Dirt Road Treasures

When I was nine, my dad fulfilled his dream of owning a “farm” and moved our family to 40 acres in the middle of nowhere. Well, maybe not “nowhere” but it felt like it at the time – miles away from familiarity and friends. I’m pretty sure none of us (except my dad) were immediately happy with being uprooted but we each learned to love those 40 acres for different reasons. I was a quiet, often introspective, kid and spent lots of time roaming that land, and all the acres surrounding it, with my trusty sidekick – a loyal springer spaniel named Mort. Early on in my wanderings I discovered a stretch of lilac bushes lining the narrow, dirt road that meandered across the front length of our property. The banks along this particular stretch of road were steep and eroding with a tangle of lilac roots spilling down the side.  When I first found my lilac grove, it was “in season” so there were loads of blooms, there was an audible hum of bees, and the smell was heavenly! That was the first bouquet I can remember making – a big handful of gorgeous lilacs, poorly hacked off with scissors, plopped unceremoniously in a glass and settled on the kitchen table. I would later discover wild sweet peas, chicory, Queen Anne’s lace, ditch lilies, clover, and other flowers (some might say weeds) but lilacs were my first flower friends. I’ve made lots of bouquets since then, with more thought and careful cutting/conditioning of curated flowers, but there’s still something that thrills me about plucking flowers from roadside ditches and turning them into beautiful arrangements. I’m not sure what it is that I enjoy the most…the challenge of making a bouquet from a wild, mishmash of materials or the enjoyment of gathering. Although I’m always up for a good challenge, I still love the peaceful solitude of walking down a country road, admiring the forests and fields, marveling at a beautiful sky and scanning the ditches for “dirt road treasures”. I know not everyone has the luxury of buying a weekly bouquet, but beautiful flowers are everywhere! So go hunting for your own dirt road treasures – you might find more than flowers!

Happy Gathering!

P.S. I don’t recommend “wandering” onto private property so please limit your foraging to the roadside ditches that are public domain (unless you have permission from the land owner) and please also be aware that there are some wildflowers that are illegal to pick or dig up. And if you’re not into gathering roadside flowers, just enjoy a stroll and come check out the bouquets at Straw Hat Flower Farm!

The lilacs of my childhood, still going strong!