Instagram story viewer> @millontherock> Posts

Tara Kolla | French Countryside Retreats

@millontherock

4.3K

followers

674

following

Unplug and relax at my magical water mill in rural Western France
🌜
Mill on the Rock (formerly Silver Lake Farms)
🌛
Stays, Workshops & Retreats

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

This is what I love about the Slow Flowers Movement ❤️ — Let’s go back to 2012 when we first met this week’s featured guest, Tara Kolla of @millontherock (formally Silver Lake Farms).

Tara graced our pages with her story & insights for a little book project that started our wild #slowflowerssociety journey, ‘The 50 Mile Bouquet’. Flash forward to 2024, we are so excited to connect with Tara IRL earlier this month to provide you the latest of her floral journey!

As always, here is a little snippet of what is to come in today’s Slow Flowers Podcast:

🔺 When she owned and operated Silver Lake Farms, Tara Kolla was one of Los Angeles’s pioneering urban flower growers. She helped change legislation to approve backyard flower farming and was a popular vendor at Hollywood Farmers’ Market. In 2016, Tara and her husband dramatically reimagined their lives and moved to the La Rochelle region of France. They bought a 18th century stone millhouse and poured just as much love and care into its renovations as Tara had once devoted to growing flowers. Earlier this month, I visited Mill on the Rock and today, I’m sharing a beautiful conversation to catch up listeners on the next chapter of Tara’s floral story.

Catch this week’s podcast STREAMING NOW, across all your favorite podcast streaming platforms 🎙️💐🇫🇷

#slowflowerssociety #slowflowers #slowflowerspodcast #slowflowersmovement #slowflowerscommunity #millontherock #sustainableflowers #larochellefrance #larochellefrance🇫🇷 #larochellefranceoficial taken in La Rochelle, France by @millontherock

44

0

2 years ago

31

4

2 years ago

The last 24 hours have been truly transformative at @millontherock with Tara Kolla, former LA flower farmer (and her sweet partner Beat Frutiger), as they treated me to a visit to their restorative retreat in Western France.
.
Now I’m back on the train to Paris to reunite with @bruce.m.brooks and friends for some Olympics fun! by @millontherock

111

10

2 years ago

#slowflowersontheroad
.
Day trip to visit Tara Koller, formerly of Silver Lake Farms in LA, now owner of @millontherock 🇫🇷🌱
.
Tara is the OG urban flower farmer and she appears in the pages of the #the50milebouquet (in case you need to be reminded!).
.
Watch for an upcoming episode of the #slowflowerspodcast with the two of us! taken in Coulon, Poitou-Charentes, France by @millontherock

61

0

2 years ago

Hi everyone ! It’s Maude again ! 🌸

Today, let’s talk about another french specialty : cheese ! After all, France is synonymous with cheese, right ? There are so many varieties that somewhere among the roughly 1,500 different kinds, there must be one or two that fit your taste, am I right? 🧀

Less than 15 minutes from Mill on the Rock, you can even find a 120 year-old cheese factory in Maillezais. They have been making both cow and goat cheese since 1891.🐄🐐

It’s making me curious : what’s your favorite kind of cheese ?🍽💛

→ Subscribe to Tara’s Newsletter to know more about Mill on the Rock, local food, and countless other things ! www.millontherock.com/links by @millontherock

22

4

4 years ago

Hi everyone, it’s Maude, your favorite intern again ! 🌸

We’re right in the middle of Spring ! Asparagus is already a meter high, tomato seedlings are on sale everywhere, and flowers are turning from buds to fully bloomed bubbles of color. The weather is warming up. ☀

Which also means… That Spring plant fairs are back! Tara went to one in Champdeniers St Denis in the Deux-Sèvres, and found tons of heirloom plants and seeds.

These seeds are for the kitchen garden at Mill on the Rock : a really unusual bicolored patty pan squash that's white with green flecks, Tuscan kale (so hard to find in France) and little mangetout beans ! 🌱

What about you ? What are you planting this time of year ?🌾

→ Subscribe to Tara’s Newsletter to know more about Mill on the Rock, what's growing in the kitchen garden, and countless other things ! www.millontherock.com/links by @millontherock

16

1

4 years ago

Hi everyone ! It’s Maude again !🌸

We talked a lot about physical activities and hiking in the last posts. In France, we have a saying : “Après l’effort, le réconfort”. Translated it means “after effort comes comfort”, and what’s a better comfort than a bit of French gastronomy ?

Less than an hour from Mill on the Rock - in the famous port of La Rochelle - are two Coutanceau restaurants, each belonging to one of the brothers Grégory and Christopher, sons of yet another famous chef, Richard Coutanceau.

