Now, picture this: a farm where fields of sunflowers sway in the breeze, dahlias stand tall in the morning light, and guests are welcomed to stay the night among it all. These floral farms are a feast for the senses, fragrant, vibrant, and humming with bees and summer energy. It’s the kind of beauty that slows you down and fills you up.

With summer slipping by, there’s no better time to soak in the season. Come along as we explore farms where the flowers are blooming and the welcome mat is always out.

(Header photo: Tanglebloom Flower Farm)

Bohemian Bloom and Herb – Eagle, Idaho: A true flower farm getaway: pick blooms from lavender fields and flower patches, try your hand at floral arranging in the potting shed, and linger under the grape arbor for a scented respite

Brunner Family Farm – McKinleyville, California: This farm grows it all – food, fiber and flowers on 10 acres, then sells their products at the local farmers markets. You’ll find a variety of specialty cut flowers all year round so be sure to take some home with you for a colorful and fragrant reminder of your time on the farm.

Cypress Crossing Farm – Florence, Alabama: Take a bloom-and-stroll walk through the gardens or wildflower fields with vase in hand to design your own flower arrangement. This 60 acre farm offers veggie harvesting too. Call it eats and treats from the farm!

Mary’s Land Farm – Ellicott City, Maryland: This 160 acre working farm follows beyond organic practices and regenerative farming to produce meats and vegetables and recently added fields and fields of sunflowers, promising a spectacular display at the end of summer for the Clarksville Sunflower Festival.

Pleasant Hills Farm – Darnestown, Maryland:  Just outside D.C., this organic farm offers flower fields for guests to explore and U‑pick. It’s part of their broader flower/crop CSA and farm‑fresh experience.

Tanglebloom Flower Farm – Brookline, Vermont: This woodland flower farm invites guests to immerse in sustainable growing and seasonal picking. Workshops in floral design add creative flair to the experience.

The post Stay on One of These Flower Farms appeared first on Farmstay.

This is such a bright, sweet and crunchy salad for mid-summer. Use any blue cheese  you like or substitute feta or fresh goat cheese.

Variation

Substitute a handful of croutons or torn, toasted bread for the toasted seeds or nuts

Serves 4

• 1 large peach, peeled and sliced
• 3 cups arugula, washed, dried and torn, if large
• 3 cups lettuce (more or less), washed, dried and torn or cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons red onion (wonderful with torpedo onions), thinly sliced
• Handful of basil leaves, torn or chopped
• 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds or almonds or hazelnuts, roughly chopped if using nuts
• 1.5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (or feta or fresh goat cheese)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil oil

Put the greens, peaches, herbs, onion, seeds and cheese in a salad bowl. Drizzle with vinegar, oil and add salt and pepper. Toss gently and taste and adjust as needed.

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Recipe Collection from Cook With What You Have

Do you ever find yourself with an abundance of produce from your CSA subscription and are not totally sure what to do with it all? Or, if you’re a farmer — maybe especially because you’re a farmer — you’re more than set with a particular ingredient but short on ideas for how to prepare it in interesting ways again and again? We all have our favorites, but variety is always good and reducing waste is a big plus! The USDA estimates that 21% of the available food supply is wasted in homes, but we know that supporters of working farms and ranches want to make a difference in this regard.

Enter… Cook With What You Have! Farm Stay USA has teamed up with Katherine Deumling of CWWYH to bring her searchable, seasonal collection of 900+ recipes to our readers and our farm members alike.

I have always loved food and cooking and all that food is, beyond the requisite calories. My childhood in West Germany and my creative, efficient, cook-with-what-you-have mother with a sprawling vegetable garden, shaped my early years. A Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1996 took me to rural Italy and Mexico to deepen my understanding of how and why people cook the way they do. More than a decade of involvement with Slow Food, locally, nationally and internationally brought together my interest in food systems, regenerative agriculture and the combination of joy and justice. — Katherine Deumling

Users of the Farm Stay USA website may sign up for an individual membership on Cook With What You Have with a 20% discount using the code farmstayusa at checkout. For $4.99 per month, subscribers will have access to the entire searchable archive of recipes, tips, and techniques, plus a weekly newsletter with seasonal highlights and inspiration for the week.

Our dues-paying US Farm Stay Association members may subscribe to the Farm Stay USA organizational level and use CWWYH content (as applicable) in their day-to-day business of serving meals to guests, teaching cooking classes, or sharing recipes with their guests.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

The post Seasonal Recipe: Arugula, Peach and Blue Cheese Salad appeared first on Farmstay.

