Favorite Season
I had a moment today harvesting the cosmos. I was surprised there weren’t as many as I thought, but then it clicked. It’s fall. The days are shorter and the evenings are much, much cooler. This will be the last round of cosmos until June of next year. Many ask what my favorite flower is and I usually say snapdragons…but I think cosmos are the real delight. The way my eyes blur to spy just the perfect bloom. Just opened with its first pollen ring not quite forming. Or the way I tenderly hold the flower head as my other hand instinctively taps the right stem and cuts an armlength away. And then…it is how a harvest comfortably cradles in my arms and the flower heads bounce about as I walk back to put them in the bucket for delivery. It makes my heart sing. Everytime.
But there are so many moments that are causing me to pause and be in awe. I utilize my days in the garden to practice being hyper present in the moment. A gift I give myself to always greet the garden and have her tell me what she needs. And then I compare to my mental notes of what needs to happen. Being in fall, means I have lots of notes of what needs to happen. The spring plantings need to get in the ground, and the greenhouse is full of successes and failures. Yes it will be a banger spring for agrostemma, but the larkspur will need another go. Probably convincing me to switch back to the QIS variety I planted our first year and then saved seed from. Seeds that you can actually buy from San Diego Seed Company. Brijette even named it after us.
The seed corner is piling up quite high. Eager for our first rainy day to encourage us to go inside and sort, sift, and package. Winter is coming, you can see it in the sycamore trees. Earlier this year than past years. Some say it will be a mild winter, but I have a different sense. And I’m getting ready to enjoy the last of this year’s bounty.
We put away all of spring’s dried flowers, and are busy putting up more flowers to dry, including the red strawflower, snowy limonium, and puffy celosia for our holiday wreaths. This year, we are inviting my good friend Areli to come up to the farm to design wreaths on November 2nd. Areli was the first person to show me how to weave a wreath out of grapevine and is hands down the best instructor to tap into creating something truly beautiful for you to take home.
It is my favorite season on the farm. Fall. The peak summer days are behind us, yet the plants we planted back in July are just now blooming, giving us a beautiful spectrum of fall colors. Golden oranges, bright pinks, purples, and textures, textures, textures. Our bodies are strong and the steadiness of harvest and planting is slowing down. The perfect medicine for our tiredness, it is dark in the morning and a little extra sleep just feels so tempting.
Because it’s my favorite season and December is for family, birthday celebrations, and rest, this will be your last opportunity to come to the farm before next year. I filled it up with some of the most delightful experiences. Flower design with Native Poppy, pumpkin decorating with dried flowers, and an evening of creative writing with snacks and new friends. I’m looking forward to having you here. We offer sliding scale classes to help make our workshops more accessible. Especially in these times, as the world around us is changing and we’re eager for a place to just be, take a moment, and surround ourselves by beauty and creativity.
“Making art gives you agency in a world where we have little control. Creativity is our power to enact change. Artists bring order to the chaos.”
