2022 PepperHarrow Holiday Style Guide

Home for the Holidays

a Guide to Easy Hosting and Decorating Tips

We love decorating for the holidays at the farm and love hosting family and friends this time of year. It’s our time of year to slow down, after a busy season of growing flowers. We have extra time to relax and hold our loved ones a little closer to us. Today, we want to give you some ideas for decorating your place for the holidays and some fun ideas for how to set your holiday table for hosting this year.

Simplicity

Simplicity is a word we love to use around the flower farm. Keeping everything simple helps with our sanity and helps remind us of what’s most important. Simplicity is best to forgo stress during this time of year when hosting family and friends. There’s no need to prepare gourmet meals for your loved ones. The main focus on this time of year is about getting together, celebrating thankfulness and spending quality time with those you hold most dear.

Adam’s most favorite easy dish we like to prepare for guests is a nod to his upbringing in Louisiana. Gumbo! It’s a favorite with our family and friends, who love this easy going, southern comfort food dish. Pair it with a little homemade cornbread and it’s hosting made easy! Scroll below for our gumbo recipe.

In a recent interview with NPR, Ina Garten also mirrored the concept of simplicity with cooking for the holidays, saying, "Make a simple meal and make it absolutely delicious. Your friends won't have any fun if you've spent the entire day baking. In fact, they'll have more fun if you're relaxed and happy."

Setting the Holiday Table

The flowers have gone around this time of year, so instead of using flowers to decorate our tablescape, we gather any remaining herbs, pumpkins, squashes, gourds, and include beautiful fruits we have around, like apples and dried oranges. Sprinkle in seasonal nuts in gold decorative dish to add an edible element.

My aunt told me, when I asked her for holiday decorating advice long ago, that adding candles always adds sparkle to holiday decorating no matter what. I definitely agreed, and candles have become my most favorite fall back to make our home or event space inviting and ready to receive guests. With candles, you can mix the colors of candles you use and you can also mix up the candlesticks you use to match the overall vibe you’re looking for with your decorating. I like to use brass or gold oftentimes with natural wood accents with dinnerware or serving bowls. The mix of organic elements with the elevated look of the gold/brass is striking.

Decorating Outside

Adding greenery garland, wreaths, bows, bells, twinkle lights, and other seasonal accents outdoors to celebrate the holidays is a great way to add a more festive vibe to the season. We love to decorate our front porch, Flower Cottage, and the barn event space where we host guests for holiday workshops here at the flower farm.

Holiday trends to be on the lookout for this year-

Using greenery and other organic elements, such as twigs, pinecones, and grasses! This is us every season, but it seems to be catching on in popularity. Grab a greenery swag or two and use them to frame out your doors, or a fresh greenery wreath for your front door. These natural elements add a lot to the holidays and often last an extremely long time, well beyond Valentine’s Day.

We also are totally in love with gold this year. Simple and stunning like what we said above, mixing the natural elements of the beautiful organic looking verdant greenery with the elevated shine of gold accents makes for a striking combination.

Color wise, we also love the look of burgundy, beige, gold, and other rust colored accents. We think this is a trend that is on point this year. You can even add a little pink to this beautiful color mix for a visually pleasing setup.

Another trend to be aware of this year is: everything houndstooth! It’s everywhere, out in force. We couldn’t find anything last year when we did our decorating and ended up using fabric to make our ribbons (shown below), but this year is very different. You can find houndstooth patterned ribbon, accent pillows, and other decorations with the pattern everywhere.

You can see some houndstooth examples and snag ribbon for bows here.

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Flowers

Winter blooming flowers add a lot of cheer to the season. A favorite here are paper whites and amaryllis

Neutrals

Neutral, natural looking details add an extra hygge vibe to the holidays.

Simple satin ribbon and dried flowers is elegant and easy to add to any room for the holidays.

Ready for the Holidays!

We hope we’ve given you some quick, easy ideas for hosting and decorating your space for the 2022 holiday season. Whether you’re hosting a few, many, or visiting others, we hope that your holiday season is a wonderful one. Cherish each and every day and the ones around you!

