The Nest Journal
/nest/ noun : a place of rest, retreat, or lodging : HOME
Inch by Inch
“Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground”
Our first spring at Belle Flower Farm found us putting our foot on a shovel for our ground breaking garden. We had some experience with vegetable gardening. On our suburban lot where we were still living, Mark & I had created a sweet little parterre garden. Located just outside the kitchen door where our sons had the early experience picking sun warmed berries & tomatoes.
We hadn’t built our farmhouse yet, but with a big dream to dig in to— we hired an area farmer to till a generous garden. That first vegetable garden & following 2 years was a joyful family experience. Our kids were young and enjoyed our summer evenings spent on our property watering, weeding and watching our pumpkins grow.
In spring of 2001 we had moved into our new farmhouse and set about preparing the veggie garden in its current location. Following the tilling, Mark & I set out with a rental auger to dig holes for our fence posts. Without experience, we learned pretty quickly, you needed to be ready to lift the heavy corkscrew from the soil when it reached the desired depth. We planted raspberries, corn, pumpkins, carrots, asparagus & sunflowers along the long furrows. We assessed each morning what was left as the deer found in our smorgasbord the previous night.
We eventually replaced the low 4’ fence with its current 8’ enclosure. Topped by a collection of grapes that include Concord, champagne, and several table grape varieties. The magical tendrils soften this structure. Along with the higher fence, the next step was to create garden boxes & plan for irrigation. That summer was unforgettably hot as Mark and I trenched for pipes and set those original spray heads for each box. I designed our 55’ x 80’ garden in quadrants. Two sections of 9 boxes each and 2 sections of 4 long boxes each. A decorative diamond is the center that still is home to a trellis of Morning Glories. Cedar chairs are a welcome place to rest while tending to the garden on warm summer days.
Along the way we added orchard trees collected from One Green World. We eventually moved them to their forever orchard behind the cottage and surrounded by arbors and pasture fencing. Fruitful trees of apples, cherry, plum, fig, pear and a favorite peach tree are a sweet reward for the eye & palate. We also grow filberts, Marionberries, thornless blackberries, boysenberries, currants, strawberries & blueberries. Along with a foray into lavender farming, increasingly I have extended our cutting garden to include cottage roses, favorite perennials & annuals for floral designs.
Cherished memories of our sons picking berries for ice cream, ingredients for grilling & onion rings. Our youngest son selling pumpkins at the end of our lane each fall, riding his bike out to check the pail for sales. The time I made lemonade with currants for my son & his best friend—the tart look on their faces still makes me smile, planting our pumpkin starts as a Mother’s Day gift of labor and our dog Jack pulling carrots out of the ground and corn off the stalk for his dinner.
Harvest season is a much anticipated delight. With growing a fruitful garden I have also grown my enjoyment of preservation. Apple cider made with our custom Belle Flower Farm apple press is a celebratory annual event. And late summer hues decorate our kitchen counters as berries, tomatoes, onions, figs, grapes, peppers are prepared for favorite recipes. From tomato sauce to chutney, cobblers to “Pam Jam” all are enjoyed in the middle of winter as we share a meal with friends & family. A wonderful reminder of this summer & summers past—making this garden grow.
“Pulling; weeds and pickin’ stones
We are made of dreams and bones
need a place to call my own
‘Cause the time is close at hand
Grain for grain, sun and rain
Find my way in nature’s chain
Till my body and my brain
Tell the music of the land
Plant your rows straight and long
Season with prayer and song
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her loving care.”
~Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger
“I De Endoe”
“I de endoe..”
~Richard & Paula, Best Friends
“I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That’s getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition.”
~George Banks, Father of the Bride
Once Upon a Time… a girl met a boy at a high school football game. Sitting on the concrete bleachers of Kiggins
Bowl, chatting with friends more than watching the game—a mutual friend introduced them. He was full of
enthusiasm about his Student Exchange time, having just returned from Japan. At 15 she had a quiet personality and
was a good listener. It was complicated 6 months between that simple introduction and their first date. The
devastating loss of Pam’s father that winter wrote a new chapter for her family.
The following summer Pam agreed to Mark’s invitation to a date—a movie. The subplot had its twists & turns as Mark
went off to university and Pam to art school. This young couple coordinated calls to the fraternity and letters through
the mail. Following graduations they both took their first professional jobs. Six years to the day of their first date they
married. A story befitting a screenplay—high school sweethearts turned into married couple.
“This is true love. You think this happens every day?”
~Westley, the Princess Bride
“June Brides” was always a traditional nod to kicking off wedding season.
