Two days ago the annual Summer Solstice celebration was held at @annsplaceinc. I delayed it for a day because of weather and we were rewarded with a near perfect day. Because of the day change I lost a few clients but the ones who came had a fabulous time.
With this celebration, I chat with my clients about the changing seasons and their importance, read a few seasonal passages from one of my favorite books, stroll the grounds and then feast on seasonal fare. This particular class is fun for me because everything I serve and make is sourced and grown locally and fresh.
So this year because of the excess of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) in our garden, I was able to use my own fruits rather than local berries from a farm for my strawberry-rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) pie.
We first meet on the veranda at Ann’s Place, which gives us a panoramic and lovely view of the back yard, which after 10 years of work has finally come into its vegetative own. Everyone is offered a drink and my lavender (Lavandula)-mint (Mentha) sun tea is the favorite of the crowd followed closely by hard cider from @hardscrabblecider. (A call out to @hardscrabblecider for its generous donation of two bottles of hard cider.)
We linger and chat before going out to examine the garden. The first space we explore is our pollinator garden filled with milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), lavender and anise hyssop (Agastache foreniculum). Bees and butterflies fill the space as we examine it and inhale the heady scents of all the flowering plants.
We take our time strolling the grounds, ending at the labyrinth before returning back to the building. Appetites and senses now stimulated, my clients partake of the food and drink prepared. There appears to be no favorites among the choices though the rhubarb muffins appear to be at the head of the line for seconds.
Finishing up, clients relax happy to be outside talking with others in a peaceful, lovely surrounding. A celebration indeed.
