Floral designer Romane Recalde is living the rustic dream of many as she tends her farm, flower field and friendly animals (including two donkeys!). Inspired by our new Friendly Farm collection, we caught up with Romane on her dreamy farm, her floral studio Le Jardin, and life in upstate New York.
I start my days by feeding everybody, and I mean everybody: husband, our baby Marlow, and our friendly animals. Then, with coffee in hand, I check on the flower farm and garden, water any seedlings that might be thirsty and take note of the overnight changes. Before the sun is too high, I make sure I harvest flowers and vegetables for weddings, workshops and local farmers market.
Right now, my favorite flower is Columbine! Her little face looks like a fairy’s hat! It’s so cute and come in so many colors: purple, yellow, red… Plus the hummingbirds love them!
Butter and Basil are brothers: they’re 9 years old and 11 years old. Did you know donkeys can live up to 40 years old?! They love a strong massage, playing with an old orange road cone, and chasing each other with it around the paddock.
When I'm not taking care of the farm, I love to play and design with the flowers and products I grow. Le Jardin Flower Farm is expanding more and more to doing florals for weddings and events so I'm always experimenting with new flower recipes and combinations. I also love Pottery and practice regularly at a studio in Rhinebeck, NY.
I had forgotten how real, good strawberries taste until I grew them in my garden. I heard somewhere that when you pick them they loose 50% of their sweetness right away and I'm not sure if that's true but that's why you'll find me eating my strawberries straight of the plant!
I love the tranquillity and how quiet it is. After living in NYC, silence has become something I treasure. Living on a farm has in a way given me perspective and awareness of our world.
