Reflecting on 2023.
18 JANUARY 2024
Reflecting on 2023.
A chihuahua chin rests on my right knee, his chickenlegs hanging over my left. It has been years since weather has kept me inside for days at a time. When I was younger, the snow days were spent with siblings and cousins, endlessly brainstorming what to do next; the day filled with activities from Rube Goldberg machines to building igloos to putting on extravagant three-part productions in the living room.
Today is the third day that I have sat at the dining room table, thankful for this snowy week that has forced my attention to website work, slowly pecking away at the seemingly growing list of tasks. Out the three windows in front of me, a formidable white hill reaches skyward. White hill and grey sky broken only by the scraggle of black trees on the hilltop fenceline. Three kids, three sleds, and three golden retrievers have entertained my peripheral gaze for three days.
Tonight it will snow again. Farmwork won’t resume for another five days and I won’t return to my restaurant job for another ten. What to do next looks much different these days. There is never a question of whether or not there is anything to do, only in which order to complete the tasks. For now- I think I have achieved most of the back-end web work (the linking, the event-creating, the product building, the c o p y w r i t i n g 🙃) and I am overjoyed to be writing a little. Tickles a different part of the brain.
I want to use this post to pick a photo or two from each month in 2023 and reflect on progress.
JANUARY 2023
May 2022
January 2023
JANUARY 2023
We celebrated our transition from construction zone to actual working all-purpose farm building! We tried lots of things out. The above photo shows the set-up for our first Meal Prep Class. In 2023 we also hosted dried flower workshops, chocolate-making classes, fermenting classes, and even speed dating.
FEBRUARY 2023
February 2023
SONDER flower wall, February 2023
FEBRUARY 2023
February is always a busy month for the greenhouse. The conditions in the greenhouse conjure life from seeds that have waited dormant. We hosted gardeners from all around for a February seed starting class, and many shared their gardening triumphs throughout the season :)
Also pictured: the flower wall at SONDER. We partnered with them early in the season to bring beauty to the retail markets of Abingdon.
MARCH 2023
MARCH 2023
Forsythia branches, the first fresh eggs of the season, and BRUNCH. We started Brunch Club in March 2023. It proved to be one of our (and your!) favorite recurring events of the season. We also majorly reshaped our Front Field, making it our fourth permanent field on the farm.
APRIL 2023
APRIL 2023
More bed prep! Much time was spent turning fields into established gardens on the farm. April is also the time when the first real bounty emerges in the form of spring flowers, abundant lettuce, herbs, and asparagus. There are so many beautiful aspects of each month.. stay tuned for another installment that details the floral designs of 2023.
MAY 2023
MAY 2023, our campground.
Norah & Shelby ❤️
In May, we majorly upgraded our campground with a tent platform and a glamping cabin. We are continuously improving our glamper and are eager to host campers in 2024!
We also scaled up with some help from our friends. Norah & Shelby joined us in 2023, starting as floral delivery experts (and are now experts on most farm operations). For the love they put into the farm, I am so grateful. It is an absolute honor to know they will be on the team again this season. I love the entire Stormbrew Team so much.
JUNE 2023
Photo by Mitchell Block
JUNE 2023. Lush harvests, endless flowers, perfect weather. A month of Eden. Our friend Mitchell Block & wife Julie took the time to document a day in the life. The mini doc will be out soon. They artfully show the many facets of the farm in a succinct way. I am so eager to share the footage.
We also hosted our Vintage Bazaar in early June. It was a great success, with many vendors joining us to show their unique goods and uncovered treasures. We are unlikely to host again this year, as our time is concerned with scaling the farm; however, our space is available for anyone wanting to host festivals, craft shows, parties, etc! Get in touch.
JULY 2023
JULY 2023. We had kittens. If you have visited the farm since, you are well aware :)
Also a fabulous flower design workshop at The Martha Washington Inn & Spa (coming back this year!) and the very first tomatoes.
AUGUST 2023
Photo by Devon McNeil Photography
AUGUST 2023. August is foggy and overgrown. Jungle-like conditions reign and most fields (in my experience, thus far) become too tangly for inexperienced navigators. I love August. It is also when we host our Flower Power Golden Hour photoshoot with Devon McNeil Photography (coming back in 2024!). It is one of the most gorgeous times to snap photos in the field (and perfect for those rising senior grad pics!).
SEPTEMBER 2023
SEPTEMBER 2023. A precious month of celebrations. Not only did we have the honor of providing the flowers for one of my best friend’s weddings, we also put on an incredible dinner party to celebrate the birthday of an incredible woman. I could write at length about what these two occasions meant to me and the farm.
OCTOBER 2023
Glamping Cabin
OCTOBER 2023. High tunnel construction began (that’s a whole other post, but I have the best friends in the world), SO MANY weddings (that’s a whole other post, but I am beyond grateful for the 2023 brides), and some touches were added to the glamping cabin (so cozy!).
NOVEMBER 2023
NOVEMBER 2023. Wreath season commenced (even though it started before the leaves even fell, really.) and we continued onward with event flowers! We kicked off the holidays with Mistletoe Market, meeting several new faces. Providing florals for The Barter Theatre’s Porterfield Society Dinner was an honor. Playing with touches of gold floral paint in a season lacking color made for some fun.
More on wreath season later. You wouldn’t believe what all goes into your holiday adornments.
DECEMBER 2023
DECEMBER 2023. Private Christmas parties, wreathmaking workshops, breaking new ground (we have added THREE new fields), and best Christmas present of all, with the best crew ever, we wrapped the high tunnel. Wrap meaning- we covered the top with a 50 ft wide, 80 ft long piece of plastic film. This is a big job on a farm, regardless of size. There will be more posts to detail that day and the incredible friends that showed up to help.
2023 is a wrap! As we head into the meat of 2024, Stormbrew Farm is designing a season with more intention and organization. We want to be your wedding & event florist of choice. We want to be a reliable grower of produce for other businesses and retail customers. We want to use our skills, experience, and resources to be open to opportunities meeting us where we are. 2024 is the year to settle into our work and let the farm take over. I’m ready to jump in fully and hope you will follow us as we inevitably grow/learn/change over another beautiful season.
Happy New Year!
Daisy