Welcome

Take a visual stroll-at your leisure and without weather gear- through the Westside Community Market to see what you might have missed while you were sampling the maple popcorn from Sunnyhill Acres:

Radishes from JenEhr farm, so electrically colored in the rare April sunshine that we saw them from the opposite end of the market, and so popular that they were sold out before we could get to them.

 The mint plants bully their way into this photograph just as they do everywhere in the garden.  Harvest Moon has Lemon Verbena plants which you MUST  have in your container herb collection.  The taste is richer and more complex than shabby old Florida citrus and without the puckery bite; trendy cooks combine it with rosemary and basil.  (Lemon Verbena is easy to winter over, but let's save that discussion for later.)

The Moldy Jam musicians tried using the car hatchback as a windbreak, but the wind was relentless last Saturday.

The end of April and we are still bundling up like this.

We lingered at Kopke's stall for all this color..... 

 

....and then paused at Morningwood to think about how pleasant it would be to sit under a Stellata magnolia tree sipping a lemon verbena julep.  A local naturalist once told us to sit quietly near a magnolia  as evening comes on and watch the petals laying on the lawn.  The petals fall and lie flat, he said, but later you will see some begin to stand on end and slowly disappear into the ground.  Earthworms  gradually pull the flower petals into their burrows as they eat them...magnolia flowers are just like candy to a worm, he said.  Under an old magnolia tree is a mighty fine place to dig for bait, he added, somewhat deflating the dramatic mood he'd created.  (If you try to catch the earthworms at this trick, please have a videocam handy.)

You might have seen this calla lily-blooming early for Earth Day-at the Information Tent when you stopped for a cup of free coffee or cocoa, to sign up for our newsletter or purchase gift certificates for all your foody pals.  Several vendors will have these easy to grow plants soon.