Last week, I attended a flower/creative panel discussion at the gorgeous Jardin de Buis. The discussion was a precursor to a weekend workshop (had a known I would have loved to participate!) and included Lucy Hunter , Francis Palmer, TJ McGrath and Ken Druse. It was a relatively short discussion but was worth the trip since it was thought provoking and beautiful. All in all, a good evening out!
First of all, Jardin de Buis is absolutely stunning. I cannot wait to go back and tour all of the gardens. The greenhouses, where the discussion took place, are completely dreamy. I couldn’t stop drooling over all the forcers, cloches, plants and beautiful vessels.
Something I’ve really struggled with lately (well, ever since we bought the farm) is the direction we want to take in regards to the farm. I’ve always had a vision of our field full of flowers but the reality is that a lot of blood, sweat and literal tears go into making any sort of farm work. Not to mention time, money and life-style changes. So it sometimes is a bit paralyzing to make these long term commitments and decisions. It can be especially hard when you scroll through social media and it appears that everyone knows exactly what they are doing and seem to do it effortlessly (we know it’s not effortless and that it is but a small moment in time but it can be hard to remember that!).
To hear these successful creatives talk about the ups and downs, pivots and turns, failures and successes is a needed reminder and reset. The question was asked how they’ve managed to achieve all that they have and the short answer was “persistence.” To do a little something everyday that moves you forward is something I needed to hear. In particular, Lucy talked about how she’s changed careers, dealt with burnout and had twists and turns in her professional life. That resonated with me as this is not a path I would have envisioned 25 years ago for Bryce and I (lawyer and teacher turned stay at home Mom). I’m still not crystal clear where we are headed and where we will end up, but I was reminded that it’s not always a linear path and that’s ok. Here’s to moving forward!
I went with my flower, and potter, loving friend, Gretchen. It was such a beautiful evening spent with flowers and friends!
