When we grow up..................

Many ,many years ago, when we start Miss Effie's we would hear ...... Have you been to Howell's? 

And no, we had not been to Howell's.  But we were fortunate to have a cousin that would take a tour now and then and send photos.  And articles.  And newspaper clippings.

So we would swoon.  And we would dream.  And we would say, This is what we want to be when we grow up.

And last weekend..... we swooned.  We dreamed.  And we said, This is what we want to be when we grow up.

We went to Howell's.

First of all ....... I fell in love with the loft full of dried flowers.  The flower to the left is Blue Bedder Salvia ...yea, I need to be drying that.  And then that beautiful blue statice.  Swoooon............

Beautiful dyed and dried flax........ It just sparkled in the loft.  It looked like fireflies against the darkness.  So pretty.         

Bells of Ireland have always been one of my very favorite flowers to grow.  I'm excited to have them back in the garden next year.  So I will study this winter on the type of drying technique used for the flowers.  I'm certain they started out in glycerin but what a fantastic color!

We then walked through the fields and got some great ideas for growing and ..............just maybe..... the elimination of some of the weeds.

The amaranth was beautiful!

So I oooooohed a lot.  I drooled a lot. I learned a lot.  And I need to go back to see this.

And I now understand why so many schools take children on such varied field trips ................ they learn what they want to be when they grow up!!