Barnstead Farmstead

11/30/2023

Welcoming in the season of wreaths and winter merriment! While we are not offering public workshops this year, we would be happy to entertain requests for custom wreaths/garlands or other festive decor as well as wreath making events for private parties. Drop us a note with your dreams of Christmas future! Happy hall decking!

📸 1 & 2:

11/21/2023

Still picking fresh flowers thanks to the extra cover of the high tunnel. A thanksgiving miracle!

11/17/2023

This time of year is a lot slower, and we’re a lot quieter. It’s a lot of reflecting and planning, but mostly just enjoying the slow and gentle pace life resumes after the busyness of summer. Hope you’re enjoying a little quiet seclusion during this time of year that simultaneously demands so much and offers even more.

11/16/2023

Nothing says “Festive!” Like a fresh evergreen wreath. Let’s sip and snip to some holiday classics in a classic setting. Tickets on sale for our wreath and wine class at Kilmer Mansion on 12/3. And… you can win a free ticket for your favorite sibling, best good friend even a neighbor you need to win over after you accidentally mowed over their new perennial bed…. Jingle your bells on over to the website linked below to register!

Let's Wreath & Wine! And, tag 3 friends!😉

One winner will be selected to bring a friend for FREE when registering for the event. (Applicable to new registrations only.)

Entry closes on 11/16 at 11:59pm. Winner will be selected on 11/17.

Barnstead Farmstead

11/05/2023

I loved everything about designing for this wedding. The trust, the friendship, the love, the joy and ease of these two wonderful people! We ended up making some magic and I couldn’t be happier with how it all came together for our good friends, the newly minted KB’s. Thanks to for the incredible shots and for the backdrop.

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween!!!

10/30/2023

Some happy little trees.

10/29/2023

Loved this from earlier in the season. A neutral palette with lots of texture. We are booking for 2024!

10/24/2023

Ahhhh mum season! November is the month of the mum and also my birthday and so many favorite things. Not that I’m wishing time away, but….let’s get into full cozy season mode, shall we??

10/23/2023

Left too early to see if we got that frost last night, but I managed to bring in a handful of zinnias over the weekend just because they looked so fun - like a bag of candy but better for your teeth. I don’t know the scribed around this, but it seemed to me that the zinnias in particular started to seem more saturated/deeply pigmented as the season has wore on with the carmine blooms in particular becoming much more red these past two weeks. Perhaps some winter time research to be done.

10/22/2023

Feels like fall out there and the blueberry bushes are obliging. Fiery!

10/22/2023

Quite the haul for not having intentionally planted a single pumpkin plant this year. We started many heirloom seeds and none of them made it into the ground. These all came from volunteer plants in the field, spread with love I’m sure by the ducks after feasting on last years leftovers. Just in time for the annual carving contest….

10/21/2023

Dahlias, late in the season and still reaching for the sky. Need a Halloween arrangement? We’ve got plenty of fresh, local flowers available!

10/17/2023

Inspecting the damage.

10/17/2023

Hey friends and neighbors! Reminder that registration for our upcoming workshop with ends at noon. Come make a mini cheeseboard and a hand-tied bouquet with us! Bring a friend, bring your mom, bring your own wine and we’ll have a lovely evening celebrating the best things in life: food, flowers, and each other! Register at megscheeseboards.com today!!

10/13/2023

Wrapped on wedding season 2023. What a doozy, but so many beautiful pieces left the farm in celebration of some truly lovely couples. We wish you all well in your first year of wedded bliss and will be eternally grateful for choosing us to help you celebrate!

10/12/2023

Just put here living my wild woman dreams foraging for a weekend wedding. So lucky to have property enough to source unique (and native) elements from.

10/11/2023

Come see us this weekend for last call on fresh flowers for the season! For $25 grab a bucket and stuff it full with anything you can find in the field. We still have beautiful dahlias, zinnias, strawflower, amaranth, snapdragon…and more. Link in our bio to grab your ticket. Ticket sales close at 8pm on Friday 10/13. Must pre-register to attend.

10/10/2023

Mums the word.

10/09/2023

A chilly fall morning out there. Hope you’re all cozied up somewhere watching the leaves fall.

10/07/2023

For a most special bride on a most special day. From our farm and our hearts to yours, can’t wait to raise a glass to you today, Team KB to be. Congrats Kyle and Kelby!!

10/07/2023

The most lovely mums are making an appearance in many a bridal bouquet this week and I’m not sad about it.