Although weddings have now stretched earlier into the spring on one end of the calendar, and lingering into fall with its crisp autumnal afternoons.
“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
~Harry Burns, When Harry Met Sally
It’s been many years since Mark & I celebrated on our wedding day. A drizzly day like today as I write this. But a
shinning reflection of our commitment to sharing our lives together. Like most brides I had a vision of what our day
would look like. Storied & Classic Romance. I had discovered a local seamstress who created wedding gowns from
traditional vintage patterns, fabric & trims. Victorian was what I envisioned and the moment I put it on it was perfect.
Vintage cotton lawn, eyelet lace & the tiniest pin tucks. Similar to the antique photo I had of a two times great aunt’s
wedding day. A laughable moment happened the day I picked up my dress after alterations, I tossed my keys into the
car after carefully placing my dress and promptly locked my keys in the car.
Timeless decisions like Victorian posed photos, a string quartet playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D, my own designs of
dried flowers in baskets & wild sweet peas tangled around wreaths (I snipped on our wedding morning), and ribbon
rounds I made to hang from the ceiling at the Academy Ballroom. All were the back drop visually to what was a
personal wedding. Mark’s lifelong friends from his fraternity were his groomsmen. I fondly remember my friend Alison,
a bridesmaid, who has since passed. Our Flower Girl & Ring bearer who years later both married at Belle Flower
Farm. My brother walked me down the aisle, and I stopped at my mother’s side. I handed her a petite posey I made
of Forget-Me-Nots in memory of my father. And Pastor Brassard not quite sure how to announce us married, “Mark
Curtis & Pam Richey Curtis—(pause)—married.”
“People call these things imperfections, but they are not, aw, that’s the good stuff. And then we get to choose who we let into our little weird worlds.”
~Dr. Sean Maguire, Good Will Hunting
Cheers to all the couples telling their story this Wedding Season!
To Travel or Not to Travel— That is the Question.
“Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space have ceased.”
~John Steinbeck
Spring Break this year consisted of not venturing much farther than our BFF gardens. I blocked off several days on our calendar and began the process of grounding myself in our gardens. Digging out from To Do Lists & distractions, my intensions this year was to weed, prune, weed, plant, weed, spread compost and connect with all of my friends in the garden.
I am reminded of Spring Breaks from the past with a school age family. I would pack up kids, dogs, food & toys and head to the coast. Connecting with friends during the week & joined by Mark on the weekend. Endless hours digging in the sand, visits to the arcade & Mario Bros.
“Wherever you go,
go with all your heart.”
~Confucius
Last April, I planned a trip to NYC for Mark & I. Heartfelt choices of museums, Central Park, plays, restaurants, walking & exploring. Sitting in Studio 54 for “Pictures From Home”. Happening upon a French bakery with the most amazing gf cream puffs & Happy Hour at The Plaza were memorable life moments.
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
~Martin Buber
The Dutch are my people—not really. But Mark’s & my trip to the Netherlands several springs ago showed me the secret of how gardeners are connected. I explored Amsterdam on my own during the day—museums, shops, photographing architecture. Finding the most quaint neighborhood restaurant where the owner popped in a gluten free cake for our desert. There is no secret for this country’s love of flowers with a flower stand on every corner.
As we caught the train to Leiden, the fields of tulips & daffodils created a mosaic out the window. Our destination was The Keukenhof Garden. My version of Disneyland— tears filled my eyes as we walked through the gate. The seeds of growth came as we explored Des Hague, watched as a young couple married in a historic church, met the most wonderful inn keeper & visited their lush weekly Farmer’s Market, remarking we must come to stay again.
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
~Matsuo Basho
To travel or not to travel. Some springs are meant for exploring-others are for connecting with your home. Both equally important to our growth.
Tickled Pink
Tickled Pink
“White wrought-iron chairs scattered with blowsy cabbage roses. Robins-egg blue porcelain cake stands, dotted with strawberries as small and red as lipstick kisses. Green stemmed stools with speckled pink seats.”
~Charlotte Silver
Blush, bubblegum, fuchsia, salmon, magenta, mauve, orchid, coral, watermelon—
this is the year of PINK!
“Hi Barbie!”
“Hi Ken!”
~Greta Gerwig
Aside from the attention the Barbie movie shined on the color pink—my personal taste has always leaned to this soft sweet hue. From the pink sweet peas I designed with for our wedding flowers to our custom pink linen slipcover for our cottage sofa. The Cecil Brunner roses clamoring over the arbor to the pink glowing sunsets of summer.
