2023 Holiday Style Guide

'Tis the season to transform our spaces into winter wonderlands, and what better way to do so than by embracing the timeless beauty of nature with fresh greenery accented with pops of bold color? This holiday season, let's dive into the art of decorating with nature's bounty, creating a festive ambiance that is both inviting and visually stunning.

The Power of Pops

Pops of bold red strategically placed throughout your decor add a bit of classic charm to the effect of simple greenery. What can you use? Think about vibrant red velvet or satin ribbons, carefully tied bows, non-traditional and relaxed looking scarves (show below) and clusters of shiny ornaments added to wreaths or in lanterns (shown below). The contrast between the rich red and the lush greenery creates a visually dynamic and eye-catching display, instantly elevating the festive spirit in any room.

Nature’s Elegance

Start by bringing the outdoors in with fresh greenery. Noble fir branches, cedar, and pine not only infuse your home with the invigorating scent of the season but also serve as a canvas for holiday creativity. Drape garlands along stair railings, mantels, and doorways, allowing the vibrant green hues to set the stage for a festive atmosphere.

A well-crafted wreath speaks volumes. Add fresh greenery and festive red accents to your front door. From holly berries to bows, create a warm and inviting welcome.

Traditional Style

Who doesn’t love a little classic plaid for a traditional holiday vibe? Whether it's in the form of throw blankets, pillows, or table runners, plaid introduces a cozy and rustic element to your festive decor. Opt for red and green plaid patterns to seamlessly blend with the fresh greenery and pops of red. Drape plaid blankets over sofas and chairs or use plaid table runners as a backdrop for your holiday dining table. The addition of plaid not only enhances the overall aesthetic but also brings a sense of warmth and comfort, making your space feel like a snug winter retreat.

For more inspiration for holiday decorating and to see our wreath making feature, check out BH&G 2023 Christmas Ideas Magazine, on stands now.

Simple & Elegant DIY Delight

Looking to add a personal touch, both simple and elegant, to decorate your home with over the holiday season? The beauty of snowflakes made with greenery and decorative twine is a beautiful way to achieve that look. Decorating with noble fir boughs (or any greenery) is a testament to nature's incredible artistry, with the feathery branches mimicking the intricate patterns of real snowflakes. The addition of decorative twine not only serves a functional purpose, tying the boughs together, but also enhances the overall aesthetic, adding a touch of charm. Adding an old tree branch foraged from our nearby woods to hang the snowflakes from, gives an added rustic effect. This unique creation celebrates the holiday spirit and the timeless allure of nature's beauty.

To acheive this look you’ll need greenery boughs, twine, fishing line, and floral snips. Cut 4 small sections off of the bough, smaller sub branches about 6” long. Arrange them together in a snowflake shape with the bases all facing each other. Using your twine without cutting a length, begin wrapping the twine around the bases, keeping twine light to not allow movement of the branches. Wrap twine in a X pattern to secure properly and tie the twine in a double knot to finish. Use fishing line to tie to the top of the branch you’d like to use as the ‘top’ of your snowflake and cut the fishing line to the length you desire for hanging your snowflake. Optional: all an old branch, shower rod, or other decorative base to hang the snowflakes from.

Greenery Snowflakes work perfectly as a photo backdrop wall in our farm shop

Elevated Ideas

Elevate your holiday decor with a unique DIY twist by using tree toppers as inspired indoor decorations. While typically reserved for adorning porch pots, we took a creative approach by suspending tree toppers from the rafters inside our farm shop and embellished with delicate twinkle lights. The result? A striking design statement that infuses the space with a touch of holiday magic. Picture the awe-inspiring sight of these beautiful trees gracefully hanging from the rafters, their magical sparkle lights casting a breathtaking glow throughout the room. It's a simple yet impactful way to bring the spirit of the season indoors with a touch of whimsy and elegance.

Hosting Friends & Family for the Holidays?

Check out our recipe for our favorite, crowd pleasing, apple galette. We love apple galette, because we always have a bumper crop of apples in the fall from the apple trees in our orchard. We’re always looking for great ways to use them while hosting family and creative recipes throughout the holiday season.

For the Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

• 1/3 cup ice water

For the Filling:

• 4 Johnathan apples

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon lavender infused honey

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and diced butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then sprinkle ice water over it. Process until the pastry just starts to come together, typically around 10 seconds. Transfer the dough to a work surface, shape it into a disk, and wrap it in plastic or wax paper. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator.

2. Peel, halve, and core the apples. Slice them crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Set aside the larger center slices and coarsely chop the remaining slices, ensuring roughly half are chopped. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.

3. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a 12- x 14-inch rectangle, then transfer it to a generously sized baking sheet.

4. Spread the chopped apples over the pastry, leaving a neat 1-inch border. Drizzle the honey over the chopped apples. Arrange the remaining apple slices in concentric circles or slightly overlapping rows on top. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the apples and dot the concoction with diced butter. Gently fold the pastry's edge up and over the apples to craft a pretty 1-inch border.

5. Bake the apple galette for approximately 1 hour or until the pastry boasts a delectable golden brown hue, with a satisfying crispness. Allow the galette to cool on a rack before serving, whether warm or at room temperature. Ice cream on the side is so good, but totally optional.

Tasteful Tablescape

Looking for a quick, but unique centerpiece idea for Thanksgiving? Try decorating pumpkins with dried flowers! These beautiful, bright colors are a fun spin to add something new for your celebration. These beauties will be gracing our table this Thanksgiving, along with new napkins to tie everything together.

