A brief retrospective

The greenhouses are starting to hum with activity again. Greenhouse crews will be in next week to begin seeding some very early flowers and to start filling flats with soil to take on the thousands of flowers and vegetable transplants to be nurtured here over the next several months. The field crew has been meeting and poring over last year’s successes and failures and browsing this year’s seed catalogs and the promises of a fresh start.

The construction project is nearing completion, the outer facade is mostly finished and after a few more inspections the interior can be finished off as well. Over the next few weeks we will begin to get a feeling for the space and how we are going to use it. In the meantime April couldn’t feel further away, though we are becoming aware of just how close it is.

Over the next few weeks we will begin to bring you some sneak peeks of what this exciting year will bring all of us. For now take a look back with us at this slideshow of the project so far. It continues to impress that we were able to stay open throughout this process and we are thankful you were troopers about supporting us as well. Enjoy the photos and get itchy for what’s to come.

Farmstand Construction

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Get a history lesson

Needham Garden Club welcomes Teri Volante Boardman  Tuesday night to discuss the past present and future of Volante Farms. If you want a closer look at how we got here and where we are going considering attending this talk.

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year and welcome to a new era at Volante Farms.

We are embarking on our 95th season this Spring and are thrilled you are joining us.

Construction continues on the new stand and we are on track to open the first week of April.

There will be many updates in days and weeks to come as we begin to hammer out the final details of our newest endeavor.

Thank you for bearing with us through the construction this past year and know we believe it will pay off beautifully for all of us soon enough.

Looking over our metrics of the past year I am thrilled to see we have had over 29,000 visitors to our blog in 2011, so I know you are as interested in us as I am to tell you about us. While I don’t need to tell you to check back often for updates, just a friendly reminder that this is where to find them.

And of course if you need to contact us in the meantime info@volantefarms.com will do the trick almost every time.

 

Last Minute Cheer

With only three days til Christmas, things are winding down for another season at Volante’s. We nearly sold out of trees last weekend, so we have been bringing in a few dozen fresh Balsams every couple of days this week to keep enough in stock to choose from. There are even a few Frasiers left as of earlier today.

In just a few months this will be the entrance to the farmstand, and your Gift Card Recipient could be one of the first to pass through its welcoming doors. Pick one up with the cashiers today!

So don’t worry you will still have an opportunity to get a decent tree right up until Christmas eve afternoon.  We are open from 9-9 Thursday and Friday, and will be open from 9 to about 4, while supplies last, on Christmas Eve.

There are still wonderful poinsettias, boxwood tree arrangements, wreaths and decorations to pick up as quick host gifts as you head out the door for holiday gatherings.

If you are trimming the tree or decking the halls and coming up a bit shy, all items in the trim-a-tree shop are 20% off now as well, including lights and tree stands.

 

Stuck on an idea for your favorite gardener or foodie? Don’t forget Volante’s offers gift cards of any denomination. Stop in and pick one up and treat your someone special to a trip to our new farmstand and lush greenhouse come spring.

The shortest days of the year still manage to provide for some unique skies. This one pushed through early afternoon on Tuesday, and captivated the crew.

 

Wreath Wrangle Wresults

Maria Engel's Award Winning 1st Place Wreath

Well this was a tough judging. Firstly, thanks so much to all our entrants, there were some real beauties and your handiwork really shone through. The winners were notified late last night via email, but now we can announce to the world that Maria Engel of Needham took home top honors with her wreath of red and gold. She is the proud owner of a fantastic gift basket donated by Colonial Candle filled with candles, a cd and book set, toys and stocking stuffers. The judges were fond of the big bow and felt it had just the right level of sparkle.

Stephanie Arendell's Second Place Winning Wreath

Coming in a close second was Stephanie Arendell with a similar color scheme but a more explosive free-flowing design. She can celebrate her win over lunch for two at Sweet Basil restaurant in Needham.

Christy Bird's refined wreath also won a top vote.

Interestingly the variety of judges really did come into play, as each of our 5 judges had a favorite that didn’t place in the top two. So to each of our Judges’ Favorites we are gifting a 6 inch poinsettia of their choice, a $10 value. So Susan Biagini, Christy Bird,  Lauren Kinghorn, Diane Hardin, and Laurie Cochran congratulations on your ability to play to the judge’s eye and stop in soon to pick up your poinsettia.

