these great black urns for my mantel at a store called Hobby Lobby.  I got all 4 for under $50.00 and filled them with orchids and Myrtle topiaries.  I love the look it gives me and it didn’t cost a fortune!

Next blog- the heat and my garden!!

Christmas is the hardest month on me because so much has to be done in a short amount of time!

At Paula’s we normally go all out with all kinds of beautiful decorations. But, this year Paula only wanted two Christmas trees in her home.  (Last year I did seven!) So this year I put up an 18’ tall tree up in the living room and a 9’ tall tree in the kitchen.  Can you believe that the living room tree took one whole day? And to top it all off, I don’t care for height and climbing up and down, so 16’ tall ladder I used was not fun! 

The kitchen tree Paula decorated by herself and I only came in and just helped with the top part. This is the tree she calls her “Children’s Tree”. It’s where she puts all of her family’s ornaments that she’s collected over the years, like the ones that Bobby and Jamie made when they were little. I did three wonderful mantels in the house of fresh evergreens and dried hydrangeas that we grew on the property. Paula loves using fresh greens and flowers from her property. We finished her house by bringing in poinsettias and fresh wreaths and we called it a day!

By the time I got to my house I was so over Christmas that I just did two mantels and made a fresh wreath for the front of the house.  I did place poinsettias around my home and tons of Christmas candles- they all smell amazing! I couldn’t bring myself to climb another ladder to put up a tree, but I think I’ll make it through the season just fine without.

I’ve included pictures of me working on Paula’s living room tree and a picture of the wreath I made from clippings out of Paula’s yard.

How do y’all decorate at your house? Merry Christmas!

A week ago, I closed on my new home built circa 1892 in historic Downtown Savannah.

I finally have another home to call my own, after bouncing around from home to home for 3 and a half months. The bad news is, every square inch of this house has to be touched by my hands. So I had my contractor immediately tackle the living room, because I need at least one room where I can go to have a little peace. Since I sold my last home fully furnished, I had to start from scratch. In the photo above, you can see what I’ve purchased so far.

Craftmaster, the makers of Paula’s upholstery line for her furniture, custom built me these two sofas. The chandelier and floor lamps came from a killer company called Currey and Company. And the paint color is Benjamin Moore, “Iron Mountain”.

One of my pet peeves is a white ceiling. I paint all of my ceilings. The living room ceiling is a pale, pale gray. I think by painting the ceilings, it just really finishes off a room.

Cream drapes are being made for the windows, floor to ceiling. I’m on the hunt for a killer piece of art to hang above the chest of drawers. And I’m also looking for a coffee table…which isn’t easy, but I’ll keep you updated!

More blogs about my home, and pictures to follow!

And now for a sneak peak of Paula’s home, take a look at this:

Paula recently threw a baby shower for her stepdaughter Michelle Reed. Since she’s having a boy, I wanted to give my centerpiece a masculine flair. Paula recently found this statue of a man at a junk store in Savannah. So I set it atop several blocks of wet oasis, and created a foyer centerpiece. All the flowers and greenery were grown on Paula’s property. I used Casablanca lilies from the cutting garden, oak leaf hydrangeas from the front of the property, and I used English ivy from the pool area. I think the look was quite dramatic for a baby shower, but my philosophy is go big or go home, and that’s what I did!

Stay tuned for my next blog which is all about Liza with a “Z”…and me!

There’s nothing better in the South than sitting on the porch in the afternoon, watching the sun go down, and having a glass of wine. Or in my case a gin and tonic.

I love to transform a porch into a true outdoor room. Just because it’s made for the inside doesn’t mean that it can’t go outdoors.

Luckily, we now have wonderful outdoor fabrics in the market that make things easier for decorating. I love to use whicker, baskets, tons of pillows, and rugs. I have even been known to bring lamps out onto porches. You can always just run it in if the rain is coming!

There’s nothing more wonderful than filling a porch with tons of candles. And in Savannah, citronella candles are your friends. The bugs will carry you away! I love to plant a gardenia or two near the porch, because there’s nothing better than the smell of gardenia at dusk. It’s also always nice to have a potted herb garden on the porch, even it’s just for running your hand through and getting a smell of the fresh herbs.

My dogs Simon and Charlie LOVE to lay out on the porch with me as well. So don’t forget a nice comfy dog bed for the pets. (I love the dog beds from Harry Barker.)

One of my favorite things in the summer to do is to go antiquing and find wonderful containers that cost $5 or $10 and then fill them with annual plants. Even if at the end of the season the container is ruined, at least it’s served a purpose for that season.

I like porches that are monochromatic, and getting a pop of color from the flowers that I use. And if you keep the porch monochromatic, it’s easy to pop color through the season for different parties and events. I personally love to keep the porch all green, because green just seems to work outside. The best thing about outdoor living is that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Paint can be chipping off the chair, the table can be slightly rotting, or you can have mold growing on the rug; it all adds a certain Old Southern charm.

Especially here in the South, we love our giant hanging baskets- the bigger the better. Giant Boston ferns, giant baskets of ivy and impatients. And there’s nothing prettier than a giant hanging basket of red geraniums and English ivy.

If you read my book, Paula Deen’s Savannah Style with Brandon Branch, you will have noticed there are no ceiling fans pictured in the book except for on porches. Indoor ceiling fans are my pet peeve - I don’t believe in them. I believe ceiling fans are only made for porches. With temperatures soaring into the 100’s in the South, a ceiling fan is a nice bonus to an outdoor room.

So this summer get outside, get to decorating, get your hands in the dirt and have a gin and tonic on me!

Photos by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn