Last fall we were so lucky to have Hailey Tash on the farm to photograph Lauren & Gerard’s wedding. Isn’t Lauren’s pink wedding dress just completely whimsical? Hailey kindly shared a few of her photos with us and we urge you to check out more of this couple’s gorgeous wedding on Hailey’s blog too! Also, we were so excited to see this wedding featured in the Maine Magazine wedding issue this spring. Check out their feature HERE.
Something fun to kick off your week. Can’t stop watching this film by Kinfolk, featuring loads of lavender and fizz. Enjoy!
While the snow was still melting on Marianmade Farm, our owner and floral designer, Michelle, headed south to Charleston for a 3-day floral master class with Ariella Chezar. This was Michelle’s second workshop with Ariella and she was honored to be part of the intimate group selected to join Ms. Chezar for an in-depth study of her techniques. An extra bonus: the fantastic group of creatives who shared the experience in this lovely southern city. Many thanks to Corbin Gurkin for these beautiful images of Michelle’s bouquet and centerpiece creations while in class. After a long winter, it sure is great to see Michelle working her floral magic again!
Hooray! It’s finally spring time in mid-coast Maine. Our farm’s owner, Michelle, treks to Maine early in the season to check on the lavender plants and in late April it’s finally time to remove the covers that have protected the lavender for the entire season of wind, snow and bitter cold temperatures.
In the warmth of summer, when the bees are buzzing around the lavender and the essence of the plant blows with the breeze from the river, it’s hard to imagine the work that goes into keeping the lavender looking great all year long. Michelle shares a bit about the process of covering and uncovering the plants in the late fall, so they can be enjoyed all spring and summer:
“I have chosen to cover the majority of the lavender on the farm so that there are fewer unknowns. I like taking the covers off and finding that the plants are greening up. The plants have less breakage from the winter ice and snow. I wish the covers could be placed and staked down, but the winds across the farm are far too extreme, so the covers are laid and the edges buried under nearly 6 inches of dirt. The covers cannot be placed for protection until the warmest days of autumn have passed.”
About the process of uncovering the plants:
“I wish I could just yank the covers off, but no such luck. You develop a rhythm of up and down, reaching and pulling slightly straight up on the cloth and then bending and reaching forward to repeat. A true “waist whittler.” But the reward is seeing the plant, unscathed and really starting to show the signs of a green cast overshadowing the grey of a dormant lavender plant. Each row is approximately 100 plants long and you have to travel up and down both sides of the row in the same repetitious manner. At the end of both sides of 5 rows my waist and lower back were screaming at me to stop….and only 10 rows to go.”
We were thrilled to see Marianmade Farm featured on Style Me Pretty this winter! Michelle created the floral designs for this Maine garden wedding, planned by the lovely L. Brooke Events and captured by the talented Emily Delamater. Check out Emily’s photos from this wedding on her blog. Style Me Pretty shares their favorite photos from the day HERE.
