EAST SYRACUSE — A bouquet-building workshop on Aug. 29 called “Jolts of Joy” saw as attendees cut stems from the colorful flower fields of Fremont Farms in East Syracuse.
Everyone there picked out the fresh flowers that drew their attention most, cleared the leaves off, and arranged them to their liking in vintage glass bottles filled with water, with some flowers trimmed accordingly to stick out higher than the rest.
The alliterative name of the creative workshop came to organizer Jaime Weisberg, the owner of Northbound Mind + Body Shop in Minoa, because to her, just looking at an attractive display of flowers can make a person feel a sudden burst of happiness.
During the evening event, Weisberg drew from her background in positive psychology to relay some of the ways that flowers, plants and gardening can support mental and physical well-being, while Amanda Knaul, who works on the farm, presented a run-through of the various flowers that could be found on the property and used for the bouquets.
Meanwhile, Kim Ezzo, who owns the farm at 514 Fremont Road with her husband Tim, set out light refreshments like salsa prepared with cilantro grown on their land and a helping of zucchini bread, which Kim makes every morning.
Knaul, who’s also a bus driver for the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District, pointed out amaranth, lavender, rose-like lisianthus, zinnias, ornamental kale, plumes of explosion grass and more on the walking tour through parts of the almost-three-acre farm. Knaul has been family friends with the Ezzos since she was “yea high,” but it was only a few years ago that she began helping out on the farm in a more routine capacity.
Sharing a bit about the power of flowers, Weisberg said that flowers have been shown to have long-term positive effects on people’s moods, their problem-solving skills and their creativity, whether a vase is placed in one’s household, in the workplace, or in a classroom setting. She said flowers can combat depression, anxiety and agitation, with receivers of vibrant cut flowers demonstrating a higher sense of life satisfaction.
Weisberg also said that because humans are very adaptive, we get used to the items in our everyday surroundings, so she recommended that the workshop attendees move their bouquets to different spots every so often, even unexpected sections of their homes to give their flowers “a new spark.”
One attendee stopped by the workshop as a birthday outing, and others just wanted to savor the beauty of a warm, quiet summer night on the local farm. Another woman said her workday leading up to the workshop consisted of going hours and hours without a single break from her computer screen, and for that reason her connection back to nature that Thursday evening and the opportunity to give her eyes a break made for an especially calming escape.
The Ezzos bought their property about 30 years ago and cleared the weeds that had been growing as high as the eye could see with a brush hog. It was more recently, merely a couple of years ago, that they opened Fremont Farms to the public as a full-on business, soon watching it take off once they put up their farm stand store, which contains a guestbook for visitors.
“We just want people to enjoy it and have it bring them as much joy as we get out of it,” Tim said. “It’s a place to come and take a breath for a minute.”
The couple said the farm may be easy to drive right past, but it’s revealed to be larger than expected once you walk around back.
The family-run farm sells homemade jams, eggs, potatoes, basil, onions, rhubarb, tomatoes, corn, and in the fall plenty of pumpkins. It’s open seven days a week currently, usually from 9 a.m. until about 6 or 7 p.m., and it pushes its operation into the winter as late as February.
All anyone has to notice, however, is whether the flag out front is unfurled and waving, in which case Fremont Farms is open and welcome to all.
