LAUREL GREEN
ROCKINGHAM, Vt. — The pansies are having a party and you are invited!
A Pansy Tea Party and photo opportunity is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. April 28 at Singing River Farm. Bring your camera and your love of color to visit the pansy field in full bloom. A guided tour, a chance to snap photos, the elusive scent of a field of flowers and a cup of herbal tea made with dried pansy blossoms will be included.
The event is a fundraiser to finish paying for the renovation of a living space for a “Safe Haven” family seeking asylum.
“We love pansies,” grower Laurel Green said in a recent interview.
“Pansies are hearty, generous and represent both diversity and unity,” Green said. “Our plants grow through the winter in the fields with only a thin blanket of pine needle mulch. The blooms come in a rainbow of colors with variation in size and form but they are all in the viola tricolor hortensis family.
“In the early spring when people are all hungry for new growth and striking colors, we find them irresistible,” she continued. “Pansies are generous too because they flourish by having the blooms harvested and they respond by growing more buds for a cycle of love.”
Their name comes from the French word pensée meaning to think of a loved one. Pansies remind Green of her grandmother, who loved pansies because each one is unique and adorable.
The “Safe Haven” at Singing River Farm is now the home of a family who has fled persecution in Mexico. To date, about 90 percent of the construction costs have been raised through direct donations, a Go Fund Me website and proceeds from cowboy concerts performed by Green and fellow farmer Steve Crofter. The suggested donation for the tea party is $10.
The pansy fields will be open for photography only at this event. A few days after the event, the pansy plants will be harvested prior to Singing River Farm’s annual Pansy Festival on May 5. This year, the festival is synchronized with Cinco de Mayo and will feature the Community Asylum Seekers Project.
The Pansy Photo Op and Tea Party will be held at Singing River Farm on the Brockways Mills Road, one-tenth of a mile north of Route 103 between I-91 and Chester. Watch for the signs.
The event will take place outside in the growing area so it is suggested that you wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. The rain date is April 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, call the farm at (802) 275-4646 or check the Facebook page. Green and Crofter welcome everyone to the event.
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