I truly believe good people attract good people. Their paths cross. They say hello. They may talk about current happenings. They talk about what they do and where they’ve been. They might make plans; the plans might happen. When they get together and those plans actually happen, amazing things can happen. This was the case a few short weeks ago with four creative minds who had a vision and quite frankly ran with it.
Back in June, I attended a Rose Farm Floral Workshop hosted by Flirty Fleurs and All My Thyme in Mt. Vernon, WA. I met many wonderful ladies, all with similar passions. Attending these types of workshops, not only give me valuable inspiration, but also opportunity to network and connect with likeminded individuals. Here, I met Holly Jolley and Amy Brown the co-owner of Laughing Goat Flower Farm.
It wasn’t long after a phone call was scheduled with both Holly, Amy, myself, and Missy Palacol. Bringing together Holly’s love of hosting dinner parties, Amy’s farm fresh produce and gorgeous flowers, Missy’s eye for capturing the perfect scene, and my focus on creating mood with flowers, a beautiful joyous day took place.
Holly is a FANTASTIC host and cooks amazing recipes! I was drooling with the very first slice of tomato. All vegetables were grown by Laughing Goat Flower Farm. I can’t talk enough about the peaches and homemade almond flavored whipped cream! Peaches are truly my favorite fruit. I might have been less than ladylike about how I scooped spoonful after spoonful of delicious cream topped peaches in my mouth! I just couldn’t help myself!
As the lasagna made its way into the oven, we moved outside. With a beautiful Pacific Northwest backdrop, we started orchestrating the outdoor tablescape. Earlier, I had spotted several shrubs of salal in Holly’s back yard. Salal is a wonderful hardy native plant used frequently in the floral industry. It is especially lovely when wired into garland. Taking a few snips here and there, I quickly wired together a salal garland to run down the center of the table. If kept in a cool location and periodically hydrated, salal can last for several days outside of water. Constructing fresh garland is actually quite easy with a few tricks of the trade. Garland can be heavy and lush or light and airy. It really depends on the look and feel of the setting.
Once the garland was made, I moved on to designing the centerpiece. Literally every flower and foliage, with the exception of the salal, came from Laughing Goat Flower Farm. Before arriving at Holly’s home, I snuck over to meet with Amy at her farm in Enumclaw, WA. Amy gave me a quick tour where I was able to select everything for the tablescape. I really wanted to be inspired with what I saw on Amy’s farm rather than bring any florals from outside sources. Inspiration overflowed the moment I stepped out of my vehicle. Her farm is fantastic!
I’ll have to leave you in a little suspense. Stay tuned for the grand finale of this summer collaboration tomorrow!
Creative Team:
-Photography @missy.palacol, Missy Palacol Photography
-Produce and Flowers grown by @laughinggoatflowerfarm, Laughing Goat Flower Farm
-Tablescape, Recipes, Location by @homewithhollyj, Home with Holly J
-Floral Design @firstandbloom, First & Bloom
Want to see more? Visit Home With Holly J's blog for more details to this amazing day. Holly has listed her recipes and more for all to enjoy.