A Day at Flourish Flower Farm
We got up bright and early for our morning flower workshop with Niki of Flourish Flower Farm. The flower farm is not open to the public, but you can attend a workshop she offers, or book a private session with her – which is what we did for our visit.
On the way, we stopped by critically acclaimed Hole Doughnuts – winner of Bon Appétit’s dessert of the year a few years ago – and it did not disappoint. They are made to order doughnuts so place your order ahead of time online if you don’t want to wait. After our tasty breakfast, off we went to meet Niki on her gorgeous farm. Flourish Farm is just 15 minutes outside of downtown Asheville.
Nikki was so lovely. We were greeted by her, her amazing team, and her two sweet dogs. She led us to her work area and explained what’s involved in a good floral arrangement - a focal point, something high and something low, something with texture and some balance.
I wore one of my favorite floral dresses for the occasion and a pair of canvas sneakers, and of course a sun hat. Who wants wrinkles?! The dress ending up matching without any planning, so I felt like I was in flower camouflage out in the fields! The sneakers have been my go-to all summer as you can just slip them on and toss in the wash when they need laundered.
We quickly headed out to her beautiful flower fields and learned what was in bloom and the process involved in getting beautiful healthy blooms season after season. She really knows her stuff! We were handed shears and flower pails, and off we went to cut anything we wanted to showcase in the arrangements we were about to construct.
Once we finished selecting the flowers, we headed back to the workshop to build out our arraignments. Luckily, she was right there throughout the process – teaching us out the process and offering suggestions, even complimenting the work we did as rookie flower designers. She had all the supplies we needed, and we worked our way through building our arrangements. The vessels were even on Lazy Susans so we could work on our arrangements from all angles. Genius idea to us novices!
Did I mention she is coming out with a book? It’s sure to be a bestseller. We had a wonderful time and I would highly recommend reaching out if you’re in Asheville to schedule a private workshop with her.
While in Asheville, we stayed at this amazing inn called the Bunn House. I read about it on Goop and if it is good enough for GP then it is good enough for me! It exceeded my expectations. With only five rooms, we never saw anyone there. Outfitted in Frette linens, a built-in white noise machine, ceiling fan, kitchenette, and balcony set up – our room was wonderful. And the bathroom was decked out with heated floors and the best steam shower I have ever experienced. Housekeeping is on pause due to Covid but when we needed towels, they were so nicely placed outside our door in an adorable basket lickety-split.
The neighborhood reminded me of Del Ray in Alexandria, with quiet streets lined with bungalow homes and speckled with historic mansions converted into B&Bs. Just two blocks always from the Bunn House is an amazing coffee shop with a great outdoor garden and space to enjoy on the property, along with a juice bar and spin studio. All while being just steps from downtown but far enough away for some peace and quiet.
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