The Song Garden Flower Farm and Tea House of Cornish, NH Blog

Looking forward to summer of 2012!

2012-02-12T10:26:00.001-05:00

Snowless Winter in Cornish, NH! We'll see how the garden deals with no ground cover for most of the winter season!

2012-02-11T17:20:00.006-05:00

Snowless Winter in VT! The glorious Mt. Ascutney this week. Photo by Dan Hertzler. Check out his blog, shapeoftheyear.blogspot.com for more beautiful images of this beauteous mountain.

2012-02-09T08:37:00.000-05:00

Working on the Song Garden Beauty Line featuring our exquisitely scented Song Gardener's Beauty Bars...Song Gardener's Lip Balm...Song Gardener's Hand Lotion

2012-02-04T16:55:00.000-05:00

Lovely day today for a craft fair! I brought along lots of soap and lip balm, of course! Hey, are we really in for 6 more weeks of winter, or are we going to have an early spring? Conflicting Ground Hog Day reports!!!

2012-02-02T20:52:00.002-05:00

Olive Oil and White Ginger Tea Bar.
Sunflower Aloe Herbal Essences Flower Bar.
Two Earth Scented Gnomes.
One Mocha Scented Gnome.

Earth Scented Gnomes, Hinoki Wood Scented Buddhas and Yin Yang Bars!

Toasted Coconut Honey Lip Balm

Piña Colada Lip Balm

Butterscotch Lip Balm

Black Cherry Lip Balm

Fundraiser for this year's seeds and supplies for The Song Garden 2012 ~ Please click on this text for the fundraising site! 50% of all the profits from the sale of beautiful bulbs and plants for your garden from this reputable company will go to The Song Garden!!! Thank you!!!

2012-01-30T14:46:00.006-05:00

This will be our 4th year planting and maintaining The Song Garden. We have found that it is extremely costly to have a mostly annuals pick your own flower garden, as each summer's end, all of the plants must be pulled....and each spring's beginning, all of the seeds and plugs must be replanted...tools break or are stolen (believe it or not!), and new cell packs, netting, stakes, landscape fabric, hoses, trowels, fencing, etc. etc. must be purchased each year. This garden is a sanctuary for not only the wildlife (ah, such beautiful birds and butterflies and even hummingbird moths!), but also for the people who visit each day. This garden is our gift to the community...we fill it up with gorgeous annuals, perennials, herbs and grasses, for all of your cutting needs. We sow, we weed, we prune, we maintain, we water, we add love and compassion to our plants and to our guests....this garden is not run with profits in mind, it's run with bringing beauty, joy, peace, love, and sanctuary to all who visit, for whatever their needs. We add poetry here and there and floral quotes...we put our hearts and souls into this garden. BUT, there is a monetary cost to all of this for us and in order for us to keep this place afloat, I think a small fundraiser each spring is in order to raise funds for the seeds, plugs and supplies that go into such a place. Thank you so much for your consideration of purchasing some LOVELY bulbs and plants from this very reputable company for our fundraiser. Blessings. ~Peggy

A Little Music to warm up this icy Vermont night! The Heath Sisters. Dulcimer!

2012-01-23T19:45:00.001-05:00

Click right here on this text to see a wonderful new blog. Photos of Mt. Ascutney and the Cornish/Windsor Covered Bridge. Cornish, NH, Windsor, VT...from the same guardrail post over time! Dan's major project spanning 4 years! He started blogging pics from Jan. 1, 2012...It's called "The Shape of the Year"...enjoy!

2012-01-17T13:47:00.004-05:00

http://www.shapeoftheyear.blogspot.com/

Plant Seeds and Sing Songs!!! I have a little act with my two sisters and we like to garden and sing! A couple of our songs are in this video!

2012-01-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

Crushed Walnut Shells for exfoliant in Goat's Milk, Honey, and Oatmeal Facial Scrub Squares! Pink Parfait Tea Pot and Tea Cup Soap Bars made with Goat's Milk, Coconut, Oatmeal, and real Honey!

2012-01-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

I am suddenly hooked on making melt and pour soap products...it is a very relaxing hobby, especially when you get to smell the incredible fragrances and also when you 'need' to test out the product liberally! All of my bases are made from all natural ingredients, no SLS.

The soaps I make come from bases....so basically, my soaps are 'semi-homemade'!