Enter… Cook With What You Have! Farm Stay USA has teamed up with Katherine Deumling of CWWYH to bring her searchable, seasonal collection of 900+ recipes to our readers and our farm members alike.

I have always loved food and cooking and all that food is, beyond the requisite calories. My childhood in West Germany and my creative, efficient, cook-with-what-you-have mother with a sprawling vegetable garden, shaped my early years. A Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1996 took me to rural Italy and Mexico to deepen my understanding of how and why people cook the way they do. More than a decade of involvement with Slow Food, locally, nationally and internationally brought together my interest in food systems, regenerative agriculture and the combination of joy and justice. — Katherine Deumling

Users of the Farm Stay USA website may sign up for an individual membership on Cook With What You Have with a 20% discount using the code farmstayusa at checkout. For $4.99 per month, subscribers will have access to the entire searchable archive of recipes, tips, and techniques, plus a weekly newsletter with seasonal highlights and inspiration for the week.

Our dues-paying US Farm Stay Association members may subscribe to the Farm Stay USA organizational level and use CWWYH content (as applicable) in their day-to-day business of serving meals to guests, teaching cooking classes, or sharing recipes with their guests.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

Please enjoy one of CWWYH’s seasonal recipes below!

Collard Greens with Winter Squash and Bacon

I threw this dish together one night and it turned out to be a winner. You could fry or poach an egg to serve on top of this and call it dinner.

For this dish to work you need a large skillet and you need to cut the squash into really small pieces. I suggest 1-inch long little batons or some such. You want the vegetables to have enough room so they sauté/brown rather than steaming.

Serves 4+

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 smallish bunch collard greens, washed, any tough stems removed and leaves cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise thin ribbons
• 2 shallots or half an onion, thinly sliced
• 2 (or more) slices bacon, cut into dice
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or other hot pepper (optional)
• 3-4 cups winter squash (Butternut, Hubbard, Delicata, etc.), cut into small pieces, see headnote
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil in the biggest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add the onion or shallot and bacon and cook until the onions begin browning and the bacon renders most of its fat. Add the squash and the greens and several generous pinches of salt. Mix well and cook, covered, stirring often to prevent the veggies from burning, until the squash is tender, the greens have begun to caramelize a bit but still have a bite. If things get too dry you can add a little splash of water and cover to speed up the cooking. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

The post Introducing… Cook With What You Have, plus a recipe for collard greens with winter squash and bacon appeared first on Farmstay.

“Life follows the rhythm of the seasons.”

THIS BLOG WAS PUBLISHED IN 2015. KINNIKINNICK FARM NO LONGER OFFERS LODGING BUT THEY DO OFFER DAY VISITS. THERE IS A LINK TO THIS ON THEIR PROFILE.

This is not your ordinary campground. Located on a certified organic farm in the rolling hills of northern Illinois, Kinnikinnick Farm’s Feather Down farm tents (part of the Feather Down Farms franchise) offer guests a charming and authentic farm stay experience.

From spring through fall, guests can stay in the spacious wood-floored tents and enjoy beds made with European style linens; wood stoves, along with kindling and wood to cook and keep warm; and fresh, local foods. With no electricity inside the tents, evening light is provided via oil lamps and candles. Hot showers and flush toilets are located in a nearby bathhouse.

The farm was originally founded in 1849, and has been in continuous production since. David and Susan Cleverdon purchased the farm in 1987 and began their organic garden in 1993. Now, they sell their certified organic produce directly to farmers market customers and Chicago-area chefs, as well as partnering with a program that helps feed Chicago’s homeless.

Food and Chores

Guests are welcome to help out with some of the farm chores, like collecting eggs, feeding animals, and harvesting crops, or they may choose to simply explore the countryside and relax.

At Kinnikinnick Farm, guests can purchase meal components like meats, eggs, and produce, then grill outside or cook over their woodstove. The farm also offers “arrival meals” for the first night, and during particular times of year, the outdoor wood-fired oven is available for build-your-own pizza nights.

To learn more about Kinnikinnick Farm visit their listing here on Farm Stay U.S., then head over to their website to book next year’s vacation!

(All photos courtesy Kinnikinnick Farm and Coral VonZumwalt)

The post Elegant Rusticity at Kinnikinnick Farm, Illinois appeared first on Farmstay.