10/07/2023

A happy fall featuring my favorite dahlia of the year.

10/04/2023

Would you believe this is kale?!?!?

09/29/2023

It’s almost over… only almost though.

09/27/2023

As summer turns to fall and winter and as the growing season slows and comes to a end so does my time as a full time farmer. Sadly I have to go back to my career as union electrician for winter. Dead flowers don’t pay the bills. But I would just like to take a moment out of my day to thank everybody that has supported us. Wether you came to farmers markets and bought flowers from us, had us do your wedding or event, the lovely other florist that have bought flowers of us wholesale or other farmers and craft vendors that have supported us THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart. Words will never truly explain how thankful I am. Without all of you there would be non of this.

If you know me personally you know how i have talked about farming for 20+ years and how it’s all I wanted to do. Well with the support of many people I finally got to live that dream for 5 months. With the little guy in picture it made it different and a bit more challenging at times than I thought but I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned a lot, made some new friends and had help from old ones.

As I grind away the winter i will reflect on this summer and hold onto those conversations we may of had and the time in the fields dying, sweating and loving every min of it. The sunshine on my skin, the foggy mornings cutting flowers with the sound of nature all around. What a blessing it’s been.

Big shout out to my wife without her running this business and doing all the real hard work non of this would of happened. Once again thank you everybody!

09/26/2023

A perfect fall evening swapping skills and enjoying the company of joyful people in our community. We co-hosted a boards and bouquets workshop with and I’m just awed by the turnout!! Thanks to all who came. We will absolutely plan to do this again.

09/23/2023

A lush garland made using only ingredients grown on the farm. Eastern redbud (great sub for silver dollar eucalyptus), perennial phlox with seed heads (sub for seeded eucalyptus), boxwood (sub for pittsoporum), and asparagus (sub for plumosa).

09/22/2023

This zinnia combo is fire. All of the flowers are really embracing and showing up for fall.

09/21/2023

So many shades of pink in the late September flower field. More of an orange gal myself… but for all you rosy-hued folks out there - enjoy!

09/17/2023

My lord! These mums… just too pretty.

09/16/2023

Mums!!!! The flower of November..but thankfully comes around much sooner. This is my official signal that fall has come. We’ve got about 10 varieties in the garden and are so excited to share them! Bouquets and bunches coming soon, stop by the farmstand this weekend and you might be able to sn**ch these beauties up!

09/15/2023

All the things are set in the farmstand! Stop for some organic, farm-fresh produce and farm goods on the way home or before you hit the grocery store tomorrow. Open until 6 today and from 9-6 Saturday, 9-12 on Sunday.

09/15/2023

We are opening our roadside stand this weekend!! The shed will be packed with fresh flowers, dried bouquets, organic veggies & herbs, duck eggs, bath soaks, herbal teas, floral art, macrame and more!!! The stand will be primarily self-serve and cashless. Find us at 407 Veteran Hill Road - look for the obnoxiously large OPEN flag.

09/15/2023

Lovely stuff coming in from the field this week. If you’ve got a need for fresh flowers in your life…this is the time to buy local. Unparalleled beauty and quality.

09/13/2023

A little experimentation… we made a few natural dyes to play around with. Some were very successful, others a little meh.

We started with unbleached cotton and undyed silk. Each due was made simply by steeping the plant matter in boiling water. Fabric was not treated with a mordant prior to dyeing, and were soaked in the dye for 24 hours.

Takeaways: onion skins for the win! The most beautiful, rich golden color. Black-eyes Susan was a second favorite, producing a champagne tone. Amaranth had strong promise, but faded out as the fabric dried naturally.

Got any favorites? Or have you experimented with natural dyes?

09/11/2023

Pressed this exotic emperor tulip back in May… and now starting to have a little fun. The petals are so thin they are almost transparent, and a little Iridescent. As the active flower farming season starts to wind down, we spend some time enjoying the creative pursuit of finding ways to capitalize on the byproducts well into winter. In other words, the fun never stops.

09/10/2023

Harvest, process. Harvest, process. The mantra of the season is to harvest and use everything we’ve worked so hard to grow. If anyone out there has great cucumber recipes, we’re out of ideas and I can’t eat another pickle..

09/09/2023

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

09/08/2023

The most lovely shade of lavender statice! We are almost to the very sad end of our statice season, and with all the rain…we won’t have much dried this year. But, we will have some!! Stay tuned for details on our farmstand - we’re hoping to open next week with flowers, veggies and more….