XX Jenn and Adam

Adam’s Southern Comfort Gumbo Recipe

Ingredients:

3⁄4 cup olive oil
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups cut up andouille sausages
2 -3  lbs chicken, cut into small size parts, including gizzards

2 cans of crushed tomatoes
2 1⁄2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1⁄2 teaspoons louisiana hot sauce
2 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
4 cups sauterne white wine

1 tsp file powder

2 bay leaves

Directions:

In a stock pot, combine oil and flour on medium heat to make a roux. Stir the mixture constantly and slowly until it browns.

When the mixture reaches a nice golden brown color, add the onion and cook ‘til clear.

Add garlic and whisk in 4 cups of water.

Stir in the Worcestershire, crushed tomatoes, hot sauce, and sausage.

Add chicken.

Add 4 cups of Sauterne wine, salt, and file.

Add bay leaves to top.

Simmer for 1 1/2 hour, let cool, and place in fridge overnight.

Next day, bring to a boil and turn down heat and simmer for 1 hour. (It’s better served the next day)

Serve over warm rice with a side of cornbread.

Inspired by Adam’s cooking hero, Justin Wilson!

New Dahlia Varieties We're Growing at PepperHarrow in 2022: Round 1

If y’all have been following along with our flower farming journey thus far, you know we’ve grown our selection of dahlias into a collection of really great varieties and have are known as some of the best dahlia growers in the us. This wasn’t intentional, but more the product of being a 100% plant addict and dahlia lover. Self control goes out the window when I see a gorgeous new dahlia variety I need to get my hands on. BUT it all works out in the end, because it means that all of our new varieties will be available for purchase to all of YOU!

We’ll be offering our dahlia varieties online coming soon, first to our Big Dreams Family on Patreon, which can be accessed here if you haven’t already. General availability for dahlia tubers for the public will go online on 1/1/23.

Here’s a look at some of our first round of our BEST new dahlia varieties we’re growing! We’ll share more soon, because they’re all starting to show off out in the garden!

XX Jenn

Bloomquist

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A beautiful new addition to our collection from Triple Wren Farms. It serves as a nice blush color for weddings and local florists. It grows about 5’ tall and has nice long, tall, sturdy stems for bouquets.

Observations: A prolific bloomer, perfect for specialty cut flower growers. Susceptible to powdery mildew.

KAs Mocha Jo

Who are we kidding?! We love ALL of the KAs varieties, but especially this one. It’s the ‘blendy pen’ of the dahlia world and because of this, it’s is a great dahlia to use for design work, because it bridges many colors.

Observations: Small, bushy growth habit. Doesn’t appear to produce a ton of tubers

Irish Ruffles

Never have we grown such a beautiful white dahlia. It has a large bloom with petals that look soft and fluffy, giving this beauty its name. It’s definitely a favorite of ours.

Observations: Needs to be staked due to the heavy bloom and tall stems the plant produces. Not a prolific tuber producer.

Aitara Diadem

Wow! I’m usually not really a fan of bi-color dahlias, but this bloom has stood out as one of the best in the garden. The 6’ blooms are some of the first to be cut to include in bouquets, because they’re so remarkable.

Observations: Tall, bushy growth habit with large leaves. Very healthy, vigorous plant.

KAs Bella Luna

Sourced from StoneHouse Dahlias as a rooted cutting and wow, has it exploded with growth. The bloom starts off as white and finishes with an unexpected burst of blush in the center. Just gorgeous!

Observations: Hardy, vigorous growing plant and blooms. 4’ tall with nice sturdy stems.

Quiet Splendor

This bloom was totally unassuming until it really started to open and I was struck by the blush variegation in the leaves. Must day, it’s a keeper! It’s taken lack of rain and terribly hot conditions and has thrived.

Observations: Tall, workable stems perfect as a specialty cut flower.

Normandie Wedding Day

Who doesn’t love dahlia cultivars from the UK? The unique, blush bloom on this beauty is just incredible. We’re not known for growing cactus varieties, which this one is, but this one was too pretty NOT to grow.

Observations: Prone to powdery mildew. Tall, sturdy stems.

Clearview Jennae

Wine or magenta? Either way, we’re obsessed with this gorgeous, prolific dahlia and will be adding more to our growing stock.

