Bringing Outside In

One of the most rewarding parts of readying Squabetty for guests is making little vases of flowers to spread around the house. I prefer wild flowers, but supplement from my cutting garden, perennials and wild flowers around my house. As the neighbors are readying for work in the morning, I’m wandering around in my mud boots, searching for blooms. Maybe you’ll see someone driving slowly along dirt roads here in the north country, looking out along the roadsides. It might be me. I know which roads are likely to have Joe Pye Weed, loosestrife (yes, invasive), and steeple bush. In my glove box I keep scissors, not for self-protection, but just in case I see something lovely along the roadside. I love these summer and autumn flower drives – I never know what I’ll find – and it’s luxuriously lazy. I feel like what we used to call old fogies out on a Sunday drive. Once I gather loads of flowers, I set them out in vases – antique bottles, tiny vases that have been in the family for generations and new bottles I like. And when there’s too many flowers, I make myself a bouquet and bring it home – a little present to myself.