It was an amazing flower season! The fields felt like they were at their peak most of the time and all our members made it up to enjoy the joyful blooms. Everything felt full and accomplished. Considering this was my first full season, I was tempered in making sure each success was approached with a realistic bandwidth. Many many people offered all sorts of fun recommendations on how to grow the farm. But for myself, Lisa and Silvan, we had plenty going on. In fact, there were moments where we felt we weren't going to be able to harvest all the flowers at their peak. Growth takes time and a realistic viewpoint of what your capacity is.
Bring on my new friend Deidre, with Boho Bouquets. She contacted me about flower availability for an upcoming wedding. I had encouraged her to come to the farm and spend a little time in the flowers, because this place heals you. She agreed to come up. Right away I could tell that it might take a minute to let the busy pace of life let down a bit and slowly started to take her and her friend George through the flower fields. I could gently see that childhood joy and wonder start to set in to their faces. She and George started playing in the flowers and interacting with them with a childlike curiosity. Within 20 minutes they were smiling, calm and full of wonder about all the different blooms to be seen. After I gave them time to enjoy their new found experience, we talked flowers. Soon after we talked about hosting a wreath workshop together. It's something I have certainly been interested but I always feel that having a partner in workshops makes the experience that much sweeter.
We added 2 workshops to my shop and off we went! The first workshop was still warm and in late summer weather. We almost complained about the heat by the end of it. I was so impressed with Deidre's skills on creating a wreath and we all ended up having a wonderful day. Our attendees honed their wreath making skills and were brave in the creations. I was so proud of everyone for fighting their perfecting natures and making something beautiful. We shared lots of smiles and laughter and you could tell that the flower magic had captivated them as well.
Our second workshop, a week later, was early winter. That's Reno weather for you. There was a little more bundling up but our participants had a blast (some even brought wine). The dahlias had navigated the cooler temperature but had been a bit frosted. So the magic was apparent in a more dried flower form. Still amazing fun and joy!
Making a new connection can invite bravery, confidence and the ability to be daring. I rarely worry about presenting or guiding people but having a new friend to shape the workshop and have a shared experience made it so much better. I am so grateful for my new friendship with Deidre.
As we move into the holiday season, I think a lot about gifting experiences and perishable items so we encourage the importance of connection with others. The last thing any of us need is another thing to find a place for. What I have found with a walk on the farm with a friend or enjoying a bouquet of flowers, is that you are gently capturing a moment in time. These types of experiences help add to the richness of life whether its calling to your friend to see the cool flower your looking at, finding a sleeping bumble bee nestled into a big bloom or enjoying the bundle of flowers on your table so you can sit and enjoy the beauty they add to your week. Ultimately, I am so grateful for not only the success of the flowers this year but the community it has opened me up to. Friends old and new. It is planting and planning season but when those tulips start to pop up, I will revel in the fact that nature has cycles. Observe and enjoy things when they are in front of you, know they are resting and renewing the soil and take in the wonder of new growth and renewal that the spring will bring.
Thank you for reading!
