They profess that Allen lives there and calls this estate home most of the time. We were quite incredulous - especially when we traipsed through his personal areas of the home such as his bedroom and bathroom and kitchen. But there were certain areas, such as this beautiful outdoor kitchen, that make it easy to picture him entertaining friends.
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Passed these sheep and the tour guide explained that they're a specific type of sheep that does not require shearing. At a certain point, they "drop" their coats and begin the process all over.
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One of two "drying houses" on property. They seemed to be octagonal in shape and were simply a structure used to dry various plants, inside and away from the elements.
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Inside of the drying house
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Still inside the drying house
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Looking at the back of the home. There are three levels and two screened porches. That top one is a "sleeping porch" that you'll see a bit more of in a little bit. It's outfitted with 3 twin beds and a lovely tub for taking a bath al fresco.
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| Walking the grounds. That's our guide, Diane. She was lovely. |
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| Allen is puppy friendly, though we saw none while we were there. He apparently has some large beasts that are unleashed at night to patrol the property and keep any critters out of the gardens. |
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The demographics were all over the place. There wasn't one definitive demographic group. We had men and women and the ages ranged from a few children (whom I'm sure would have rather been ANYWHERE else) then early 20s to maybe early 80s. There were people who kept mostly quiet and didn't speak much and then a few who asked too many questions and questions not for the good of the whole. Whoever said there's no such thing as a dumb question really has never gotten out and experienced life. If you've ever been on a tour, in a work meeting, a brainstorming session, or in a public Q&A, you know that's just not the case.
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I truly don't know if it was staged or not but we turned the corner during our tour and there was the man himself, caught taping a segment for his show.
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| He came up and spoke with us, asking Alison "and from where did you come today?" She answered, "Nashville," as they shook hands (she said they were buttery soft but it was a nice, firm shake). He responded,"mmm...Davidson County. I like counties." Then he stepped back and talked to us about edible flowers and the garden that we were about to enter. |
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Watching Allen eat a pansy while talking to us about edible flowers.
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We might very well be in an upcoming episode of Allen's show.
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Snack time
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Our group examines a garden
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To say each garden and path and trail we visited was manicured is a bit of an understatement. Allen's property is flanked on one side by the Arkansas River, providing beautiful views.
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Did we stop and smell the roses? Yes. Over and over again.
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Beautiful garden "rooms" were decorated with "furniture" including sculpted shrubs and statues and babbling fountains
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Finally, it was time for lunch and we were hungry and ready to sit and rest. Lunch was a delicious salad with grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, olives, new potatoes, cucumbers and a divine vinaigrette, some really good iced tea, and a delicious buttermilk pecan pie.
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At lunch, we looked over and there was Allen dining at an adjacent table. We both admitted we were glad he didn't sit with us as that would have been nerve wracking and a lot of pressure keeping up a proper conversation with him. I would have been forced to answer truthfully when he asked me about my spring planting and say that I bought a fern at Costco a couple of weeks ago and, so far, it's still alive.
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When he was finished eating, he took and welcomed us and then took questions from the audience.
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The Q&A was followed by a demonstration of peony arranging. It was like watching a magician tell a story while fiddling with balloons and then at the end of his story, he's constructed the Battlestar Galactica. He was just waxing poetic about peonies and then BAM! he's constructed a gorgeous arrangement.
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After lunch, you could have your picture made with him, get an autograph, or have him sign cookbooks and recipe cards and garden tip books.
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This statue greeted visitors as you entered the home and the tour guides seemed really excited about it. When Allen found or acquired it, it was in a state of disrepair, missing a hand and nose and the head was detached. He found a renowned statue repair artisan who was able to put her back together.
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There were fresh flower arrangements all throughout the house, with flowers picked from the various gardens on the property.
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Again, one of the most striking parts of the tour is that we were traipsing through this poor man's personal home. Now, don't misunderstand. He made roughly $11,000 gross today before expenses so he's not running a charity here, but still. The volume of people basically nosing around his home, touching pillows and looking here, there and everywhere and just invading his inner sanctum made me more than a little uncomfortable. We really wanted to peek inside his fridge but resisted.
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This is a photograph of a charity event where Allen was invited to decorate a table. He realized that he needed something spectacular for the centerpiece so he chose a pair of taxidermied swans. How did he acquire them? Well, he has several ponds on his property and decided he wanted swans to grace one of them so he bought two swans. Unfortunately, they were both males and immediately took to fighting once they were placed in the pond. The next day, a gardener reported that the swans had in fact drowned each other during the night. Allen has a reputation for never throwing anything away so he stored the swans in a freezer for 8 months, not sure what to do with them. Then this event came up and he decided this was the perfect way to use them.
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Breakfast nook
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This is the middle deck that you saw on the back of the house earlier. Look at those views.
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Sitting area on middle deck
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Allen had a postcard with this Indian chief's portrait on it. I've already forgotten his name, but he stood quite tall at 7'1" so Allen had the post card blown up to actual size.
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Reading nook. That is an actual bear skin but I guess it's not a rug per se.
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The "sleeping porch" on the top deck. At first there were 6 twin beds here and Allen, upon seeing it, said, "this looks like a Civil War hospital. Remove three of them." The breeze was lovely and I could absolutely imagine sleeping out there one crisp, autumn night.
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He's just an average man. Puts his pants on one leg at a time and uses Aveeno, just like Jennifer Aniston.
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A swan in happier times. And every apple in the house (and there were dozens upon dozens) was real.
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On the grounds is also a guest cottage, which was cute and sweet and thoughtfully decorated.
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Caught snooping again. Garnier Fructis.
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If he's known for something other than beautiful gardens and a green thumb, kitchen tips and expert decorating advice, it's raising chickens. He had many different varieties, but I just took a picture of a couple of interesting looking ones. Please don't ask me what kind these are.
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Chicks
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| Allen paints as a side gig and is, of course, amazing as I really don't know anything he's tried his hand at and failed. This was in the restroom, seemingly very much an afterthought, but I found it lovely and so representative of the sweeping vistas we saw while on our tour. |
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Webster defines a friend as "a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard." All I know is I'm so blessed to share this ride with her and beyond grateful that she's my person.
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