Spring Flower Festival — Opening the Season
The Spring Flower Festival marked our first gathering of the season, and it was a beautiful way to return to sharing our work with the community. The weekend was filled with familiar faces, new connections, and the steady rhythm of creating and teaching from the booth.
This festival was especially meaningful as it brought together our family of makers, each offering something unique and rooted in the homestead.
My daughter-in-law Julia, of Wildflower Waxworks, made her debut with a lovely collection of coconut soy wax candles and handcrafted soaps. Her candles are clean-burning and thoughtfully presented, including both classic pours and detailed floral-topped designs. Her soaps are equally special—vegan, alpha-gal friendly, and scented entirely with essential oils. Each bar is carefully crafted with skin-conditioning ingredients and naturally colored with clays and minerals, creating a balance of beauty and function.
Paula of A Talent for Teas, my sister-in-law, joined us with her small-batch herbal blends. Her work is deeply tied to the seasons, and as we continue growing and harvesting from this year’s garden, she will be expanding her offerings to reflect what the land provides throughout the year.
This was also the debut of my niece, Megyn, with her line, Dahlia, a natural skincare and cosmetic collection centered around botanical ingredients. Her offerings feature floral hydrosols, skin-loving herbal infusions, and thoughtfully formulated oils designed to nourish and support the skin. It was a proud moment to see her step into this work as our youngest maker.
My son Skyler represented The Metalsmith Shop, showcasing his welded horseshoe art while also running our distillation demonstrations throughout the festival. He distilled Ozark Witch Hazel on site, giving visitors a chance to experience the process firsthand and displaying his skill both in metalwork and in the art of distillation.
Throughout the weekend, we featured several co-distillations, including lavender with witch hazel, wild plum blossom with witch hazel, and rose with witch hazel. These demonstrations created space for conversation, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of the plants and processes behind our apothecary offerings.
Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome our youngest family member, JoAnne, who at just four years old will soon be joining us at local markets with her Little Wildflower bouquets—small, joyful bundles of flowers that reflect the same love of nature shared throughout our family.
We are grateful for the opportunity to share our homestead and apothecary work with both new and returning visitors. Each interaction is a reminder of why we do this—to connect, to teach, and to offer something made with care.
We’re looking forward to continuing this season at the May Spring Planting Festival in just a few weeks.