As I said in the initial rules, this is our first attempt at this contest and we enjoyed it as hopefully you did too.  As with anything we learned some lessons which I will be sure to apply to next year. So if you feel frustrated with the results don’t get mad, just start plotting for next year and know I will hold the judges to an even higher standard of criticism.

Diane Hardin's natural look got high marks.

For your own notes, photo quality totally makes a difference. Descriptions of materials used was helpful, and seeing the setting of the wreath often helped land it a point or two upwards, so feel free to include a wider shot of wreath location next year. And while the judges are completely above bribes, they are still appreciated, but they will not affect the outcome just our waistlines.

Lauren Kinghorn's magnolia and white LED wreath had one judge in exclamation points.

Oh and I was told that purple LED lights were the only thing missing on at least one wreath. But I understand there are places your taste or family may just not let you go. But these may be just the sacrifices necessary to take home the gold in next year’s Wreath Wrangle.

Susan Biagini's wreath was a judge's fave.

Thanks again for participating and have a wonderful Holiday Season! Anytime you have something you decorated with products from Volante’s, or landscaped with our flowers, or cooked with our produce and you are proud and want to share, you can always send it to me at ryan@volantefarms.com or share them on our facebook page. Even when we aren’t running contests we love to see the ingenious ways you find to love our products and let our other customers know too.

Laurie Cochran played to her strengths and included serving size homemade granola pouches on her wreath.

We hope to see you again before the 24th and soon again in  April.

Christmas is still two weeks away

Well, almost. Two-ish. I am just trying to help you relax. There’s still plenty of time. We still have trees, and we will continue to have trees up until December 24, so there is no reason to worry. But while the clock ticks on, many of our wonderful wreaths, garlands, and decorations are selling out fast. So don’t wait too much longer.

Frasier Firs line the front of the new Farmstand

If you have a party to prep for this coming weekend, we can help you out. There are plenty of lush evergreen boughs available in many shapes and sizes, there are plenty of options to make a quick turnaround to an otherwise never-green room.

While we were very busy this weekend and watched hundreds of trees pass by on their way to loving homes, we still have a full selection of Balsam and Frasier Firs to choose from, from 3-9 feet and even a few taller than that Balsams left as well.

Balsams fill the greenhouse piazza with fragrance.

Stop in any time this week from 9-9 or until 7 on the weekend and we will be happy to help you out.

Points in red, and pink, white, and marbled too, all make a great grab-and-go hostess gift.

Also if you are on your way to a gathering and need a last-minute gift, remember that we are open late and can send you on your way with a lovely poinsettia or other flowering plant, wrapped in colorful foil and perfect for warming someone’s home.

For those of you hoping for Wreath Wrangle results, judging will be ongoing tonight and tomorrow. Results will be up here as soon as available.

Christina's "Birds of a Feather" wreath takes a feathery look at design.

A Little Inspiration for Your Decoration

There are just five days left to send in your photos of your decorated wreaths and perhaps win a prize in our first annual Wreath Wrangle! In case you are stumped and in need of inspiration, I’ve put together a slide show of many of the wreaths we have available for sale at Volante’s, plain, decorated, and many extra-fancy one or two of a kind hand-made designer wreaths.

Once you get your own wreath together send a snapshot to ryan@volantefarms.com and I’ll put it up for the judges next Monday.

In the meantime we look forward to seeing you down here this week for your Christmas tree and other holiday decor.

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Wreath Wrangle 2011: this is our first Rodeo

Chartreuse and Purple, a bit new for Christmas, in Teri's initial attempt.

A healthy Christmas Season competition has been developing over the week down at Volante’s. Teri came up with a unique color combo while bow making and thought it would really pop on a wreath, so she tried it out and displayed it on her office door.

Since the office is currently a tightly quartered shared trailer space while construction is ongoing, a certain contingent thought that maybe they could spruce up their own office door, you know with a bit more pizzazz. So the big guns of decorating were brought in, on a secret-op, as seen in the video below.

Sneaky Wreathers

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Teri pulled no punches on her Purple Xmas Redux.

Teri returned fire in kind, and with a bit more punch and juice.I suspect there will be a counter-garlanding soon.

So before this goes to a dark place devoid of holiday cheer, I think we need to  turn this rodeo around.

Announcing Wreath Wrangle 2011!

All sorts of wreaths grab the eye at this time of year.

Here at Volante’s we carry mostly double-sided Balsam Fir wreaths, in sizes from 10″ to 48″.  we sell these plainly undecorated, with a handmade bow, decorated with bows, berries, pine cones and ornaments, or the ultimate custom-made extra-fancy which can include every thing from seed pods to violins, glitter to dried herbs. These are all hand decorated by our team in-house, and many custom options are available, though they are best attended to during weekdays while things are quieter.

