Waking up in a hot tropical climate is a rare occurrence for me now, but I miss one thing dearly: my 40-year-old avocado tree. My bedroom was beneath this majestic tree’s most beautiful and sturdy branches. Before rushing off to help my mother prepare breakfast, I would often climb the rooftop of my Hispanic-style home, using the branches as a fun and easy way to reach it.
The fruiting trees in my hometown were abundant and always nearby. While oranges were common for me, my husband grew up where they were extremely rare, and he once even got sick from eating too many. Bananas were my favorite fruit to snack on, but like my husband, I also got sick from eating too many.
Growing up in a small town entirely sustainable from locally-grown food was an incredible gift. The other day, as I passed the freshly-cut fruit section in a grocery store, the watermelon aroma immediately transported me back to my childhood. A few blocks from my home lived a family that only grew watermelons, and I often helped them harvest the smaller ones.
The fruit trees in my backyard included oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, and mangos. Mangos were so plentiful in my town that they were almost considered a weed, but my granny had a rare mango tree that she was proud of. My mother had many friends in our town, and one of them became a mother figure to me. She and her husband would make food that I would sell from door to door, and I attribute some of my selling skills to her. In addition, I remember the beautiful, unique, and delicious heirloom tomatoes they grew that I have never seen again.
My dad spent his days farming and growing food, and the cornfields were massive. I would often visit him there and bring him lunch, and we would enjoy crunchy, juicy, and tasty green beans. However, my favorite was always the freshness of the cucumbers. He grew everything we consumed and more.
I feel the presence of God in my garden every day. The sunlight illuminating my ranunculus, the gentle breeze making my grasses dance, and the soil beneath my feet remind me of the gifts God has bestowed upon my family and me. When my children plant seedlings or talk to the flowers, when my husband tends to his roses, and even when my dog tramples my flowers, I feel the presence of God.
Everything in my garden, from the unique blooms to the starry night and the moon that illuminates it, is a reminder of the love, hope, appreciation, and celebration it represents. Every tiny seed has so much potential inside its coding, and it’s hard not to love flowers when they are such a beautiful reminder of the presence and love gifted to us by the creator. So when you receive a fresh bouquet from my garden, I hope you feel loved, hopeful, and appreciated.
Why was Castle Drive Created? To do the following:
We are driven by the belief that God has given us a gift, and our responsibility is to share it with the world.
Believe that everyone can find passion, meaning, and creativity in their lives regardless of age.
Attract an engaged and inspired customer base that we call friends, not customers so that we can be genuine and open with them rather than holding them at arms’ length.
Treat all friends with dignity, love, and respect, valuing their trust to hire our artistic skills.
Adopt a spirit of service in all that we do.
Focus on our local schools and give back because it is the right thing to do.
To grow flowers with my kids and keep them away from electronics.
To instill in our kids the beautiful skill of growing our own food so that they can one day use those skills and teach their families.
To become a role model for our children about the importance of authenticity and uniqueness to each of us.
Value the importance of health and life balance for our young children.
To pay for my daughter’s college education because she is my inspiration, and our bond fuels me with a can-do-it attitude.
To be completely healed from phobias
Be bold and work hard to build a legacy my family can be proud to speak of.
To Fall in love all over again with the love of my life, my husband, as we share our passion for farming, God, and country music.
Have the time of our lives on this farmer-florist journey and be grateful for every single day.
We believe that our flowers grown here in Haymarket are heartbreakingly beautiful and of the highest quality.
We take inspiration in our garden’s wild and lush nature and design our flower bouquets as if they were still growing in our garden.
We disapprove of anything unnatural or fake—especially dyed flowers.
We are smitten by texture, variety, and color.
We believe that we must always design with purpose and a healing or celebratory prayer for the recipient of our flowers.
We love each of the seasons because we get to witness our seeds break thru the soil to become delicate baby seedling to this breathtaking over the top plants bearing fruit in a matter of months.
We love flowers because they inspire us thru our relationship and deep connection with them and we know they can feel our love every morning as we greet them in the garden.
We love flowers because they are living poetry and they evoke this emotion and intensity to live a life that makes us tingle and wiggle.
Interested in our flowers or need advice? Then please get in touch and we’ll be glad to help.
Interested in our flowers or need advice?
Then please
get in touch and we’ll be glad to help.
Input your search keywords and press Enter.