Christopher Coutanceau has 3 Michelin stars. Grégory Coutanceau has the most beautiful wine list in France 2019. Which place will you try ?🍴🍷

→ Subscribe to Tara’s Newsletter to learn more about Mill on the Rock, foodie retreats and the local growers and producers that she meets. She gets around !🥘🐑 www.millontherock.com/links by @millontherock

11

1

4 years ago

Hi everyone, it’s your favorite intern Maude writing !

If you spotted this picture in one of my recent posts, maybe you were like, what's it mean? Let me explain.

Here in the French countryside, you'll find these marks on trees along nature walks. They're designed to guide hikers during their travels ! Every hiking trail or nature walk follows a specific circuit. And so you don't get lost, these signs mark the way. There are shorter circuits within longer circuits. Many circuits connect. Every local tourist office has maps and a long list of trails. Pick a circuit that sounds interesting to you and once you start walking, you'll find your way just by reading the signs on the trees.

For example, the sign in this photo say “turn left”, for both a short trail, or “petite randonnée” in french, and a “longer trail”, or “grande randonnée”, indicated by yellow and red and yellow markings respectively. There also is a third color combination of white and yellow marking for big regional trails that you might find during your walk.

Not far from Mill on the Rock, you can even hike the famous Santiago de Compostela trail that leads to Spain. Tara once took a kundalini yoga class with a lady named Annie who walked the trail during COVID lockdown. She did it barefoot and all alone all the way to Spain! She said it was a cleansing experience. Not always easy but definitely worth it.

Would you give it a try ? by @millontherock

25

1

4 years ago

Hi everyone! It’s Maude again! I’m interning for Tara in the southern part of the Vendée (pronounced Von-day). 🌸

Here, you’ll find a true jewel of almost untouched nature. It’s carefully protected and maintained and covers roughly 6795 acres (or 2750 hectares, if you’re from around here). 80% of this protected land is open to the public via hiking paths and navigable canals.🚣‍♀️🌳

It’s an amazing lush, green , peaceful place to explore both on foot, and by boat. I invite you to come! It’s an ideal place to take a break from concrete cities and technology. Turn off the noise, disconnect and take a breath of well-deserved fresh and pure air. 🧘‍♀️🍃 by @millontherock

14

1

4 years ago

Hello everyone, it’s Maude here ! 🌸

Let’s talk about donkeys today, or one French breed in particular : the Baudet du Poitou. It’s not only a french breed : it’s also a very local one, and considered as a cultural legacy of the Poitou-Charentes region, where Mill on the Rock is located. And guess What ! You can meet two of them here, those you can see on the picture, Tesée and Elliott.🐴🐴

Baudets du Poitou are easy to recognise, with their long, fur forming dreadlock-like stands called “cadenettes”. They are THE oldest french breed of donkeys, and we can find written traces of them going back from the Middle Ages, more precisely the 10th century ! Unfortunately, their population is declining every year, with only 2800 specimens as of 2018. However, with so few specimens, reproduction is tricky, to avoid as much inbreeding as possible.

However, Baudets du Poitou are wonderful equines to keep around, both for labor work - their primary use for centuries - and their very calm and friendly nature. For example : they love being scratched on the forehead !

What do you think, don't they seem adorable ? Would you like to meet Tesée and Elliott someday ? 🏡 by @millontherock

62

5

4 years ago

Hi everyone ! It’s Maude, your favorite intern. Feel like hiking with Mill on the Rock?🌸

Today I want to tell you about the beautiful countryside in the southern part of the Vendée (pronounced von-day). This is department #85 of France - famous for its mild climate, verdant countryside and gorgeous sandy beaches. Home of Mill on the Rock.

Visit for a true breath of fresh air, off the beaten track and far away from crowds and city hustle-bustle.

Here, our 146 hiking trails cover thousands of kilometers and range in distance from less than a kilometer to the longest being 76 kilometers (47 miles) long! 🚶‍♀️

The trails are super well signed. Plus, handy guide books found at all the local tourist offices offer interesting information about the area. Hiking is a great way to learn the local history, flora and fauna while you relax and vacation. And there’s even a “gourmet walk” to introduce you to all the local flavors.🤤🇫🇷

🌄When was the last time you hiked in France? Care to share a memorable moment?

for more informations :
https://www.sudvendeelittoral.co.uk/dontmiss/hiking-trails/
https://www.sudvendeetourisme.com/sud-vendee-in-english/ by @millontherock

19

1

4 years ago

Hi, it’s Maude again ! 🌸

Today’s post isn’t about France, but Hungary : a few weeks ago, Tara got to visit the beautiful city of Budapest : its wonderful architecture, its monuments… And its traditions ! Like those delicate lace tablecloths she brought back for Mill on Rock ! 🏡🌄

And you, what’s your favorite souvenir from a recent trip ? Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll best it ! 💪✨ White hungarian lace tablecloth on a light beige wood background. Only the clothe's corner is visible. by @millontherock

10

2

4 years ago