Checking out Howell's Dried Floral & Greenhouse

Linda suggested we take the relatively short trip to see Howell's. It had been a rainy morning and so a greenhouse seemed a good pick. I looked up directions to Cumming, the only address I had for Howell's. It's a smaller town so finding the greenhouse should be easy.

We drove down to Cumming without incident and were surpised to travel the loop of the town and not find any sign of Howell's. We drove to the gas station in nearby Norwalk, asked directions, and only got a blank look. We went back to Cumming and asked directions: go across the interstate, around the bend, and it'll be on your left. Sounded safe to me. We crossed the interstate, went around the bend, and there is was, on our left.

The lane was long and, as we got near the buildings, we were surprised again to see a couple guys directing traffic into parking spaces on the grass... and a whole lotta cars. This was pretty odd. We parked, got our cameras, and walked on down the lane. We were both pretty surprised when we actually saw this place.

There were four low wagons of pumpkins, a couple of traditional greenhouses, a kids play area, a goat petting / feeding area, and a barn with a gift shop on the ground level. One of the greenhouses was filled with picnic tables and a counter where you could order up chili, hot dogs, soft drinks, chips, and juice boxes. Tractors were pulling hay racks modified to haul a dozen or more people out to the pumpkin patch to pick them right off the vine. This is quite an operation ... but the amazing thing is yet to come.

When we went up to the hayloft of the barn, we had no idea what lay ahead. Hanging from the rafters was a truly staggering collection of dried foliage and flowers giving the space an amazing aroma. While I can show you a picture and write about it, I think the only way to really get it is to go there. There are so many interesting plants and smells, you could spend a good deal of an afternoon exploring. It's a winner.