Farmer's market is a delight

The local farrmers’ market is a treasure trove of unexpected delights. I confess that I don’t visit it as often as I should. But when I do, I am always pleasantly surprised.
This past weekend it was decidedly chilly out. The selection was as varied as always. A little girl at the end of the row of vendors offered me a tomato and when I declined, she told me that the small watermelon was only a dollar. I said, “Sold,” and handed her a dollar. She scooped the melon into my bag and her brother added a couple of undersized peppers. He grinned and said they just wanted to sell everything so they could go home.
I passed over the local honey, as I still have half a bottle of honey at home that is rapidly crystallizing. I hesitated at the cider, but knew in my heart that we would never drink an entire gallon of it before it turned bad.
I bought a few apples. One of the appeals of a farmers’ market is that I don’t have to buy a ton of produce when all I can use is one or two of something. The canned apple butter and baked goods called to me but I resisted their siren songs. There was even some jewelry for sale that was well-made and pretty.
Then I came to the guy selling chrysanthemums. Pots and pots of the ubiquitous fall flowers were alluringly displayed in the back of his pickup truck. Sunny yellows and deep crimsons nestled side by side. I intend to redo one of the flowerbeds this fall and the plants will fit into my plan perfectly. I bought three then hesitated as I wasn’t sure how I was going to get them home. I had walked the few blocks to the market. The seller immediately offered to deliver them.
That is one of the benefits of living in a small town. Not only does everybody know each other, they know where I live. I took him up on his offer and walked home with my other purchases.
He was true to his word and stopped by while I was deadheading some scabiosa. After he unloaded the plants, he discovered a praying mantis had hitched a ride behind the pots. He scooped it up and I deposited it on the chrysanthemums. It seemed perfectly willing to relocate and best of all, I wasn’t charged for the natural pest control that is the creature’s specialty.
The rest of the day was chilly and windy. I had intended to finish weeding the flowerbed but gave up when I got cold. This gave the toad I almost weeded time to hop away.
I started getting the houseplants ready to go back into the house. I like to do this in stages so that whatever wildlife had taken up residence in the pots will have a chance to find other digs. There is now a row of pots sitting on the porch swing. The plants within are dreading the loss of sunlight that fall and winter bring.
I took a bunch of cuttings from the coleuses and stuck them into little crocus vases. The crocus vases were originally obtained for the purpose of forcing crocus into bloom in the middle of winter. Not one time has this worked for me. I can force hyacinths but not crocus. I’m hoping that I have better luck with the coleuses as those plants flourished this year.
We grew coleuses indoors when I was a child. Later they were grown as annual shade plants. This is the first year that I have massed them and put them into full sun. They were spectacular. Maybe next year they can cozy up to the new chrysanthemums from the farmers’ market.
Our local farmer’s market doesn’t have the selection of the larger markets in larger towns. They also don’t have the accompanying crowds.
But what they lack in size they more than make up in friendliness. The offerings are always unique and appealing. Plus, sometimes they will deliver your purchases and you may even get a free praying mantis as a bonus.[[In-content Ad]]