I had joined Mark on a trip to the Netherlands a number of years ago. On my list of springtime adventures for a country known for flowers—the art museums and the public gardens were delightfully on the agenda. One particular day—which happened to be my birthday—I was strolling through the flower market on my own. I spotted one of my favorites. The softest of pink Ranunculus. I quickly purchased them and tucked them into my tote. A sweet self gift that each time is see them now, takes me to that intensional moment.
Our first home was a post WW2 bungalow in the Rosemere neighborhood—now Rose Village. It was a cozy 720 square feet. We set about painting each room, refinishing the hardwood floors, adding wallpaper & refreshing the kitchen. At the time, I was working at Laura Ashley. Their Bloomsbury Collection was perfect for our little bohemian cottage. Our sofa promptly got a new artistic linen slipcover & I painted pink flowers on our kitchen cabinets in the vein of Clive & Vanessa Bell. (Another nod to our name.) Refurbishing the garden I added a favorite pink peony. I subsequently moved the rhizomes to each of our 3 homes. They now joyfully reside in our Belle Flower Farm gardens.
A few of my favorite things that sprinkle pink throughout our farmhouse add joy to entertaining & everyday moments. Favorite pink china pieces include a thumb print tulip vase from my mother’s godmother, Esther. Alice China including pitcher, platter, serving bowl & tea pot collected while working at Laura Ashley. An heirloom mug, 6th generations old from England. And nothing is more welcoming than to set a table with our collection of pink depression glassware & crisp pink cotton & lace table cloth.
Lifestyle favorites include a soft pink wool coat & pink sweaters in my closet, not restricted to only February wear. And a summertime favorite is a cool glass of Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pink Lemonade & rose’ tickles me pink.
“Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.”
~Lilly Pulitzer
Ringing in the Year
Ringing in the Year
Introducing Laura Belle & Bellflower
Bellflower (Campanula) This bell shaped beauty boasts enchanting clusters of cottage flowers. The perfect fit to tuck into perennial beds or bouquets. My favorite variety is the sweet Bluebell bellflower. Not only does the bellflower attract pollinators like bees & butterflies, but it also holds the symbolism of gratitude & everlasting love.
Clear as a bell are my childhood memories of Great Grandma’s home & gardens. On Saturdays, my dad would stop by to mow the lawn. That task had become difficult for Laura Belle, but she was determined to continue living in her cottage on 39th Street. A double lot—it was also home to a stand-alone garage and greenhouse. It was a magical place to explore—
The cottage gardens with Rhododendrons large enough to play house under and a manicured path of grass leading to the rose arbor clamoring with an old fashioned red rose (pretending to marry underneath). The specimen Blue Spruce that stood guard next to the driveway. And a greenhouse with decades of pots, watering cans & the occasional discovered creature.
Inside the house—a tall flour bin under the kitchen counter with red bakelite handles (the perfect hiding spot for a young great granddaughter), rows of canned fruits & vegetables leading down to the cellar, the grandfather clock ticking on the mantle in the cozy living room, the player piano at the ready. In the bathroom—the pedestal sink Laura stood in front of each Sunday morning when we picked her up for church. Her wavy grey hair reached nearly to her knees. She had never cut it, only trimmed, and worked each morning to pin it up in a tidy bun. She always finished with a rhinestone studded comb to keep the wisps in check. “Grandma we are here,” I would announce upon entering. “Land sakes alive, child. You startled me,” she would reply.
Laura Belle Livingston was born in Nebraska in 1885. At the age of 25 she married Roy and they eventually settled on a farm in Brush Prairie during the depression. A lover of plants Laura always had a generous vegetable garden along with apple & cherry trees. Then in 1940 Laura & Roy moved their family to their Vancouver home at 412 W. 39th Street. In 1942, they opened a nursery called Highland Florist, which she ran for 15 years. Grandma continued to rise early her entire life, cutting seasonal flowers to create the pulpit bouquet at church. Gladiola, Calla lilies, flowering branches, fern, holly— whatever had been gathered from the garden. Grandma’s independent streak has always spoken to me, as she continued to live alone in her cottage until the age of 94. Passing at an extraordinary 95 years young. “Old cloddy is a comin’”, Laura would say.
Ringing the bell to a new year, I reflect on my own clear chime. Belle Flower Farm is our home and business now. What began as pasture land—there was room for dreams to ring true. Giving our property a proper name was part of the plan for our homestead, which we broke ground for in 2000. Always open to a good play on words—my thought quickly settled on Belle Flower Farm. Creating our own bell choir of memories the hammer continues to strike with a song rooted in childhood observations, raising our family and of creating a home, gardens & business.
Belle Flower Farm—a place of gratitude & everlasting love.