The Simple Farm and Edible Garden Tour

I have the best family.  For Mother's Day this year my wish came true and I flew to Phoenix, Arizona for a solo retreat.  For the past few years I have enjoyed reading blogs from a community of "urban farmers" in and around Scottsdale, Arizona. Reading these blogs give me inspiration, encouragement, and just plain fill me with peace and joy. My favorites are The Simple Farm, The Sweet Life Garden, and Boho Farm + Home.  My Mother's Day Mission was to visit The Simple Farm Thursday Market, visit with an Arizona friend, attend the new Gilbert temple, and finish off with the Arcadia Edible Garden Tour.

 

Thursday morning, bright and early I arrived at The Simple Farm Market.  I was so excited to be there!  I walked around in a daze and tried to take everything in. After walking around with a goofy smile on my face, I spotted the owner and farmer, Lylah, just as beautiful and warm as I expected her to be. She buzzed around and made people feel loved and welcome.

I signed up for the outdoor cooking class, The Craft of Cooking, so I headed that way and met three lovely ladies that couldn't have been nicer. There were just four of us in the class and it was fun sitting outside with them, watching the cooking demo, asking questions, and sampling the french herb omelet and bruchetta.

After the class, I planned on really making the most of my visit and staying until the gates closed. I took pictures of everything and looped around the farm a couple of times. Everything was so beautiful.  Hollyhocks, artichokes, pomegranates, flowers of all kinds, and organic fruits and vegetables growing everywhere.

Lylah has cute places to sit and visit all over the property. Her vision is to create a gathering place in the community where people can connect to one another and be inspired to grow their own food.

It's all so charming and quaint.  It's like walking around in a gardening magazine.

In the market area there is a small barn where you can shop for fresh picked fruits and veggies, flowers and herbs, eggs, butters, broth...All kinds of good things!  Since I was staying in a hotel, I couldn't buy all of the things I wanted (which was everything!) but I did buy Lylah's world famous goats milk sea salt caramels.  So creamy and delicious! I also took back a bag filled with delicious breads from a local artisan, a slice of the best German chocolate cake (from Pistol Whipped Pastry) I have ever had, and super yummy beehive chocolate.

Here are the goat girls that provide the wonderful milk for the caramels!
The Simple Farm was everything I expected and I wish I could pop in every week! Lylah is really an inspiration to me. 

The Arcadia Edible Garden Tour
My big adventure continued with an amazing lunch at 32 Shea with my long time Five in a Row friend, Linda, braving the Arizona freeways to the beautiful Gilbert temple, relaxing in my hotel room, lunch at True Foods Kitchen with my darling cousin, Erin, (I'm still dreaming about the Vanilla, Cinnamon,Grapefruit seasonal soda!) and the crowning event, the Arcadia Edible Garden Tour.
There were nine gardens on the tour and I took pictures of them all, but will just highlight my two favorites.  I have read their entire blogs and follow them on facebook and instagram so I guess you could say I am a bit of a garden groupie.  I did get a lot of surprised looks when people found out I came to this "community" garden tour all the way from San Diego!

Carolyn at Boho Farm + Home is not only a gardener but an interior designer, so her garden is amazing. I just wanted to soak it in! 

I loved her espaliered apple trees!

It was so fun to meet Carolyn and see her beautiful gardens!

Super cute garden boutique with hand crafted goodies~

A chicken coop and yard to die for!  They also keep ducks which would be fun.
Carolyn and her husband host Farm to Table dinners and I so wish I was in town for one! Maybe next time!

Jill of The Sweet Life Garden is the heart behind the Edible Garden Tour. She has been organizing it for a few years and inspiring people to grow their own food. Her gardens are lovely-just as lovely as Jill! What a sweet person.  I really enjoyed talking with her.

 It was hard to believe I was in the middle of the desert!

 Every box was chock full of organic goodness~

 It was fun to see chickens and goats in so many of these suburban gardens.

Lylah from The Simple Farm was at the market with her amazing caramels. What a dear soul she is. I will treasure our conversation while we sat and visited.

I know I am over using the word inspiring, but it really was!  I am in awe of all that Jill has done to create a community of gardeners and urban farmers.  She really is spreading the word of sustainability and it is inspirational! I hope I can learn from each of these beautiful ladies to bring some of the same ideas to my own community and home and farm.

The best Mother's Day ever!

Oh!  And if sending me off to my dream garden tour wasn't enough, I came home to this happy display! Flowers, chocolates, pretty oil decanter, and new additions to my wonderful salt and pepper shaker collection.

 I'm a spoiled mom!