Our floral program has been an essential component of The Barndiva Dining Experience for the past 16 years, but since Daniel Carlson moved to the farm and began guiding it two years ago it's taken a leap forward, nudging into the sublime. It isn't just his energy and passion, which extends to what we grow for our food program, Dan has a naturalist's understanding of what works together and what doesn't. I've seen him build arrangements of such elegant simplicity they fill the dining room with the same lambent joy we feel when we happen upon flowers growing in a garden. It's color, it's form, it's a talent to combine an affinity of elements, sure, but the heart of any truly beautiful floral arrangement is how it connects you back to nature. A connection, I believe, we are missing all the time, on some level.
Besides filling the Barn and the Bistro with blooms, Dan works with many of our wedding clients, but it's a little known fact that he is more than happy to create an arrangement for any special occasion. Last Wednesday morning (below) I managed to crawl out of bed to pick with him; it was a thrill to see what he created, later in the day, on the Barndiva and Bistro bars, in the bathrooms, and decorating the windowsills as diners munched away and raised their glasses. For every gardening enthusiast who swoon and ask our hosts the names of our blooms (Kendall and Fern keep a running list) most of our guests seem oblivious to the gardens in glass surrounding them. Which is fine. The best flower arrangements don't stop your progress through a beautiful space, they fragrantly lift you up in anticipation as you continue on your journey. Join Dan's growing fan club. Follow him @daniel.james.co or check out his new website: www.danieljamesdesign.co
Truly, our vase runneth over.
Birthday Bouquet
A Daniel James garden bar arrangement for a Barndiva Wedding