From the time I was 7 years old, I spent the majority of my childhood living at my Grandparent’s home in the forested area of Payson, Arizona. I was originally born in upstate New York (near the Canadian border), and my family was challenged with many health issues, due to the cold and harsh winter seasons there. As a result of the cold winters, my grandparents wanted to move someplace warmer to be healthier and to be able to grow their own food, which was nearly impossible in the upstate New York climate. So they packed up and moved out west and shortly after they moved to Arizona, then my mother, brother and I followed suit.

My grandparents built their home with their own hands and created the garden of their dreams that took over the entire remaining acreage of their property. Flowers, herbs, vegetables, greenhouses, walkways with special seating and viewing areas became the landscape there. Then canning, baking bread, drying ingredients, home crafting…these all became an intricate part of my life as well and I grew to love it all! Bacon, spinach and tomato sandwiches with freshly made tomato soup, came fresh from the newly slaughtered pig and we picked the ingredients straight out of the garden, right before making lunch...so delicious! Such a simpler time when we were able to provide almost all our needs off the land and with our own hands. My soul came to love this, and I knew I needed to get back to that soon!

We grew everything! The herb garden in the greenhouse was a beautiful challenge for me, and I learned to recognize the herbs from the weeds very quickly and what each needed to grow to its healthiest harvest. Grandma taught me how to look at a leaf or a bloom and to know exactly what type of plant it was. There was no need for sticks with words to identify them. I remember the tomatoes grew as big as your hand! Asparagus grew for years on end, and the most beautiful flowers of every type brought the bees and butterflies to pollinate all our lovely plants.

We made fresh jams and citrus curd from the fruits, and deliciously warm homemade baked goods and breads with homemade butter. Grandma also taught me to crochet and knit and how to play the organ and I played old sheet music from the 1930s. It was a magical time for me! My grandpa taught me how to weld (yes weld) and play chess (I sometimes would even win) and he always gave me whiskey drinks when I was sick or had a sore throat. I often secretly dumped them out though because…well it was whiskey and I couldn’t drink and appreciate it until I got a bit older! I do love a great whiskey on the rocks now! Thanks to Grandpa!

I was taught organic, ethical and sustainable growing practices before they were even recognized as such a thing. We didn’t have those special words back then, but we knew what needed to be done to ensure the healthiest plants in the garden and we learned how to keep the soil healthy, how to compost almost everything and how to use all of that to make the richest soil that grew the most amazingly delicious and beautiful things!

You see…my grandmother was born in England and grew up there. She came across the ocean on a giant ship, much like the Titanic, while my grandpa was in the US Army Air, stationed in England. They met at a dance club in England and it took him several requests for a dance, before my grandma decided she liked him and would give in to his tall handsome charms. You know she was warned about those “American Army Pilot Boys” and held out for several evenings before accepting that dance…and the rest is history!

The climate there was much different in England than in Payson, AZ and definitely different than my earlier childhood in New York. So she had to learn how to grow everything in a completely different climate than she had known before. She knew this information was important, with every year she became a wiser grower, so my Grandma documented everything. What was the soil makeup? What ph level did each plant need for optimum growth. Which natural fertilizers worked for what? What natural pesticides to use, how to make them and how to use them. All of this was done so we could always pluck and eat fresh food straight out of the garden without any worry or concern. Then she wrote it all down, 40 years ago she wrote that book and I still have her lovely handwritten garden book of notes that I continue to use today!

Also being that my Grandmother was from England, the tradition of having tea time was a daily occurrence and ritual in her home. It was a time to contemplate the day, to relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor, carefully selecting herbs and fruits and joining them with a variety of tea leaves to elevate the day and entice our senses. It seemed to be a ritual of selecting the herbs, steeping them with the boiling water in my grandmas clear glass tea pot, using her beautiful Blue and White English China to enjoy the tea, and serving it with whatever fresh made baked goods and our homemade jams and lemon curd, as a late afternoon snack…and it was amazing! Some of my absolutely best memories of her was our late afternoon tea times. All this also taught me a special appreciation for the properties of the herbs that we had personally grown with our own hands. There’s nothing like this experience and I knew this tradition needed to continue throughout my life!

At an early age, I also learned natural holistic medications and traditions from her as well. Whenever there was an illness, my grandmother would send me out to the garden to grab a little of this and a little of that, mix these herbs this way or make a tea that way, create a compress of this and that…and before you knew it, bobs your uncle, you were on your road to recovery.

I grew to love the plants and making beautiful enjoyable things with them. It’s always been my happy place. If I was feeling down or discouraged, I would take a stroll through the garden, sit on a bench and smell the flowers, observing all my favorite things and would feel a renewed sense of calm afterwards. I would pluck some things and go back to the kitchen to make something fresh for the family. I grew to respect the plants and the seasons and to believe in the old country ways and the old methods of using them. We made gifts for the seasons with the fruits of our labor. We recognized the old earth religion, prayed to the sun God, thanked the Goddess for her gifts and celebrated Mother Earth!

Well eventually this world changed, like things do, and then my mother, brother and I moved away and down to the Phoenix valley area and then I learned how to grow in another completely different climate again. Sometimes growing outdoor gardens, but often growing my own mushrooms, vegetables and herbs indoors because of the harsh summers there. I continue to do that to this day and my house is a jungle of healthy life giving plants all throughout! We breathe well in this home, absolutely!

My daughter “Kimmy” has also followed in these footsteps and has a large property in Missouri. I frequently visit to help her with her own huge “garden of goodness projects” and we celebrate all that we grow together! I’m proud of my daughter for all that she has accomplished, as she now loves growing anything and everything too. We work together to grow all the good stuff and she takes her beautiful bounty to the local farmer’s market to share with others! She basically tells everyone that her “strawberries will ruin them from ever wanting a store bought strawberry ever again”…and she’s right!

My son “Bair” has started making his own honey meads and is the grower and cultivator of all sorts of herbs, including our specialty and exotic mushrooms. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would get so much satisfaction from growing something that the family loves so much, (we do love mushrooms) that brings such fantastic health benefits to us all! My other son “David” takes care of the small animals on the property, which in turn provides much needed ingredients to keep us self-sustaining. The family gardening skills and desire to grow and raise healthy foods has now been passed down through several generations. We love what we do together. We work well, we love well, we live well, we eat well and as a result we are well!

Currently, I am buying some substantial land in Missouri and are ramping up to grow my own self-sustaining farm and personal garden space with an elderberry orchard as well there. Phoenix Rising Farms has future growth happening and will eventually offer tours of the herb gardens, as well as a beautiful tea room with farm grown ingredient and homemade recipes that we share with others, for a truly magical full body soulistic experience! It’s simply a matter of time when Phoenix Rising Farms brings this to fruition. For now I continue to grow at home in Phoenix and create lovely teas, potions and elixirs to help others in their healthy whole body soulistic journeys. I live and love to help others become healthier humans, in all ways physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually possible. I know now that it’s my calling in life and I’m excited you’ve decided to be a part of Phoenix Rising Farms and know you will come to appreciate and enjoy all that we do. A family that grows together, stays together!

Thank you for taking the time to read my little story. Thank you for allowing me to create lovely and amazing holistic products for you! I guarantee you that the best is yet to come! And…like a Phoenix Rising out of the Flames, I wish you renewed energy and fantastic health with a ferocious fire to fuel your path!

Please reach out if you have any specific needs and I will do my best to accommodate!

Life is too short, you must take time for tea…there’s always time for tea!

Madame Christy