At the Harvest Party last weekend, our Graphic Design Intern, Jen Bertsch, needed a camera. Jen was helping visitors sample a range of natural honeys at the honey-tasting booth, and she wished she could capture the looks on everyone’s faces as they tasted each of the honeys. Dark as molasses, but lighter in texture, buckwheat honey made their eyes fly open in surprise as the rich, complex flavors opened up on their tongues. On the other end of the spectrum, the wildflower honey from our farm is almost clear in color, but no less complex. It tastes like all the flowers and fresh air of the outdoors all mixed together. Sampling these and more amazing honeys was just one of the fun, fall-inspired ways we kicked off the new season at the Harvest Party.
The weather was beautiful, and the store was filled with activity. Dante Pizzeria and Archetype Coffee kept everyone fed and caffeinated from their mobile shops. Local band Ragged Company provided a perfect musical backdrop. Both kids and adults got creative with colorful, fresh-cut plant material, turning line drawings of rabbits, faces, and mason jars into complete works of nature-inspired art. And we hope you had a chance to take the hayrack tour of our nursery yard narrated by Hardy Plants Team Member, Jason Spring, on our old ’48 Ford tractor. If you did, you know we certainly have a lot of trees to choose from. You also know that Jason is a great tour guide who plays a mean tractor horn.
Even with all this relaxed fall fun, there’s one thing we’re completely serious about and that’s eating pie. We had nine delicious entries in this year’s pie contest from classic apple to s’mores-pumpkin. Although all were fantastic, it fell to our three judges to select the winners. Special thanks to the participants who shared their delicious pies and to the judges who had the challenging (but enviable) job of tasting and voting on them.
The fall season has just begun, but in the coming weeks, look for information on more events like this one, including our Members-Only Christmas Opening and our Holiday Gala.
