This summer, I traded my desk for an afternoon at 1818 Farms, where I was invited to make an eco-printed scarf alongside the farm’s founder Natasha McCrary. We each chose a natural dye to work with—I picked logwood, which gave my piece a rich purple hue—and pressed leaves from ginkgo, eucalyptus, and redbud trees into the fabric to create the pattern. What I walked away with was truly one of a kind: a piece of wearable art that exists nowhere else in the world. I left with a real sense of pride, and with a much deeper appreciation for the delicate and careful work that goes into everything 1818 Farms makes.
Long before dried florals and pressed botanicals became 1818 Farms’ signature, flowers were just one part of a working farm’s story. Today, they’re the heart of it, and for McCrary, that shift traces back much further than the farm itself.
“I have always been drawn to the creative side of agriculture,” McCrary said. “When we began the farm, we primarily focused on produce, with flowers being a value-added crop. As years passed, flowers quickly became my favorite crop.”
What started as a practical addition to the farm’s offerings has grown into something much bigger. “They became more than stems for fresh bouquets,” she explained. “Flowers were a way to create lasting art through drying, pressing and botanical eco-printing. Working with flowers allows you to slow down, pay attention to seasonal shifts, and capture moments and make memories in a lasting way.”
(Holly Swafford/SoulGrown)
A Grandmother’s Windowsill
Ask McCrary where her love of flowers really began, and she doesn’t point to the farm at all. Instead, she points to a kitchen in Tennessee, decades earlier.
“When I was around eight years old, I spent many summer days with my grandmother in Tennessee, and that is truly where my love for flowers took root,” she said. “She grew antique wild roses and kept them tucked into little jelly jars along her kitchen windowsills. I can still vividly recall their fragrance. It was a deep, sweet scent unique to heirloom varieties.”
The flowers themselves left a lasting mark with their beauty, but it was her grandmother’s delight in them that truly captivated McCrary. “As she stood there telling me the story behind every single bloom, I saw how much pure joy those fragrant blooms brought her,” McCrary said. “Watching her light up over those roses in the window is the exact moment I fell in love with flowers.”
That memory and moment, of slowing down long enough to really enjoy a flower, feels like the blueprint for everything 1818 Farms does today. Fresh bouquets fade, but a dried wreath, a pressed-flower keepsake, or an eco-printed piece of fabric can hold onto that moment for years. It’s fitting, then, that so much of the farm’s fall and winter season is built around exactly that kind of lasting beauty.
Fall & Winter Workshops at 1818 Farms
If Natasha McCrary’s story leaves you wanting to get your hands into the work yourself, there’s no shortage of chances this season. Here’s what’s coming up:
September
September 25 & 26 — Dried Flower Wreath Workshop -create a beautiful seasonal wreath using dried flowers and botanicals.
October
October 2 & 3 — Dried Flower Bouquet Bar, Bundles & Wreath Sale -shop an assortment of dried flower bouquets, bundles, and seasonal wreaths.
October 16 & 17 — Pressed Flower Workshops -choose from hands-on workshops featuring pressed flower art, candle holders, and dried flower bud vases.
November
November 20, 21 & 22 — Holiday Wreath-Making Workshop -create a festive holiday wreath using seasonal greenery and botanicals.
More Than a Craft
What I loved most about my experience at the farm was the intentionality; we purposely slowed down, for a few hours, to build something beautiful and original with our hands. That beauty will outlast the moment it was made in, and will pass along a little of the same wonder her grandmother once passed to her.
Sign up for a workshop this fall and you’ll leave with a wreath, or a bouquet, or a bundle of dried stems for your own table. But underneath that, you’re carrying home a little of what Natasha found on her grandmother’s windowsill in Tennessee—proof that something small and fleeting can be made to last.
(Olivia Reed/Contributed)
For workshop details, availability, and tickets, visit 1818farms.com.
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