Observations: Incredible, tall growth habit, 5’ tall. Strong, sturdy stems perfect for specialty cut flowers.

Blush Dahlias We Grow on the Flower Farm

Blush dahlias are a popular color among our florists and customers as a cut flower and it’s also a popular color with gardeners who purchase dahlia tubers as well! We want to share the list of our fav blush varieties we grow here on the flower farm. We’re always looking to add more, but these are staples for us each and every season.

Bloomquist Tory P

This is THE truly blush colored dahlia. It’s the perfect bloom to match a request for blush from a local florist or wedding couple. It’s also highly sought after as a tuber variety.

Cafe Au Lait

This large, beautiful bloom is just stunning. Their blooms are so large, they’re referred to as ‘dinner plate’ dahlias.

Tahoma Kellie

The bloom is smaller than most, but because of the long, sturdy stems and smaller bloom size, it’s perfect for bouquet work.

Pink Pearl

Another great shade of blush and a nice, long lasting bloom. She also blooms early in the season, helping to fulfill dahlias orders early.

Sweet Nathalie

This is a MUST have tuber for blush. The blooms are easy to work with and on the medium to large side in size. She can take on a bit of a mauve hue.

Narrows Ryder

Although a little on the white side, this is one that’s passable for blush and has nice tall, sturdy stems to work with.

Best Care Tips for Fresh Flowers

Best Care Tips for Fresh Flowers

After a successful weekend at farmer’s market, design classes and hosting a Bloom Bar at our flower farm, there was one question from everyone that kept coming up: What’s the best way to keep our flowers looking fresh?

After 11 years of growing and selling cut flowers locally, we have some great tips to share to help extend the vase life on your fresh cut flower bouquet and we’re going to share those with y’all!

The first thing to consider is: did you purchase your flowers already in water, or was it a wrapped bouquet that you transported home out of water?

If you purchased flowers already in water, it’s okay to not fuss too much with them when you first get them home. The key will be to maintenance them each day afterwards, which we’ll discuss below.

On the other hand, if your bouquet was purchased and you had it out of water to transport home, such as a wrapped bouquet, before you place it in your water you’ll want to trim the bottom of your stems before putting it into your vase of water.

Prepare Vase

Anytime you remove your flower stems from the water, pockets of air get into the stems. To remove the little air pockets, you’ll just want to trim a small amount from the bottom of the stems before adding your flowers into your vase of water.

Make sure your vase has been washed out thoroughly with soap and water before you use it for your fresh flowers. Keeping all of your supplies clean for your fresh flowers will go a long way to helping your fresh flowers stay beautiful longer. This includes the floral snips, or scissors you use to snip your stems.

Add Sugar & Bleach

Add 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of bleach to your clean water

We’ve found that the sugar & bleach mixture works well in helping extend vase life for fresh blooms. The sugar gives your flowers something to eat and the bleach keeps the water clean. The perfect combination for fresh flowers!

The amount of each of these will vary depending on the size of the vase you use. Shown here is a 32 oz vase, hence the 1:1 ratio for the tsp. If you use half this size of vase, cut this amount in half.

Remove Foliage

Remove any leaves/foliage from the bottom of the stems - any foliage that will touch the water.

Removing foliage from the bottom of your stems, anything that will touch the water, will make sure your flowers stay beautifully for days. If any foliage gets into the water, it will start to break down and cause rot and bacteria. This makes the water ‘dirty’ and will shorten the vase life for your fresh flowers.

Taking a small amount of extra time to remove all foliage that will touch the water, before you place your fresh flowers into your vase of water, will ensure success in extending the vase life for your fresh blooms.

Trim Stems

Anytime you remove your flower stems from the water, pockets of air get into the stems. To remove the little air pockets, you’ll just want to trim a small amount from the bottom of the stems before adding your flowers into your vase of water.

After following all of the above steps, finish up by placing your fresh flowers in your vase.

Be sure to change the water every two days, following the above directions, especially re-trimming the bottom of the stems before you place them back into the water.

