collecting flowers in a meadow

the other day we passed a field covered in wild flowers.  we stopped and my daughter picked me a bouquet.  a good reminder to stop and see the beauty!

photos and words by kristen bach

wedding flower remnants

this weekend, a friend of mine got married. a group of us did her wedding flowers using ingredients grown nearby at 3 porch farm and cuttings from our own gardens. i will share more photos from the wedding next week, but here is a simple arrangement that i made yesterday with some of the leftover ingredients.

may is a slow time for flowers around here- the burst of spring flowers has faded and it is a tad early for the summer flowers to be coming in, but mandy & steve had plenty of beautiful things for us to use!

photographs & arrangement by rinne allen

herbed eggs with goat cheese

for sunday brunch, we made some delicious eggs with some farm fresh eggs from the farmers market and some herbs from our garden.  i had gotten a loaf of some currant and pecan bread from our baker friends at the comerian.  it was the perfect sweet and savory combo. 

for 2 servings

1 tsp butter

4 farm fresh eggs

2 Tbsp whole milk or cream

2 dollops of goat cheese

a handful of fresh herbs, chopped (i used parsley, basil, and chives)

salt and pepper

directions

-in a medium sized frying pan, melt the butter on low heat

-crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk in the milk until combined

-pour egg mixture into frying pan, leaving on low heat

-sprinkle in the goat cheese and herbs

-gently fold eggs when needed.  cooking may take 10 minutes or so

-we enjoyed our eggs a little creamy, cook longer if you prefer them to be more well done.

-enjoy!

photos and recipe by kristen bach

flower arranging with my mom

my mom is a big a gardener and a big flower arranger...i loved helping her with both when i was younger...

now, we often arrange together and i love it. she really is a master...she knows all about classic forms, but has a sense of the wild that i love.

recently, we were asked to do an arrangement for a gathering of ladies and we each cut things from our own yards, and from a few friends'. we arranged in a silver container, and used oasis- but, we don't use it often anymore...actually, i do not use it at all...

nonetheless, we had a fun day arranging flowers on my porch and visiting...

words & photographs by rinne allen

magnolia

photograph by rinne allen

columbine

photograph by rinne allen

mandy's spring blooms, part two...

mandy shared some more arrangements with us and they are gorgeous! all of the ingredients were grown by mandy or foraged by her...perfect seasonal beauty!

arrangement and photographs by mandy o'shea of moonflower design.

pink dogwood

photograph by rinne allen

fig and flowers

photograph by rinne allen

flowering almond

photograph by rinne allen

keria

photograph by rinne allen

ferns

photograph by rinne allen

spring flowers by moonflower design

we will be sharing a few arrangements over the next few weeks that mandy from moonflower design has made recently...all of the flowers are grown on her & her husband's farm, or foraged from nearby.

enjoy!

arrangements & photographs by mandy o'shea of moonflower design

wild rue

photograph by rinne allen

grapefruit and mint spring cocktail

i have a huge plot of mint growing wildly at the entrance of our house.  the other day we were having dinner with friends and whipped up this light and springy cocktail. 

ingredients

1 part freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1 part sparkling water

2 Tbsp mint simple syrup*, see directions below

2 shots of your favorite vodka

mint to garnish

ice

*making the simple syrup

-boil 2 cups of water and 1 bunch of mint, washed

-when it comes to a boil, add 1/2 cup honey and remove from heat

-let the mixture cool and then remove mint from the mixture

****this drink is best enjoyed on the front porch alongside good company!

buckeye

photograph by rinne allen

market carrots

photograph by rinne allen

farmer's market bouquets

i walked up to the athens farmer's market this week, mainly to get some flowers. 3 porch farm is really rocking it out with flowers this year, and it isn't even may yet!

i wanted to see if i could make a pretty arrangement with a bundle or two of their flowers, just to show how easy it can be to have fresh flowers in your home. once i was at the market though, a few other things called my name...flowering chives, but also carrots & radishes because they shared the palette of mandy & steve's ranunculus.

here is what i brought home:
2 bunches of ranunculus, one snapdragon, one bunch of flowering chives, + carrots and radishes.

i started *really* simple. i cut a few flowerheads short and tucked them into some vintage apothecary jars.
so simple!

then, i did one of beauty everyday's famous old-medicine-bottle-arrangements. these bottles are one of our favorite things to pick up at junk stores. they are so beautiful...

then, i moved to something more advanced...tips follow the next few photos...

i used a brass thrift store vase from mandy, that already had a ball of chicken wire crunched up in it. chicken wire is a great alternative to using flower arranging oasis, which is not good for the environment. you may also tape off a grid across the top of your vase, to support your flower stems, if you do not have chicken wire.

next, i took some of my ingredients and placed them in for shape. you will notice that i tucked in some of the carrots and radishes too, some with tops out, or some with the tops tucked in...the flowers are so beautiful that you hardly need to do anything to them.

this was such a fun exercise...t
his weekend, go visit your market or corner store and see what ingredients you can find...!

arrangements and photographs by rinne allen

lady fern fiddleheads

photograph by rinne allen

azalea native

photograph by rinne allen