To achieve this look, dried flowers are hot glued to the top of the pumpkin. They will last up to a year if the pumpkin isn’t punctured anywhere. We’ll post pics of our table in a couple weeks! Need some inspiration for the best flowers to dry? Read our blog post here, or check out our YouTube video.

Potted Flowering Bulbs

There’s something wonderful about having blooming bulbs in the middle of winter. While everything outside is cold, rainy/snowy, gray and bleh, blooming bulbs such as paperwhite and amaryllis are so lovely to enjoy and bring along the promise of the return of spring.

If you have potted bulbs from year’s past that you’re storing, bring them out, give them a little water and get them going again for the holiday season. If kept in a cool/dry place, they should have enough energy to product blooms again this year.

As the holiday season approaches in 2023, we hope we’ve given you a few ideas for how to decorate your homes with warmth and festive cheer. Gather inspiration, let your imagination run wild, and make this 2023 holiday season truly unforgettable. Happy decorating & hosting for the season!

XX Jenn and Adam

Dahlia Tuber Storage Tips

Dahlias are becoming an increasingly popular cut flower for flowers farmers and home gardeners alike. With many different colors, sizes and shapes, it’s easy to see why they’re a fan favorite! Dahlia flowers start from a tuber, which means that they have a swollen underground stem that stores energy for the plant to grow. While dahlias are not winter hardy in growing zones that have temperatures that dip consistently below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, their tubers can be dug up and stored over the winter months to be replanted in the spring. Proper dahlia tuber storage is essential to ensure that the tubers are healthy and ready to grow when the time comes to plant them again the following growing season. Today, we wanted to share some of our tips with y’all. Below are some tips for storing dahlia tubers throughout the winter

DAHLIA STORAGE TIPS

1. The best time to dig up dahlia tubers is after the first frost, when the plant has died back and the foliage has turned yellow. This usually occurs in mid October or early November.

2. Cut off the stems/greenery: Cut off the stems of the plants about 6 inches above the tubers, leaving a small stem attached to each tuber.

3. Clean and dry the tubers: Before storing the tubers, gently brush off any excess dirt, wash and allow them to air dry for a couple days in a well-ventilated area.

4. Once dry, divide dahlias and let sit out for another 24 hours.

5. Storage: Place tubers into peat moss as a storage medium in a ventilated box. We use bulb crates with craft paper liner on the bottom. A temperature of around 40-50°F is ideal, with the humidity kept around 80%, and plenty of airflow (we keep a fan running).

6. Protect from pests: It is important to check the tubers regularly for any signs of pests or rot. If you notice any issues, remove the affected tubers and dispose of them to prevent the problem from spreading. Common pests we see are roly-poly bugs. They will make a little village and eat your tubers. If you find them, take the entire crate out and rewash the tubers.

7. Check your tubers daily to make sure the temperature is within the range noted above, the humidity levels are correct and pull a few out to take a look at them from the peat moss (placing them back into and well under the peat moss aftterwards).

By following these simple steps, you can ensure that your dahlia tubers are properly stored and ready to be replanted in the spring. With a little bit of care and attention, you can enjoy these beautiful flowers in your garden for years to come.

XX Jenn and Adam

PepperHarrow's 10 Year Anniversary!

IT’S BEEN A WONDERFUL 10 YEARS ON THE FLOWER FARM.

We’ve had so many success and failures over the last 10 years. It’s been full of learning and growing - of our land, flowers, and most importantly, in ourselves and our relationship. At times it hasn’t been an easy endeavor, but the reward of owning our own business, creating success, and growing the most gorgeous local flowers in Central Iowa has been worth all of it 1000X over.

Cute Celebratory Boards by @CakeDSM

Celebrating 10 years of owning a small business is pretty surreal. We high-fived, and celebrated this huge milestone, but we also found ourselves completely taken aback that it had been 10 years. It’s funny how the years seem to blend together and how 10 years ago almost feels like a yesterday.

We celebrated our special night with over 125 of our most favorite customers, they are the folks that have supported us and enabled us to hit this huge milestone. It’s with their support, encouragement, and love of our small business that has helped us build our dream into a reality! Okay, totally gushing over our customers, but y’all get the point. They’re the most wonderful peeps and have treated us so well over the years. Because of this, we treated everyone who came out to complimentary food, beverages, ice cream, and of course FLOWER BOUQUETS!

Yep, that’s right! We sent them out into our flower fields to cut their own bouquets to take home as a small token of our appreciation for them. It was the absolute BEST to see everyone enjoy themselves so much and to also see the beautiful bouquets they created. It was a hit with our Friends of PepperHarrow and something we’d like to treat our best customers to every few years.

Photo Courtesy of CakeDSM

Our 10 year anniversary celebration was not only to celebrate the farm, but we also held it in support of our local Madison County Conservation, who is building a new conservation center at Pammel Park. If you missed out on the opportunity to contribute, you can do so by scanning the PayPal QR code, below to make a donation. Or, you can send payments on PayPal via email address to: naturalist@madisoncountyparks.org

All proceeds will go directly to the conservation center as well as other nature enrichment activities for an outdoor classroom space. Next time you visit Madison County, check out some our treasured parks. You can get a list of them here.

Thank you so much for helping us celebrate 10 years and here’s to another wonderful 10 years of success to come! We can’t wait to share more of our flower farming journey with all of you, as well as more exciting announcements to come.

XX Jenn and Adam