It's been an enjoyable week, cozily hunkering down inside, away from the snowy, cold Vermont/New Hampshire winter winds...making soap products. They are stockpiling up now.....Soon, I'll have to find the best way to wrap all of these soaps! Then I'll have to make the labels...then get the products selling.....maybe on my website...www.thesonggarden.com ...... definitely at the Tea House this coming summer and, most likely, hitting a couple of farmer's markets, as well in June/July/August...and I am thinking of pulling together a house party or two, off site.....for now, I'm surrounding myself with soap products, lotions, and lip balms galore.......It's HEAVENLY around here these days!!!!!! I think that I'm being effected by 'Aromatherapy' at it's finest! I'm in a serene state of mind.......simply serene.

It's-8˚ this morning! Nothing to do but hunker down and keep on making soap! Using Crushed Walnut Shells for the first time...natural exfoliant!

2012-01-15T13:54:00.003-05:00

Goat's Milk, Honey, Toasted Coconut, and Crushed Walnut Shells Facial Scrub Soap!

Goat's Milk, Oatmeal, and Honey Pink Parfait Hand, Face, and Body Bars!

Lemony Zest and Olive Oil Fruity Soap Bars!

And so it begins! Most of the seed order has arrived! Plugs will come in April! Time for Theo, the Gardening Schnauzer to dive into his winter reading list while we wait to plant.!

2012-01-14T19:26:00.003-05:00

Theodore, donning his reading glasses...he's a very academic and studious Schnauzer! He has a long winter reading list to get through...while it's a white winter wonderland outside here in New Hampshire and Vermont! This coming summer of 2012 will be his second year working at The Song Garden on vole patrol!

We have been very happy with our seeds from Johnny's, and The Cook's Garden, for the last three years!

Just a sampling of our large garden library!

This Week's Melt and Pour Soap! Hinoki Wood Gnomes! Aloe Herbal Essence Sunflowers! English Rose Hearts! Hinoki Woods Sea Shells!

2012-01-13T19:54:00.003-05:00

Sunflower Aloe Herbal Essences Soap

Hyacinth Shea Coconut Hinoki Wood Sea Shells

Hyacinth Shea Coconut Hinoki Wood Magic Garden Gnome Soap

Hyacinth Shea Coconut Hinoki Wood Snow Flowers

Shea English Rose Heart Soap

Aloe and Earth "Dirt" Scented Garden Gnome Soap

Ordering all of our Annuals/Perennials this weekend...Seeds and Plugs...So many choices!

2012-01-07T19:04:00.000-05:00

We'll go with the tried and true, for sure, but we always like to add something new...We are pouring through the catalogs looking for that extra something special for The Song Garden of 2012. Here are photos from last summer's garden, for inspiration!!!

EASY homemade HONEY Lip Balm (with Beeswax and Almond Oil) Recipe!

2012-01-07T11:05:00.004-05:00

We're making this right now and thought we'd share this easy recipe with you. We usually make our homemade (rather, 'semi-homemade') lip balm from a purchased 'base'.....here's an easy starter recipe from scratch.

Honey-Kissed Lip Balm

Makes 1-1/2 cups

1 cup sweet almond oil
1/2 cup beeswax
2 Tablespoons honey

Place almond oil and beeswax in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute or until mixture melts. Stir the honey into the almond oil/beeswax mixture. Let it cool somewhat. Pour into small containers (lip balm tubs or tubes). Check out Brambleberry.com and thesage.com for more information re: making your own lip balm. (I do not represent these companies...I am just passing on my resources to you).

Have a great weekend!

January is the month for ordering seeds and plugs for our Song Garden summer 'pick-your-own' flowers gardening business! Time to break out the catalogs!

2012-01-06T19:59:00.002-05:00

A little music to usher in the New Year! The Heath Sisters: Uh Oh! By Sascha Burland and Don Elliot! Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T21:50:00.003-05:00

Pomander Oranges...so simple and so delightful.

2012-01-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

We've been making Pomander Oranges for a month and a half, since about Thanksgiving!

So simple to make. Take and orange and make a hole in it with a small nail...place a whole clove in the hole...let your imagination run wild with the design possibilities or just mindlessly put the cloves into the orange one after another and use the act of putting cloves into an orange as a meditation, or calming and centering, tool... The fragrance of the combination of orange and cloves is heavenly and will bring you some peace! Happy January 1st, 2012!

New Year's Eve and making more Melt and Pour Soap and Lip Balm.

2011-12-31T14:07:00.002-05:00

Rose scented heart shaped soaps and two flavors of lip balm: Butterscotch and Black Cherry! A wonderful way to celebrate the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012...with homemade cosmetics, good music, and a cozy house full of love. Happy New Year to all!