Vase life for your fresh flowers can vary depending on the type of flower in the bouquet; however, you can typically expect your fresh flowers to last between 7-10 days.

Glamping on a Flower Farm

It started in 2020 at the request of a couple visiting the farm for one of our popular Al Fresco Dinners with Tangerine Food Company. They told us they would LOVE to come to stay at our flower farm for a unique travel experience (thanks Gilmara!). Later that evening we talked it over a little, then we talked about it for a couple more months past that. We hashed out the the cost/benefit analysis, requirements for building, etc. It’s not the fun or sexy part of business, but it’s definitely necessary. After all of our research and number crunching was completed, we decided to move forward with putting everything in place for Spring 2021, to host flower farm glamping tent stays at PepperHarrow.

That’s when our first ever glamping tent was built on a beautiful, private area of our property with the intention to offer guests a unique flower farm stay experience.

Photo by Aly Carroll

When we first released dates for our glamping stay, we limited available just from Thursday-Sunday. It was our first year hosting and we really wanted to make sure we gave ourselves enough time to clean the tent and change linens in between guests, all while running a full time, thriving flower farm. It was the perfect way to ease into the cadence of hosting guests and running a flower farm.

Any guesses how it all panned out? SPOILER ALERT: It was a total HIT! We spent the summer and fall of 2021 fully booked up each and every weekend. We had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people through our hosting experience and loved all of the positive feedback guests gave us after their stays. After our first year, we achieved designated ‘Super Host’ status on Airbnb. Such a great first year accomplishment!

During the first year we also learned a lot about hosting guests on our farm that weren’t intuitive initially, like how to handle weather when guests are staying in the tent, and other important learnings. Starting with shortened availability really helped us get used to hosting while managing our flower farm as well.

Photo by Aly Carroll

What does a stay look like for guests who stay on our flower farm at the glamping tent?

The inside of the glamping tent comfortably accommodates two people with a large, king sized bed with luxe, soft linens, a small sitting area, chest of drawers, dining table and chairs. The windows inside the tent roll-up, as well as the front door, so there’s tons of opportunity to let in air for a nice cross breeze. On the front of the tent sits a cute bistro table and chairs, so you can sit on the front porch to enjoy a Madison County sunrise, or appreciate the lush, green landscape.

Outside is even more setup for living space! There’s a shaded special spot to the side, which has a small cooking setup: outside cook stove, grill and a small space for basic washing. There’s a hammock for relaxing, a fire pit area setup with a stack of firewood, and Adirondack chairs with a small table to enjoy an evening by a campfire.

Photo by Aly Carroll

Bathhouse accommodations are provided inside of our newly constructed event barn, located roughly 1 minute from the glamping tent by vehicle, or a 3-5 minute walk. Restroom facilities, with a hot water shower is available inside the bathhouse with towels, and basic wash essentials available. This isn’t the most glamorous thing to talk about, but so necessary to complete a perfect glamping stay.

A glamping stay at the flower farm is meant to be a quiet escape into the countryside, where you can energize your spirit and connect back with the land, but if you’re feeling adventurous, we also highly recommend guests explore the wonderful sites and scenes of Madison County.

Home to the famed Bridges of Madison County, you can make a whole trip out of visiting each of the covered bridges, as well as other local attractions. Once inside the glamping tent, you can find a list of our favorite places to eat, drink, grab a cup of coffee and other great local ‘must see’ places.

Photo by Aly Carroll

Even though the glamping tent is wonderful, it’s not even the highlight of the stay. Guests have unlimited access to our 20 acre flower farm. We welcome guests to walk our flower fields, take photos, and even to cut a bouquet to take home. There are roughly 8.5 acres of flower gardens to explore and enjoy, which many guests take advantage of.

Our 2.5 acres of lavender are made up of three distinctly separated beds, each dedicated for specific uses: essential oil, culinary, and simply to enjoy! The lavender fields are usually in bloom from mid-June through mid-July, but even when they’re not blooming, the fragrance from these beautiful plants are incredible. Need a nap in the lavender? Help yourself!

Can you just imagine yourself relaxing and enjoying a glamping experience at our flower farm?

XO Jenn and Adam

PepperHarrow Glamping Tent Tour