The Key To Chic: Blooming Beauties at Rose Story Farm

July 14, 2015

Blooming Beauties at Rose Story Farm

I'm a firm believer that a change of scenery does a body (and mind) a world of good. It always provides me with a fresh perspective on life and it renews my creative energy. When I first heard about Rose Story Farm a while back, I knew I had to visit. To spend the afternoon touring a rose farm sounded like the ideal way to spend a leisurely summer day. It's something I've never done, so I placed it on my mental to-do list, allowed far too much time to pass, and finally booked a tour for last weekend. Perhaps you saw this photo I posted on Instagram.

The family-run Rose Story Farm resides on 15 gorgeous acres in a small coastal town called Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara. In addition to thousands of rose bushes, it also has rolling hills, lemons, avocados, apples, cute cottages, and a special buttery yellow rose named for frequent Rose Story Farm visitor Julia Child. Our tour of the farm lasted for about an hour, during which we were able to see, smell, and learn about many varieties of roses. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Rose Story Farm-4

Since this is a fashion blog, here's a quick look at my outfit for the day. Naturally, I'm wearing a rose print kimono. Not visible in the photo: my rose print iPhone case and the rose I placed in the ribbon of my hat. Obviously, I adore wearing roses!

Wearing UNIF floral robe (old, shop similar in blue/purple), J Brand jeans, Sam & Libby "Arianna" sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Swing bag, California charm necklace, and Panama hat from Target

Rose Story Farm-2

Below, a selection of beautiful bouquets for sale outside the gift shop.

Rose Story Farm-3

Our tour lasted about an hour, and afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the shaded lawn. I opted for rose iced tea to go with my turkey sandwich, strawberries and garden salad.

Rose Story Farm-Lunch

For dessert, we enjoyed a lemon cake (made from the farm's lemons and shaped like a rose, of course) with birthday candles for one of the tour attendees.

Rose Story Farm Lemon Cake

I left the tour feeling very relaxed, happy, and inspired by all of the natural beauty of the farm. In addition, I was lucky enough to be able to take home these stunning beauties pictured below. If you could only smell them! My favorite is the pink one on the right, which is called Memorial Day. The fragrance is rich and divine (much more intense than the roses you find in the grocery store).

Rose Story Farm roses

I also took home some rose tea and soap from the adorable gift shop.

Rose Story Farm-bouquet-gifts

Here are some tips our guide Mary gave us for making sure your rose bouquets last as long as possible:

- Use a clean vase to reduce bacteria in your arrangement. She swears by denture cleaner to get her vases and glasses squeaky clean.

- Cut the stems at a diagonal to increase surface area.

- Trim leaves and make sure they don't get submerged in water to limit bacteria growth.

- Change the water often to keep it clean and reduce bacteria.

- Keep the bouquet in a cool environment to reduce wilting. Mary stores her floral arrangements in the fridge before a big event, and then mists them with water. She told us that while rose bushes like the heat, cut roses don't like the heat.

- You can expect your roses to last about five days.

My Rose Story Farm bouquet is now three days old, and is currently on my dining table. I'm happy to report that it looks healthy and is giving the entire room a beautiful fragrance.

Shop rose prints and all things rosy:

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