Dear Farm Community -

For flower farmers, Mothers Day is the biggest day of the year! The ultimate apex of our craft when flowers are at their peak, and folks are on the hunt for just the right bouquet to say, ‘I love you’ in a way that feels heartfelt and real. Planning for this momentous occasion begins…. well, just a few days after the previous year’s Mothers Day! We assess everything that we did and how it went - successes, failures, aspirations, and goals. We take a look at our crop list for the following year and envision the bouquets we want to make - are there any flowers missing from the list? Is there anything we saw in a catalogue or a florist that stopped us in our tracks? When should we time our plantings to have a steady flow of blooms and the right things flowering when we need them? Once spring rolls around and May is knocking on our doors we plan diligently for the “BIG WEEK” ~ are there extra hands we can bring on board to help with harvests, ensuring we get every flower that’s ready at the perfect stage? What’s our harvest to bunching pipeline look like with that many flowers? Will the veggie team share their cooler? This year we were all-hands-on-deck with not only our amazing flower crew, but also a few farm alumni who happily agreed to hop on board, harvest, and bunch. On Friday we were stunned by the hundreds of mixed bouquets that we had ready for market!

Forecasts all week showed rain every day, and yet we were harvesting under clear blue skies and bunching with the sun shining on our shoulders. Our fingers were crossed that the weekend would be the same! But there are just some things you can’t plan for. Our sunny sky luck ran out Saturday morning with relentless downpour from market start to market finish. Unfortunately the rain kept many folks from the markets and it was not the banner day we anticipated - but you just can’t control an ill-timed rainstorm. Comically, there was also an earthquake in Tennessee that same day, lots of folks in Athens report feeling the ground shake. We were all joking about it being the most disastrous Saturday we’ve had, and on such a big day! We are extremely happy that the rain subsided for our Sunday (Mother’s Day!) market at Grant Park, where lots of happy faces went home with our lovingly arranged blooms. It’s still not the incredibly sunny and breezy beautiful cheerful mothers day weekend we had hoped for, but sometimes you just have to laugh at nature’s plans.

That being said…. if you’re still looking for an awesome way to treat your mama, a beloved individual in your life, or just treat yo self…. there are still seats available at our Farm Dinner this coming Saturday May 17th! This past weekend we offered 20% off on our remaining tickets with code ‘MOMSDAY’ and we’re extending it until midnight tonight to give all our subscribers a chance to take advantage of this deal!

This will be a truly special evening—featuring an abundant grazing table, a delicious multi-course family-style meal made with produce grown right here on the farm, craft cocktail and wine pairings, and plenty of our farmers working to bring the magic to life. When every seat is filled, we’ll be able to fund hundreds of sliding-scale CSA boxes for community members who need them most. We hope you’ll join us in making that possible—and enjoy a warm, enchanted night that fills your heart (and your plate) along the way.

farm dinner tickets

There’s also still some spaces left for our Farm Yoga class on Sunday 5/18, led by Phelan LaVelle of Grateful Head Yoga! A $20 donation ($15 for CSA members!) to our Share the Harvest Fund gets you a divine and empowering 75-minute yoga class amidst our beautiful fields, and an optional farm tour after we finish our centering practice. Let’s all find a little peace under this big beautiful sky together ;)

One final piece before we get to the best part of the newsletter (the yummy delights waiting for you in your shares this week)…. our SUMMER FULL-SEASON CSA is now on sale! If you are a spring full-season member, a weekly pay member wanting to transition to our discounted pay-by-season option, or someone totally new to our CSA who just wants to get started in on all of it, head to our website to sign up for your share of the farm’s summer bounty! Both veggie shares and flower shares are available. Sign up by June 1st for a seamless transition ✨

I know that was quite the saga to read so I’ll keep it quick in the recipes here! This week in your shares you’ll be receiving both fennel and beets - two veggies with such fresh, bold flavors. CSA Member Ellen sent along this delicious recipe a while back after raving about it at pickup…. Roasted Beet and Fennel Salad with Beet Greens and Oranges !! Something about a citrus pairing just really puts a beet dish over the top. This recipe is *chefs kiss* and we hope you’ll give it a go! Want to separate out those fabulous flavors? Eat your beets in this Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic and fennel transforms into a comfort food when roasted with parmigiano cheese. Enjoy all that the land has to offer this week. Hope to see you at the farm dinner!

Thanks Mom!
Diamond Hill Farmers

Mother Earth’s bounty!

join our CSA