Wildflower Festival 2013

This Saturday, March 2 will be my 4th show at the Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival presented by Friends of the Desert Mountains, located at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center.

I always look forward to this show because it celebrates the natural beauty of the Coachella Valley, steps aways from where I grew up.

I will have a few new items for children and women, including new  desert plant prints on dresses, tops and accessories.

Smoketree dress

Paper Moon dress

As well as my new jewelry line made entirely out of upcycled and organic materials.  As always a portion of all sales go towards protecting the native habitat of the Coachella Valley. 

Book of the Garden necklace

 Vintage Book & Wine earrings

My sister, Meghan Kelly will also be joining me this year with her incredible photography from her expeditions around the world.  

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Please share with your friends my FACEBOOK event page...
Join Tea With Iris at Wildflower Festival 2013

Here are some of my favorite shots from previous years...

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center***

51-500 Hwy 74Palm Desert, CA 92260
***shuttles run from St. Margaret's Church: 47-535 Hwy. 74, Palm Desert
FREE admission and parkingTelephone: (760) 862-9084

Spend the day with your family and friends in support of the National Monument and Friends of the Desert Mountains. Join us in search of wildflowers with guided hikes and nature walks, and enjoy kids’ activities, plein-air painting, various workshops, raffles, and vendors. Free entry to event. Food and merchandise will be available for purchase.

Festival attendees browsed and shopped at over 40 vendor and exhibitor booths, attended one or more of the seven specialty workshops involving photography, wildflower identification and landscaping, got messy in the Kids’ Zone with face painting, arts & crafts and live entertainment, enjoyed a selection of beer and wine while listening to The Bill Saitta Group provide great jazz music, and participated in an interpretive hike or walk in search of wildflowers. Overall, more than 1300 guests enjoyed a picture-perfect day at the National Monument Visitor Center on Saturday, March 3, 2012 while attending the Annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival in Palm Desert.

Kohlrabi in the school garden

I've been helping out in my daughter's school garden.  I love discovering new vegetables to grow and cook with....

KOHLRABI

I had to look this vegetable up last month because I had never seen such a thing.

The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rübe ~ Rabi (Swiss German variant) ("turnip"), because the swollen stem resembles the latter, hence its Austrian name Kohlrübe.

Not only do the stems have an unusually beautiful appearance, they are surprisingly flavorful and have a very unique taste, like a mix between brocolli, cabbage and mildly sweet like an apple.  The leaves can be prepared like kale and are high in nutrients.

I peeled and sliced the stems for the kindergarten classes to try during snack time.  I made a dressing for them to dip them into and the teacher said most kids loved them.

Raspberry Vinaigrette recipe:

• organic raspberries
• meyer lemon juice
• honey
• olive oil
• white balsamic vinegar
• oregano, thyme, marjoram

BLEND.

LINKS:

prota.org- scienitific information

NY Times- some great recipes

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/kohlrabi/