Daughter #3 invited me to join her and grand daughter #5 at Wet Hammock Berry and Flower Farm about 25 minutes up the road from Ocala. We have never been to this farm and we were in for quite a wonderful surprise. Right now the only berries for picking were the blackberries but the zinnias, sunflowers and marigolds were as far as the eye could see, And, they were all up for grabs.
When we arrived, we were given a large Mason jar and clippers and were told to cut the flowers with a long stem, strip the leaves and squeeze as many into the neck of the jar that we could. I am telling you, this was a gardener's dream. What we thought would be a quick trip through the fields turned into about a 3hour visit. We just couldn't get enough. It was hot, but they provided ice cold bottles of water and lots of umbrella covered tables and seating so it really didn't bother us that much. There were also rocking chairs and lawn games available for bored children and an old wooden porch swing. The farm also boasted many crape myrtles and magnolia trees. It really was a picture perfect southern summer day.
I cut many different varieties and colors of zinnias and sunflowers and was feeling pretty good about myself until my daughter got started on hers. She chose to do all of one color with different shades per each bouquet and hers turned out absolutely beautiful. She was getting a few to gift to clients who had just finished up their re-dos with, of course, a number for each room in her house. I will say that if you load the jars the way they recommend, you can fill many more vases full when you get home.
After the farm, we stopped and grabbed some lunch and went back to spend the day at Jen's...and visit with my grandsons as well who were now home from football camp. With three children of varying ages and interests, life in that house is almost busier in the summer than it is during the school year.
Who knew there were so many different variations of zinnias!?
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