Joe Lamp’l Comes to Spokane

If you’ve been watching my Facebook and Instagram accounts, you know that Joe Lamp’l (host and executive producer of the PBS program, “Growing a Greener World”) recently came to Spokane. I thought you might enjoy hearing a little bit about his visit.

Joe is based in the Atlanta area but was invited to give the keynote presentation at the Spokane County Master Gardeners’ fall banquet. Since he’d been in Spokane in 2016 to film an episode of his show in our garden, he accepted the invitation. And we were all delighted, of course!

When he arrived the afternoon of Oct. 9, he was shocked to learn we’d had a freak snowstorm the night before, which blanketed the area with a few inches of heavy, wet snow. There were trees down all over town and a lot of power outages. Somehow, we managed to be spared those problems, thank heavens.

That was actually our SECOND snowstorm of the season, believe it or not — which is very early for our region. When I’d told Joe about the first snowstorm in late September, he joked with me that he was cancelling his plans because “I don’t DO snow!” Thank heavens he was just kidding, although I reassured him the storm was a fluke and that it wouldn’t snow during his visit.

Well, I was right: technically, it didn’t show DURING his visit but we had 4″ of snow on the ground, daytime highs in the mid-40s and nighttime lows of the mid-20s. Not exactly the balmy weather Joe is used to! As a matter of fact, up until a few days ago, the South had been experiencing a prolonged heat wave and drought. While our temperatures might have been “refreshing,” I’m sure they were a huge shock, too.

On Wed. night, Joe had dinner at our house (top left photo and photo at right), along with our friends Bill and Julie McElroy. It was so much fun! I just wish Joe could have seen our garden but everything was buried with snow.

I’ve had a lot of folks ask me what the menu was, so just in case you’re curious, too, here it is:

Salmon that my Bill caught up in British Columbia this summer, accompanied by a creamy lemon sauce (Bill prepared both and they were absolutely heavenly); brown rice; steamed carrots from the garden; a beet salad (yes, the beets were also from the garden and lettuce from our winter garden); and an apple pie for dessert, with Jonagolds from our little organic orchard. Joe and the McElroys seemed to enjoy all aspects of the dinner. It was a treating just relaxing together and having a nice visit.

On Thursday afternoon, I picked up Joe and took him to a local greenhouse (Vicki’s Garden Center) to film promotional spots for “Growing a Greener World” (which airs in Spokane at 7:30 on Saturday mornings) as well as our local public television station, KSPS. (see photo at left)

They shot about 5 different videos and I was impressed with Joe’s ability to quickly memorize what to say and deliver his messages with warmth and enthusiasm. I think Joe appreciated being in a nice, toasty greenhouse for that part of his visit!

Later that afternoon, Bill and I took him to the fall banquet at the Spokane Convention Center. It was a treat having him at our table, along with several gardening friends, and to listen to Joe’s presentation. I have to tell you, everyone enjoyed having the opportunity to witness Joe’s warmth, passion, and enthusiasm while he gave us a behind-the-scenes look at his 10 seasons of “Growing a Greener World.” I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from folks.

Sadly, the evening was over before we knew it. We took Joe back to his hotel and there were hugs all around. Bill and I are feeling a little sad that he’s already back in Atlanta, but we’re staying in touch and hoping to connect on his side of the country at some point.

Thank you, Joe, for taking the time to come to Spokane and make this year’s fall banquet so special!