Imagine Covid doesn’t exist and you have a day off from work. You are free to spend the day doing exactly as you please. Inspired by U2’s It’s a Beautiful Day – It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away – we asked floral designer, Sandra Porterfield, to describe her perfect Lancaster County day.
Sandra and Bill Porterfield, who have been married for 22 years, on their farm in the Southern End. Their beloved dog, Abbie, wears one of the floral collars Sandra designs for canines that are taking part in weddings. Photo by Ashley Elizabeth Photography.
About Sandra: Growing up on a farm in the the Southern End of the county provided Sandra with a love of the outdoors and the plants, trees and animals it nurtures. “I always saw beauty and texture in everything,” she says of the perfect strawberry or the scraggliest roadside weed.
A love of the natural world inspired her to launch a floral-design career more than 25 years ago that allows her to work with gorgeous flowers (her favorite changes from day to day) and other elements that help to distinguish her designs and perfectly complement each bride’s style.
She also feels fortunate to be inspired by her surroundings that include the farm on which she and her husband, Bill, live (actually, it’s where Bill grew up), the nearby Susquehanna River, the Southern End’s many natural areas and the carefully tended gardens she spies on her travels. She’s also an avowed animal lover and cherishes the time she spends with her dogs.
For more about Sandra, visit slpfloral.com.
In Her Own Words: Sandra’s Perfect Lancaster County Day
I’d start the day as I usually do by waking up early and joining my husband and our dogs on the back porch. We’d ease into the day over coffee and watching the birds. We are blessed to have so many assorted feathery friends that are drawn to the Susquehanna River visit us.
A hike every morning is expected with our two active dogs – Abbie, our German shorthair, and River, a hound who is appropriately named after our property, River Wind Farm. We rarely ever miss a day (even in rain and snow); with the Pinnacle Overlook literally in our backyard, it is hard to make excuses not to walk!
If the day is going to be perfect, breakfast at home will include some fresh fruit from our favorite produce stand – in my opinion, The Blue Bell Fruit Market in New Providence is a must! This is actually my family’s farm and everything they sell is seasonal, grown on the farm and harvested by my siblings. It’s top notch and I am bragging because it is that good and they are all such hard-working and amazing people!
When we do get the chance to go out for breakfast, On Orange in downtown Lancaster is our place. We also like to go antiquing, so off we’ll go to Columbia to visit as many shops as we can fit in before we get hungry again and head to Mad Chef in East Petersburg for a beer and some amazing food (fish tacos). To be honest, we have never had a bad meal – or a beer for that matter – at Mad Chef.
To end the day, some live music would be great. We’d head to Tellus360 for some Bluegrass /Americana-style music or Corty Byron singing anything. The Long’s Park summer concert series is also wonderful – hanging out on the lawn and listening to live music on a Sunday evening would provide the ending to a perfectly beautiful day.
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