Tagged: farmers markets

Folsom flower farmer Shirley Randon battles the elements each week to harvest and assemble gorgeous nose gays and full-on bouquets of flowers. Knowledge of these challenges makes me appreciate her delicate, hand-crafted, dried floral holiday wreaths.

Have you seen them? Whereas contemporary wreaths feature vivid synthetic colors, Shirley’s are beautifully faded by the sun. These are colors we rarely see any more in commerce. Imagine a ring of dried cosmos, bachelor's buttons, sunflowers and more.

I spent this past Thursday afternoon zipping from one farmers market to the other. Whereas Saturday markets are altogether larger gatherings with greater choice, our city’s Thursday evening markets offer some surprises.

Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday.

Originally started by American Express, this national day to shop small and locally fits so nicely with farmers markets. After all, you can’t get much smaller than the family who farms and sells their products directly.

If you’re storm damaged like me, you get drawn into every radio interview you hear about Hurricane Sandy: The disbelief, the frustration, and the delays. In every instance, I think to myself: “This sounds oh, so familiar.”

Also familiar is what I’m hearing from farmers market organizers in New York. Fishing families were hammered hard; farmers less so. It has also been gratifying to learn that some of Manhattan’s hard edges are softening. Trauma is heeding to people’s need for gentleness.