From Seed To Celebration

Eileen is a passionate flower farmer living in the heart of Ojai. She has created her floral sanctuary, Palomar Farms, where she tends to her abundant bed of flowers, chickens, and workshops. Her intention is to grow a variety of native and unusual flowers reminiscent of ancient ways and days gone by. Medicinal herbs, edible plants, from the wildly weird sunflowers, to the regal romantic roses, to a chorus line of dancing dahlias! Think of it this way, a cross between your grandmother's old time favorites with medicinal herbs from ancient times  interwoven to create both a visual and sensual feast.    

Palomar farms is more than flowers, beneath the soil there is a deeper rhythm and meaning to the farm which she hopes to cultivate. Eileen believes through connection with Mother Nature, we can learn about Transformation...life, death and rebirth.  Our lives are an eternal cycle of these transformations, and just like the caterpillar transforms into the butterfly, we change as well through the seasons of our lives.  It is a place to learn about transformation through the seasons and cycles of our lives, "From Seed to Celebration".  We welcome artists, students, teachers of all kinds to the farm to gather as community to explore these seasons of our lives. 

With holidays upon us, we’ve asked Eileen to share with us a creative way to make a meaningful gift! A beautiful way to recycle from your garden as well as the healing benefits of aromatherapy!

How to make pot pourri from your garden:

1 cup fresh rose petals (past their prime is perfect!)

1 cup lavender blossoms

1/2 cup marigold petals

4 drops each of essentials oils of lavender, sweet orange, and geranium

Harvest all the petals from your rose garden once they are past their prime and beginning to fall to the ground. Collect all the lavender blossoms that are beginning to dry. Once you have gathered your favourite petals from the garden, lay the petals out on a tray that is lined with recycled paper (or old paper shopping bags) to absorb their moisture. Once the herbs are dried, mix together in a large bowl and sprinkle in your favourite essential oils!

Pot pourri is a beautiful addition to every house hold! It is a special gift to give to fill your home with beautiful scents of the garden! I invite you to get creative with it and weave in your own herbs and essential oils!

You can find Eileen arranging flower bouquets, collecting her chicken eggs, handcrafting pot pourri, and teaching kundalini yoga classes every Tuesday at the farm!