The 50th anniversary gift became an important part of Heidi Saarinen’s Christmas tradition

Warm mulled wine tastes wonderful in an atmospheric gazebo. Mikko Huisko

At the end of the long courtyard road, a fairytale world awaits, where the main features are flowers, an old barn, a garden and a wonderful combination of a summer kitchen and a gazebo.

Entrepreneur of Kukkahuone Linnea Heidi Saarinen received an English-style summer kitchen built by her husband and son a few years ago as a 50th birthday gift. In the summer, food is mainly cooked in the yard, and even in winter, the gazebo creates atmosphere.

It has already become a tradition to drink Christmas mulled wine in the courtyard of the garden. Heidi brings a small Christmas tree to her summer kitchen and lights dozens of candles.

With a steaming mug of mulled wine in hand in the gazebo, we descend into the peace of Christmas, sit for a while and enjoy the beauty around us.

– We come here for mulled wine when it starts to get dark. That’s when the fireplace and candles come into their own, says Heidi.

Of course, how many cups of mulled wine are enjoyed outside depends on the temperature. When my daughter’s sons were smaller, they always wanted to grill snacks in the fireplace.

Cheeses and small finger foods are often enjoyed with glög. Maybe the bottle of wine will be opened, and with the same wine we will continue inside at the Christmas table.

The Saarinen’s four children are already in the world, but they will come home for Christmas – each according to their possibilities.

Since Heidi is a florist and gardener, flowers are of course an important part of Christmas decorations.

After the cows left, the old barn in the yard has turned into a flower shop and Heidi’s Lotta– daughter’s hobby to run the cafe Vanamo. Both the cafe and the flower shop are open on Sundays.

Heidi grows most of the cut flowers sold in the summer in the neighboring field, but for Christmas she orders a barn full of Christmas flowers, such as amaryllis and hyacinths.

Although they are not exactly locally produced, Heidi is careful that the flowers are grown in Europe. They are not flown in from far away from the rest of the world.

Heidi encourages you to look for and collect decorations for flower arrangements and food from your home yard or the nearby forest. Even in the fall.

– I run around the yards looking for beautiful natural materials. This time of year, I find dead leaves, needles, dead leaves and whatever else is there. I am constantly teaching myself to find beauty nearby.

Of course, you have to be careful not to put poisonous plants next to the food. Heidi would not decorate the cake with store-bought cut flowers, as they contain a lot of plant protection agents.

Using common sense can go a long way. Herbs are always beautiful decorations, for example, on a cheese tray. Thyme and sage can stay green surprisingly long into autumn in the garden herb beds.

In addition, Heidi slices and dries deep red-skinned apples. They are beautiful when dried and give wonderful color to both food and flower arrangements.

– First I eat with my eyes.

According to Heidi, decorating the Christmas table with plants is easy. At its simplest, you only need green needles. If permission has been asked from the landowner, you can take small amounts of moss or lichen.

You can assemble a beautiful green moss base on the tray and place decorations on it. Recommended conifers include thuja, silver fir and cypress. They dry beautifully, so they also stay good-looking inside for a long time. A decoration made of natural materials can be thrown into the compost, so it is also a profitable choice in that sense.

– I often copy nature. Even though the flower meadow is full of different colors, no one thinks to say that it is ugly. I try to achieve the same in my own flower works. It’s worth opening your eyes and finding beauty up close, Heidi encourages.

Inquiries: Ceramic dishes Sthål Ceramics, mulled jug Eva Solo, wine glasses Riedel and Iittala.