+ Colorful Easter Eggs. Purple cabbage for blue, turmeric for yellow, beets for red, you’ll have the deepest jewel-toned eggs on the block (or, if you time it right, the palest pastels).
+ Spring bulbs. Egg hunts involve more chocolate, but don’t forget to go on a bulb hunt, especially if you have little ones afoot. The first of the spring bulbs are starting to bloom. Spot crocuses, snowdrops, muscari and keep an eye out for the green leaves of tulips and daffodils just starting to unfurl.
+ Easter Grass. Plant your red winter wheat this week and have a basketful of green grass by Easter morning. I like to use a shallow tool tray to plant mine. Easter bunny, take note: Faye’s already excited about the prospect of the finding a cache of chocolate eggs nestled in the grass.
+ Edible Flowers. Make sweet or savory shortbreads and press them with edible flowers for the very prettiest Easter treat. (Also, pasta)!
+ Garden plans. Draw up a plan, gather a few seed starts, or, if you’re feeling ambitious, start some seeds indoors as you wait for the ground to warm up.
+ Compost. Use the holiday, or the start of spring, if you don’t celebrate, to recommit to one environmentally sound habit. Maybe it’s composting, maybe it’s bringing your reusable bag, maybe it’s trying never to get coffee in a takeout cup. See how long you can make it without missing a step. (And if you stumble, start again!)
+ Forced branches. Take a few branches off your forsythia, dogwood, plum, peach, cherry, and bring them inside. Smash the ends of the branches a bit, plop them into room temperature water, and try to be patient. You’ll have buds by Easter morning.
+ Pastel pouches. Skip the plastic eggs and fill up spice sacks with package-free Easter treats from a bulk shop. (If you’re feeling fancy, try a low-stakes dyeing project while you make Easter eggs.)
PS. More ideas for a clutter-free and waste-free Easter basket, this way.
11 Comments
I mean, I would also be excited about finding a cache of chocolate eggs in the grass….Faye is a girl after my own heart (and I can’t figure out how my own daughter doesn’t like chocolate!)
Love all these ideas 🙂 We’re about to plant kale, red basil, mini yellow tomatoes and marigold seeds for our mini balcony “garden.” This is the first year I’m “doing Easter,” since we’re back in the states now. I decided to put the picture book Pelle’s New Suit by Elsa Beskow along with a wooden sheep I found. For filler I’ll use some naturally dyed blue wool roving I have, which I thought would be cool since it talks about it int he book. And I just might try my hand at dying some little muslin bags for bulk candy 🙂
Spring blooms and garden plants for the eager gardening thumbs! We recently took our nice and nephew to the local art museum and there was a a Haft-Seen for Nowruz with hyacinths, beautiful decorated eggs, sprouts, and all manner of beauty. Hoorah for springtime (when it finally arrives)!
These are all so sweet! Easter was the one holiday that really surprised me with how much I missed it the first year I moved abroad. Still celebrated here, just more church and less colorful eggs and chocolate (which is how my family chose to celebrate). Last year I did turmeric eggs and paprika ones, since that was what I had on hand. The paprika turned a lovely light orange, although it did leave specks rather than a smooth color. Might have to try to grass this year! Although I don’t think I can find wheat berries, maybe barley will work?
I’m doing some seed starting next week to have some fresh herbs for the summer and fall. Super excited to give my little biosphere a try!
Avocado peels will also render a pale-ish indigo on Easter eggs. And if you make the mistake of using coffee grounds to dye eggs, you’ll get a pale pink for color (think millennial pink) and eggs that taste like coffee. Talk about a multitasking breakfast combo.
Nice! I love the Easter grass idea, and wish I had thought about it when my kids were younger. Ah well, plans for the grandchildren! 🙂
Also, I have used the same plastic easter eggs for the last 12 years! Some of course have broken, and had to be tossed, but I have reused the same set over and over again.
I have been hesitant to plan for any Easter celebration, as our kids don’t want to go to church. I feel torn on celebrating religious holidays when the heart of the holiday itself is lost in the (often commercial) shuffle, but this post has really inspired me. As we have a new home, I think we’ll plant flowers with the kids this year and have a lovely dinner. We can still celebrate (and honor the history of the holiday) at home. Thanks for clearing that up for me. 🙂
Thank you!!
Heading out to snatch a plum tree branch, there’s a few that are too long hanging anyways.
Where will I find hard red wheat for the grass?
(I feel dumb asking….I love in Montana and there are literally wheat fields a few blocks from my house)
I get mine at the grocery store in the grains section!
Flowers in pasta?! My mind was just BLOWN!! That’s so fun!
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