A charming Dream to share

A neighborhood nursery and flower shop in NYC
these were peppered in every neighborhood, always with a green awning, and always with buckets of fresh flowers and cuttings for passers by to take home to their apartments and lofts

When our family lived in Stockholm I found a favorite place. On a tiny island in the middle of the city stood an orchard and a beautiful large garden full of seasonal blooms as well as herbs and vegatables. In the center of this gathering of growing things was a huge, white, picturesque garden building. the many windows revealed a cafe within, bustling with locals who wanted to be away from city life for just a while. Visitors were invited to cut their own flowers or pick their own fruit, and were asked to pay for their findings inside the barn, where other fresh produce offerings as well as preserves, sache de fleur, and other items produced by the surrounding bounty were offered for sale. We came more than once to lay down our picnic blanket at eat in the orchards. i still use the cutting scissors I purchased there whenever I bring home flowers to display here at the Spruces.

When we lived in Boise, some locals bought an old church a few miles up the road from our neighborhood. In it they created Rembrandt's; a lovely "coffee garden" that sold lots more than coffee. Delicious meals, late night desserts and gelato along with live acoustic music on the weekends, comfy seating and a stash of board games for families to enjoy while they visited. It opened about a year before our time in Boise ended, and we frequented this spot on date nights and with out of town guests, as well as after long bike rides or just to meet girlfriends for lunch.

John and I have long enjoyed the very concept of gathering others around good food in comfortable surroundings. We've opened our doors to bring people into our homes and we've enjoyed feeding them immensely. John with his talent for cooking and his avorice for reading cook books, and my feddish for 'setting mood' and creating an atmosphere where people feel at home and want to linger has made for a lovely partnership in all things entertaining (we are looking for a third partner who has a passion for cleaning up. So far, we have no takers, but our search continues in earnest!)

Now we are planted in a place we'd like to stay in for a very long time to come. And over the last week or so John has been coming to me with little musings about what he'd like to do some time in the far distant future. The name of a chef he's admired here locally. Some ideas for properties which could serve as both gathering place and growing grounds. Books and recipes and just good ideas about how to invite others to enjoy time spent among that which is growing, and to be edified by those tastes and textures and smells that come from good cooking and very hard work.

It is so so so just a dream-but, it is fun to be dreaming with him. And so nice to be sometimes engaged in the idea that our good ideas-when combined and mixed and grown all together-might produce something lovely and real. That something is tangible to us whenever the doors to the Spruces swing open to invite friends in. But, at least in dream and theory, maybe someday, in that very distant future, some beautiful patch of earth with a charming barn and garden building will be an extension of that passion for gathering and growing. A place where groups can linger and lounge and enjoy good food and the thrill of plucking the bounty of the earth for them to enjoy and take home...