I recall countless hours as a child outside.
My mother had a rose garden. It was a long rectangular section of dirt in the back yard between the lawn and horse corrals. There were two long rows of rose bushes, with two garden sheds on either side. Each rose had a small dirt canal leading to the next where water would run from one bush to the other. The faucet was only on one side of the garden. Amazingly, she relied on this method of irrigation for decades. Long after I went off to college and starting my own adventures, she finally invested in a drip system. I find this amazing, since we lived in a high desert. Summers were very hot.
One of my jobs growing up, was also to keep fresh roses on the dining room table, which my mom and I traded back and forth. It wasn’t really a job. More so, it was fun and a great way to spend time outside in the last minutes of the warm summer evenings. While picking roses for the house, I also cut back the roses when needed. My mom was adamant about the 5-leaf rule. If you cut, cut a stem back to at least 5 leaves on the cane. Then, any scraps actually went across the fence to the horse corral. Horses and mules love roses!
Though I don’t have a rose garden now (I have tried but the deer love them too), I still like to spend time outside before sunset even if just wandering around the driveway. It’s my favorite part of the day.
Shifting forward to last week, I recently visited a working rose farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington, in the Skagit Valley. It was magical and nostalgic to my childhood. Owned by Dawn Severin, her farm All My Thyme is every bit as dreamy as you might expect. A big beautiful farmhouse, a horse barn converted to rose workshop, a large hoop house filled with gorgeous roses, and rows upon rows of blooming rose bushes, lavender, and more.
Dawn is not only an absolutely lovely person to the core, she is also a subject matter expert on growing really amazing roses. Yet still, she knows her priorities. Family first and then the farm. I really love this mindset and think she’s a great example of balancing work and family. She has learned over time what truly matters and what can wait.
Though Dawn’s rose farm is not open to the public, if you ever get the chance to meet her or visit her home, I highly recommend it. She’s one to know and love.
Next up, I'll talk about the floral workshop with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs! Too much goodness to talk about in one post.
Thank you to B. Jones Photography for providing all the beautiful shots!