Fields of Flowers

A partly sunny, 79-degree day in Northern Virginia during July is a rarity. Since the weather was nothing less than gorgeous and perfect out today, I just had to find something to do with the kids outside. But what? Go to a playground? Nah, been there done that about 983 times already. Go for a walk? Eh. Tired of the all the same ol' routes but keep forgetting to find new ones. Fields of Flowers in Purcellville has been on my to-do list for quite some time, but it seems like every time I think of going, it is either raining or scorching hot. Today was our lucky day!

We pulled up to a cute, New Englandesque-looking property around 1:15 and parked adjacent to a fence that said, "Beware of attack bird." Okay...

I got the kids out of the car, and walked in the direction of the fields, ready to grab everyone and jump in one of the bushes of flowers in case the bird made an appearance. There were handwritten signs everywhere explaining how things work since apparently we were on our own for the day: Fill a glass jar for $10 or a bucket for $20-30 (depending on the size of the container). Don't forget to take some clippers! Put your money in the red coffee container before you leave. Make your own change. Small town feel and honor system - I like it!

After gathering our supplies - I had Olivia in one arm, the wire basket with the jar and clippers in the other, and my camera dangling around my neck - we arrived in the fields of flower gardens. I wish I knew the names of flowers so that I could write them down here, but I know a sunflower when I see one. Collin took off running up and down the rows of flowers, eager to find the perfect ones to pick. Bless his heart, he kept going to the wimpy or dying ones. His favorite flower was a browning yellow head of crumpled petals with hardly a stem; he carried that thing around everywhere and exclaimed he couldn't wait to show Daddy.

I'm not really sure how I managed to hold a baby, cut flowers and put them in the jar, and take pictures all while instructing Collin which flowers to pick and not to pick as well as where to pick and how to pick a flower properly. Hey, I'm not paying for a handful of squished, broken, short flowers! If the attack bird had decided to eat us, I'm not sure I could have put up much of a defense, as my hands were full.



Here is our $10 vase of flowers, hand-picked by my Collin Monster and me (Olivia tried to help but her version of helping was eating the leaves, petals, stems, etc.). I tried to pretend I was a florist and make the prettiest arrangement possible. Ahh, I can smell those stargazer lilies now...mmmm....