My Favorite Things
The fall equinox is on September 23rd this year, and I just watched Sound of Music on our first fall-like weekend, so here are a few of my favorite fall things, 23 things to be exact:
1. Dahlia’s that have finally found their stride. This year I grew new varieties like Karma Chocolate, Brown Sugar, and Cafe au Lait Rose.
2. Cabbage of all sizes, flowering in bouquets, and also bubbling on my counter as homemade sauerkraut with Juniper berries.
3. The sleeping giants in the heirloom pumpkin patch that wake up, particularly Musque de Provence, which has the best Cinderella pumpkin shape.
4. Herbs get their second wind and get made into my tasty Savory Salt.
5. Double blooming lavender like cultivar Buena Vista, which is in full bloom right now.
6. Our last succession of sunflowers planted on July 22 are in bloom.
7. Woodies like Ninebark and Crabapple trees put on fall seed pods and berries.
8. Grains of amaranth, wheat, and millet are ripe and look great in fall bouquets.
9. Drying rooms (I dream of a studio with dried bunches of strawflower and lavender hanging above my head).
10. Fall weddings in burgundy and orange, and all the sweet brides with love in their eyes.
11. The smell of beeswax and fresh honey dripping through a strainer in my kitchen.
12. Squash, pears, and acorns adorning a nature table with cheesecloth runner and a floral arrangement that looks like watercolor.
13. Feathertop grass bouncing out of market bouquets.
14. Peach and lavender jam at 10, after I make deliveries.
15. The arrival of mores tulip and planting more intentions. Each year my order, and my dreams, get bigger.
16. Heirloom tomatoes 10 different ways – roasted open faced with garlic and oil, sundried, caprese, roasted into sauce, on toast with mayo and salt, on top of pesto pasta, plucked from the vine and directly into mouth, bitten into like an apple with a sprinkle of salt, in watermelon gazpacho, and in Mexican salsa.
17. Making the biggest compost pile in the rain – 5’ x 5’ x 5’ is the minimum size for enough mass to heat up.
18. Growing Winter Rye cover crop and watching it germinate before it freezes, then take off when the ground thaws in spring.
19. Making the first fire with a lavender fire starter.
20. Watching the Sound of Music because as a kid who lost their mom young, I dreamt of having Maria be our Governess.
21. Making apple butter and trying to replicate the Applebutter Festivals of Ohio.
22. Making winter wreaths with no bows or bling. Only natural ingredients like evergreens, rosehips, berries, pods, and nuts. Contemplating offering a workshop in November. Put a heart in the comments below if you are interested.
23. A hot cup of Sweet Mint Tea from Rebecca’s (nettles, licorice, and peppermint) in my hand and a stack of seed catalogs on my lap, as I fully indulge in hygge living and ponder another season well spent.
Cheers to the changing season and being okay with it,
Gina