BloomFest Field Trip
Sitting at my dining room table, listening to the wind whip around today instead of playing in the dirt outside, thinking Spring takes far too long to arrive in Nebraska. As the anticipation builds in the air, my cut flower garden and tree branches are still, for the most part, bare. There are little signs of life - just enough to get me to watch closely, daily, some might say obsessively. Everything is beginning to shift. My lilacs haven’t opened yet and the flower beds are still waking up. I'm guessing in just a couple of weeks, the anticipation bubble will burst along with the buds on my tree.
That in-between moment feels like the place I stand metaphorically right now. I’m starting something new - ready to go - but have to wait just a little longer. This year, I've set up a series of field trips, visiting agritourism events across Nebraska and the Midwest. I'll document it on the Small Patch Instagram account. There's more to the events than just what is in bloom, more how these places are to be experienced. I’m interested in the details that make anywhere feel intentional: landscapes that support pollinators, plantings that belong to their region and environments that invite people to slow down and stay awhile.
The first field trip is to BloomFest at Arbor Day Farm, beginning April 18 running until April 26. I'll attend the second weekend and have several sessions lined up on my agenda. I’m especially interested in learning the lilac varieties considered heirloom and rare, meeting the curators of the collection and members of the International Lilac Society.
I've often thought about collecting and cultivating heirloom lilacs of my own - varieties with a backstory and a place in time. Early this year, I was planning a trip New York to visit a specialty lilac nursery when I learned Arbor Day Farm has one of the largest lilac collections in the country, only an hour away from where I live. This shifted something for me - attending BloomFest feels like both an education and the beginning of something more intentional, observation and experience.
Consider this your invitation to join me, obsessed at BloomFest. Follow @nebraskalilacs on Instagram.
That in-between moment feels like the place I stand metaphorically right now. I’m starting something new - ready to go - but have to wait just a little longer. This year, I've set up a series of field trips, visiting agritourism events across Nebraska and the Midwest. I'll document it on the Small Patch Instagram account. There's more to the events than just what is in bloom, more how these places are to be experienced. I’m interested in the details that make anywhere feel intentional: landscapes that support pollinators, plantings that belong to their region and environments that invite people to slow down and stay awhile.
The first field trip is to BloomFest at Arbor Day Farm, beginning April 18 running until April 26. I'll attend the second weekend and have several sessions lined up on my agenda. I’m especially interested in learning the lilac varieties considered heirloom and rare, meeting the curators of the collection and members of the International Lilac Society.
I've often thought about collecting and cultivating heirloom lilacs of my own - varieties with a backstory and a place in time. Early this year, I was planning a trip New York to visit a specialty lilac nursery when I learned Arbor Day Farm has one of the largest lilac collections in the country, only an hour away from where I live. This shifted something for me - attending BloomFest feels like both an education and the beginning of something more intentional, observation and experience.
Consider this your invitation to join me, obsessed at BloomFest. Follow @nebraskalilacs on Instagram.
Photos from my own lilac trees, 2025 growing season.
BloomFest tickets are free. Registration is recommended.
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