For Wonderful Soap Making Supplies, check out Brambleberry.com

2011-12-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.brambleberry.com/default.aspx

Melt and Pour Soap! Such an easy and fun project! A wonderful day in the kitchen soap lab!

2011-12-23T23:46:00.001-05:00

Honey Almond Biscotti Bar

Olive Oil White Ginger Tea Bar

Relaxing Goat's Milk Bar

Bayberry Hemp Bar

Olive Oil Oak Leaves and Twigs Bar...

Henry Homeyer: The Gardening Guy! He introduced me to my favorite gardening tool, The CobraHead Weeder and Garden Cultivator! Thank you, Henry! Click on this title to check out his great website!

2011-12-16T17:27:00.013-05:00

Here I am and a very happy camper, indeed, last May, during planting weekend! Why so happy? THE COBRA is an amazing tool that made my job so much easier, planting 3,000 annual 'plugs'!

Henry Homeyer is a life-long organic gardener who has lived in Cornish Flat, NH since 1970 (except for his time in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer and country director).

He writes a weekly gardening column that appears in 12 newspapers around New England, and has written for the New York Times, The Boston Globe and other newspapers. He was the Vermont/New Hampshire associate editor for People, Places and Plants magazine for 10 years (until it went out of business).

He is a regular monthly commentator on Vermont Public Radio and is a UNH master Gardener. Henry teaches Sustainable Gardening at Granite State College.

I have a lot to thank Henry for...especially for introducing me to the COBRAHEAD gardening tool!!!!! Seriously! Who knew this tool would be so incredibly helpful! It's hard to imagine that such a small headed tool could do so much! It's my favorite weeding tool.....by far!

The Handwritten Thank You Note and handwritten notes, in general..."As part of the continuing series "Assignment America," Steve Hartman takes a lesson in the lost art of handwritten thank you notes."

2011-12-15T17:18:00.009-05:00

I just received two very touching handwritten notes in the mail this afternoon that have stopped me in my tracks. One was a Thank You note and the other was a note from someone who was sending her 'Free Will Donation' for the cup of tea she had at the Tea House last summer! It is now December 15th! What a BEAUTIFUL act of human kindness!

Here's the note I received:
"Sorry in getting this to you so late! When visiting The Song Garden in late summer, I had left my purse in the car and it was too hard to climb back up the hill to the Tea House. (Enclosed: a check for $2). We enjoyed our visit and were enthralled with the Tea House. We will be back in the summer!"

These notes are very precious and in this day and age, very rare to receive. We are all so busy with our lives and our technology that we don't take the time to hand write notes to people who have done special things for us or who have touched our lives in some beautiful way. Here's a great video about hand written Thank You notes and why they are so important. Something to keep in mind during this holiday season. And to connect this blog entry to The Song Garden and plant crafts........try making your own PRESSED FLOWER note cards for the many Thank You Notes you will surely be writing in 2012 due to your new New Year's Resolution!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7279317n

Relief from the dreaded Empty Nest Syndrome...I've got one word, well, maybe two words: CRAFTS and GARDENING

2011-12-13T18:05:00.004-05:00

Honestly, any kind of hobby will do to banish the blues of the empty nest. For me, there are definitely a few things that keep my blues away.....my music, my gardens (and the dreaming all winter of the garden to come), and my crafts. Last year I discovered the absolute joys of making my own lip balm! (www.thesage.com for WONDERFUL "Lip Solutions Base". Check it out. So EASY!!!). This year I have discovered the absolute joys of making my own soap!!! (www.brambleberry.com- M and P (Melt and Pour) soap bases!!! So EASY!)
There is something so therapeutic about the fragrances, the flavors, the melting of the lip balm and soap bases, the whole process from start to finish of creating the products....and then the joy of giving it to family and friends and bringing them such delight, or the joy of SELLING your products at a local crafts fair, farmers market, or church bazaar. Next time you're feeling the blues...think CRAFTS. (And we didn't even discuss KNITTING! Wow! I guess I need to get out the yarn now! Talk about a really therapeutic hobby!). Remember, we are all in this Empty Nest thing together. It's not easy, but knowing you're not the only one having to reinvent your life without the kids...makes it easier to take. : )

A wonderful day for projects! We made Butterscotch and Black Cherry Lip Balm and Bergamot/Chamomile Olive Oil Soap! Homemade Gifts are the best. What can you make for your loved ones this holiday season? Melt and Pour Soap is amazingly EASY! I do not represent Majestic Mountain Sage, but I swear by their products for my crafts...check them out www.thesage.com

2011-12-11T17:57:00.003-05:00