We also carry a large assortment of wreath fashioned from winter berry, magnolia, mixed greens, oregonia, red dogwood twigs and more.

So while we can decorate in many ways, we know by the sheer amount of wreaths that go out the door without our magic touch, you must have some ideas of your own. Care to share them with us?

I am announcing our first ever wreath decorating contest. Show us what you’ve got, email me a nice photo of your hand decorated wreath on your door by next weekend and maybe you’ll win!

Here are the rules:

Your wreath can be any size.

You can use decorations bought at Volante’s or from another source. We want to see creativity and execution so we don’t want to limit your options, but we do want it to be something you did yourself.

You may use a bow made by us, we know we are good at it, we will feel flattered.

Submit a digital photo with name of decorator to ryan@volantefarms.com by December 12.

Judging

Entrants will be subjectively judged by our wreath decorating crew, whose tastes you can see run the gamut. Linda and Dianne are powerhouse decorators, with eyes for detail and eager for innovation. Teri is a traditionalist, branching out into color themes. Mac and Morris bring their Caribbean joie de vivre  to decorating, no amount of color and embellishment can be deemed enough. So it will be hard to play to all of their sympathies at once.

While I am not a judge I reserve the right to vociferously support my faves, which seem to include buffalo plaid this year.

Judging will take place on December 12-13 after all entries are received.

Prizes

The top wreathers will receive some wonderful prizes. I have a lush gift basket from Colonial Candle and a gift certificate to Sweet Basil already in hand, and depending on response I may gather a few more prizes.

All the wreaths will be featured here on the blog, and the winning wreaths may even be featured on our walls if the crew finds them inspiring enough to duplicate.

So get to work and let’s see what you can do!

Don’t Forget, We Are Open Later All Season!

We know picking out a Christmas tree is  often a family affair and it can be harder than ever to get everyone in one place during the holiday season. So, this is just to remind you that our normal hours for the Christmas Season mean we are open at 9 am every day. We stay open until a very cool and dark 9 pm on weekdays and 7 pm on weekends.

These halls will require much decking.

So there are plenty of opportunities to collect everyone after dinner, or to come down after everyone has had a chance to relax after school and work. No one likes to shop for Christmas trees while stressed and rushed, especially as we have far too many to choose from and it takes some considered time and familial debate.

Plus, while you are here you might get a good look inside the new stand which we have been illuminating in the evenings, it is really a beautiful skeleton right now and worth a look.

Looking forward to helping you out all season long!

Update: Open during Renovation

With all the trees out front and poinsettia flowers and wreaths inside, you could almost miss the other excitement going on.

Many of you who only shop with us during the holidays will be shocked when you come down Central Avenue this December. If you haven’t been around in a while you will hardly recognize the place. Our new, soon-to-be-open-year-round, farmstand is looming on the corner lot and rapidly nearing completion.

Excitement like having a crane swinging rafters amid our Frasier Fir section for example.

While construction is ongoing, we are open for business as usual.

We carry all manner of holiday decorating items, and as of now we do not have food available for purchase aside from fresh apple cider and a few bakery items. Many of you who are new to us this year whether through our partnership with Cape Ann Fresh Catch CSA or just new to the area have been confused by our shuttering of the food store and transformation into a holiday wonderland.

Speaking of the CSA, first pick up of the winter season is next Monday, Dec 5th. Click here or the link to the right for more info and to sign up for your own sustainable seafood share.

While this has been our method for decades, we are happy to remind you that we hope it will be the last time we have to turn someone away hungry for local produce. When we open in April we hope to always have the products you are counting on year round.

But luckily all the excitement is in one place.

This speech is becoming old hat for our die-hard regulars, but we are thrilled that there are always new customers trying to learn the intricacies of our business.

So, where do we stand on construction now? The post and beam work is nearly complete. The framing of the deli and office area is well under way. One of three cupolas is in place. The roofing crew is expected to arrive soon. Concrete walkways are starting to frame entrances and exits.

Finally, and to great relief, the parking lot has been repaved and relined, this time featuring a new entrance further down Forest Street and many more diagonal parking spaces, making getting into and out of our lot much easier.

Stop in and talk to us about the new building. We are loving having the Christmas display around it and there are plenty of us available to help with trees and to talk to you about our plans. Things are changing every day now and getting us closer to our dream building.