Open for the Season!

My very creative friend, Abby, wrote this jingle we used in our recent radio ad to describe what awaits you at Hickory Dell Farm this season. It is to be sung to the tune from "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.





Tea pots, gourmet teas, and decorative dishes,


Giftware that speaks of your love and best wishes,

Bright colored posters your teens will love so,

Just some of our finds from the New York Gift Show.

Local cheeses, fudge, candy, and handmade gift baskets,

Charms and bright earrings, and pewter cuff bracelets,

Puzzles, plush animals, kids games and toys,

For birthdays and mitzvahs for good girls and boys.



French soaps and candles in every fragrance,

Our hardy perennials need almost no maintenance,
Baskets of flowers for your Mother in May,

Wind chimes or a gift card to brighten her day.

When spring snows fly,

Your tax bill's high,

Winter's left you blue,

At Hickory Dell Farm off of Route 66,

Happy llamas awaiting you!

Click on this link to see photos of the gift shop.

http://www.photoworks.com/albums/pictures.jsp;jsessionid=5C89D000D40CDBD8BC665A98083BC53F?id=56543697&cb=PW&toh=&svr=pw-web10

Orange

I recently realized that this year, I am in to Orange, (as my high school classmate, Sheri Leighton, would say) "IN A BIG WAY".

Orange is a sunny color, a summer color, a rich color. It is also excellent as an accent, but not to be used in large doses (unless freshly squeezed in a glass with a generous dose of vodka and perhaps a spash of cranberry).



Here are some ways I like to use orange.

I recently made planter boxes for our local office furniture and supply store, Whalens (http://www.whalens.com/) in Northampton. Just FYI, you won't find beautiful flowers in front of the Staples that opened in the Big Y strip mall this year. The plants in the boxes need to be able to handle some sun and some shade, and are placed on either side of the front door. This year I used a tall red coleus, the Kiwi coleus in the center (crazy/wonderful leaf shape) and orange New Guinea Impatiens. You need to visit the store to get the full effect (as well as a great deal on office supplies and furniture - tent sale this weekend), but these colors are outstanding against the tan block background, if I do say so myself.

I love tea, and searched high and low for 'killer' pots to brew our locally blended Teas (http://www.teaguys.com/) and mugs for sipping. In the meantime, I also found gorgeous plates for the sweet snacks we love to enjoy with our tea and even a poppy trivet for hot stuff or simple beauty. Orange goes with a lot of other colors, so as I said, you don't have to go crazy with the color.

Having a party or need a hostess gift? A former neighbor, Jill, stopped tonight on her way to visit a friend's home. She needed an under $1o hostess gift. I showed her the Vance Kittra candles and she chose a pear and a pair - in orange of course! The summery color!

We have a number of other items in orange, so if you are like me and digging citrus these days, stop by and see what else Hickory Dell has to offer.

The Gift Shop

For the last couple of years, we have had people stop at the farm and come in to the store and say, "I have been driving by here for years and I never knew you had such great stuff in addition to the beautiful plants in the yard". Part of the problem, we know, is the sign. It is pretty, but we had it made years ago when we were just about to open the store, and had a bit of a different vision of what we would be. Last year, we had our friend, Ed Radding, of Radding Associates(http://www.raddingassociates.com)/ design a new sign for us. Ed makes great signs, for any situation. Check him out. We love the sign that Ed designed for us, but we wanted to get the landscaping finished and the new retail greenhouse built before we put up the new sign. We are putting off the retail greenhouse for another year but hope to have our new sign up in 2008. This is a mock-up of what the sign will look like. And, we will have the option to let folks know what we are selling.

Many of the people who read this blog are not able to visit Northampton very often. I have been asked many times to post photos of the interior of the store. Our inventory and the look of the store changes with the seasons. We always have local milk, eggs, cheese, honey, maple syrup, dressings, tea blends, coffee, salsa and nuts. Our gift items are carefully selected and we make every effort to have something wonderful for anyone on your list. If you want to see what is in the store this month, click on this link

http://www.photoworks.com/photo-sharing/shareSignin.jsp?shareCode=A4BAAA2C6B2&cp=ems_shr_alb_pml&cb=PW

I am inserting a 'teaser' photo here, in case you don't have time to look at all.

This is a view of the store from back to front. We love having an open, airy feel - almost like a gallery, as opposed to the cluttered, too-much-to-look-at feel of many gift shops.