Thyme & Tra La La

Take a step back in time to buy some thyme (or basil or mint) at part of the 1740 Palmer farm along Mistuxet Avenue near Jerry Browne Road in Stonington.

A pastel welcome flag and an ever-changing scarecrow made with the likes of rakes or hubcaps, along with a wooden sign bearing the farm’s name and a trowel, greet you as you enter this 6-acre property filled with lush plants, trees and flowers. Stephen and Maggie Palmer succeed well in keeping the charm of the farm at 365 Mistuxet Ave. with their post-and-beam buildings, their greenhouse and their “Never Enough Thyme” sign posted on one of the smaller buildings.

Jonquil means daffodil and those in the area know well the blanket of spring daffodils that covers the small front yard of the nearby family house with the aubergine-colored front door. It is no coincidence that the white house a few miles away on Route 1 near Montauk Avenue also sports a lawn-sized blanket of the yellow spring flowers and is known as the Daffodil House, as Palmer’s great-great grandfather used to live there. And, yes, we’re talking about the same Palmers who were one of the Stonington’s four founding families that down the line included the discoverer of Antarctica, Capt. Nathaniel Palmer.

Given the history of the family, Stephen Palmer said, it was important to keep a farming aspect.

“With the farm, water and sun,” he said, “it made sense to have a nursery.” He uses organic methods and carries shrubs and trees native to the area, along with heirloom plants and tomatoes and unusual perennials.

He’s helped with special projects at and also designs and installs landscape plans and enjoys making herb baskets because they are useful, practical gifts.

The farm extends to the edge of the reservoir, originally a stream until 1901, when the family sold a parcel to create the body of water that serves as a local water supply. Horses graze nearby, butterflies seek out the milkweed pods and swallowtails flock to parsley gone wild in this bucolic setting.

If you happen to stop by when no one is on site, you can buy a plant or vegetables or whatever and use the honor box/mailbox for your purchases.

In a modern twist to stepping back in time, visit ’s Tra La La, a new stationery store—that’s right—as in putting pen to paper, writing letters, and wonder-of-all-wonders, writing thank you notes.

Open in April in a nearby space, owner Pamela Grace Ames quickly outgrew the 400 square feet and since Memorial Day has occupied more than three times that amount in a store across from Elizabeth & Harriet. Ames designs custom invitations by well-known companies such as Crane & Co. and William Arthur, and provides, as the store’s sign says, “Fine Stationery, Unique Gifts & Unexpected Necessities.”

She explained that the shop's name emanates from Kay Thompson, entertainer and author of "Eloise" children's books, who said: "I've discovered the secret of life—a lot of hard work, a lot of sense of humor, a lot of joy and a lot of tra la la!" 

You’ll find social stationery, pens, albums, journals, frames and funky jewelry, along with New Yorker cards and lots of handmade cards mixed among marine-themed gifts, such as a line of “Half Shell” white tea and ginger candles or coasters embossed with anchors and sand dollars. The unexpected necessities come in many forms, including tea to erase some of the past you’d rather do without, a line-a-day, five-year memory book or a squid-shaped whisk.

And don’t forget those thank you notes. The idea of handwriting a personal note to acknowledge a gift might sound old-fashioned, but it is one that never has gone out of style.