Afternoon at Luscombe Farm

Across the street from Martha's Iris Garden, in Anna, Texas,

is Luscombe Farm,

a wonderfully rustic and quaint-in-the-best-possible-way family operation,

offering specialty foods, gourmet gift baskets, and event hosting.

We were fortunate enough to catch Leslie Luscombe onsite,

 and she gave us a quick tour of the commercial kitchen and dining room, 

and a brief history of the family farm.

Luscombe Farm offers a variety of their own award winning pepper jellies,

available in local stores across the country and also by order from their website }here{

The farm's Gourmet Store is open by appointment January through October,

and officially open to the public November and December.  

Scheduled events include Martha's Annual Iris show ( you can see our lovely visit }here{ )

and coming on June 5, Luscombe Farm Cooking School - Farm to Table, 

with Chef Robert Lyford from Patina Green.
click }here{ for information on the cooking school

Treasures from yesteryear are scattered over the grounds, 

and the green grass and big trees and rolling vistas are the perfect setting for a leisurely afternoon.

Exploring the barn and looking at the old farm implements 

made me wish my Dad were along to give first hand details about how things used to be.

 

It's no small wonder that Luscombe Farm was chosen 

as the fifth most popular place to have photographs taken in Collin County.

Everywhere you look is a vignette waiting to happen.

And for brides- and grooms-to-be looking for a wedding venue that offers elegant country charm, 

Luscombe Farm is a dream location.

Click }here{ for information on the event venue and
to see a gorgeous bridal portrait featuring a rustic barn on the property ...
the possibilities are stunning.

Luscombe Farm Specialty Foods

is open by appointment January through October

and always available for any size order

http://www.luscombefarm.com

8649 Luscombe Farm Drive

Anna, Texas 75409

(214) 212-0814

For photographer's price listing, click }here{

 (it's best to call in advance to reserve your time for use of the grounds)

Thanks for coming along on this delightful venture with us!

Garden Party

If winter was far too long for you,
and you still haven't gotten enough springtime to make you forget, 

have I got a treat for you.

A little north of the Dallas metroplex ... 

just outside of McKinney ...

near the town of Anna ...

on top of a hill ...

is a private iris garden that will melt all the ice
from your over-wintered, ready for spring heart.

 The garden is the labor of love of Martha McDowell, 

whose family has owned the property for over 100 years.

She'll meet you on her four-wheeler for a chat when you arrive, 

and encourage you to sign her guest book before you leave.

The iris garden is Mrs. Martha's yard ... and you're genuinely welcomed to meander all over it.

She's happy to just let you wander,
or tell you about her home and her garden,
and offer her wisdom about the beautiful things she grows here.

She's truly delighted to share her little piece of lovely with you.

When I thanked her for sharing her garden with us,
she mentioned that someone said to her recently,
 "You should charge admission for this!"

And her reply reflects her generous heart, "oh, no ... that would take all the joy out of it."

I asked her if she had a favorite iris, and it was clearly an impossible question to answer.

So many varieties and colors ... it's probably best just to love them all.

When my sister invited us to accompany her,
I counted this a field trip and brought the kids along, 

not sure if they would really appreciate it or if it would be one of those,
"Moooooooom, when are we leeeeeeeeaving?" experiences.

But even they were completely charmed by the garden,
and by Mrs. Martha herself and her joy in sharing her place.

We enjoyed the creative names for all the different iris varieties.  

But our favorite name was ...

I watched Nathan intent on photographing something ...

it was a bunny - with a garden address better than Peter Rabbit.

The view from the back of the property is beautiful -
you can see for miles over the rolling hills.

We love our bluebonnets in Texas, and they're in full bloom everywhere.

But the show stoppers in this garden are the irises ...

I tried to pretend I was an iris judge,
and pick the prettiest one.

  

This feat is not for the faint of heart.

Because each variety has its own special charm.

And you fall in love again with each one.

We spent about two hours just making our way
from beautiful flower to beautiful flower.

I loved this one, with its delicate coloring ...

But my personal favorite was called Beat the Heat;

it's drop dead gorgeous.

I wonder if irises are easy to grow?
Mrs. Martha sure makes it look easy.
If you'd like to visit Martha's Iris Garden at Luscombe Farm,
you're invited!
They'll be open for the 2014 season through April 29,
with over 750 varieties of iris in bloom.

The address is
1400 County Road 366
Anna, Texas

Martha's Iris Garden isn't the only thing on this hilltop -
across the road is Luscombe Farm Specialty Foods,
offering event hosting, gourmet gift baskets,
and delicious lunches by reservation.
We'll head over there next - it's a gorgeous event venue!

Find the Luscombe Farm Specialty Foods page on Facebook }here{

Easter in Hot Springs

Hello!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Weekend! 

We spent the weekend with LtDan's family in beautiful Arkansas.  

The dogwoods were in bloom, and there were wisteria vines everywhere ...

such a lovely time to get away.  

We spent Saturday morning on Central Avenue, 

enjoying a stroll down bathhouse row and browsing through fun shops.

We came thisclose to having an Old Time photo taken, 

but opted to keep going.  

It's hard to talk a bunch of boys into having their picture taken, have you noticed?

We checked in with Zoltar and remembered how great the movie Big is. 

You can always find lots of carved figures for sale ...  

because, after all, it's Arkansas.

We saw the tiniest, cutest puppy ever.

And we reminisced in front of the Thompson Building, where LtDan's grandparents lived for many years

and his grandfather managed the building.  

It's the prettiest building on Central Avenue, I think.

My favorite store on Central Avenue is Earthbound Trading Company.

It's pretty much guaranteed to bring out your inner hippie.

The kids enjoyed ice cream cones and made a new friend.

I don't know why my nephew isn't smiling.

He should be happy.  He's having ice cream with Al Capone.  

Saturday afternoon we gathered at my in-law's house ... I've written about this haven before }here{ 

The Rocky Retreat is sure to bring on inner peace.

I'm sure I found a T-Rex skull.  

Or maybe a dragon's.  

It's obviously friendly. 

We celebrated Easter on Sunday together at church, 

had a lovely meal and spent the afternoon on the front porch ... 

feeling very joyful that spring is here and that He is risen, indeed.

How was your Easter?