HERB - morning at the farmer's market

[Gaylin]

I just returned from our farmer's market for the first time
this year. There really is nothing like an early morning trip
to buy herbs. When you first arrive, it seems like nothing
more than a poll barn, honestly, with a profusion of trucks
surrounding. Parking is troublesome if you arrive later than
7 am.

When you approach the trucks, nothing seems spectacular
until you round them and enter the long low porch that
stretches along the length of one side of the market. Ugly
metal trucks suddenly blossom into a riot of plants too
many to name. Colors are  everywhere, texture of all kinds
of leaves and flowers. Vining plants, plants in pots, creepers,
and mixed bouquets.

And then you smell them. Fresh. Alive. Growing.

Inside is even better because mixed in with that lovely
smell of promise and vitality is the warm comfort of
Amish baked goods and roasted caramel nuts, fresh coffee
and bread and pies.

I wanted to share with you what I bought today.

Today for my herbal garden I bought some lemon balm to
fill a corner and duke it out with the spearmint that's
trying to take over. Two pennyroyal plants will enter
my garden for the first time as I finally have space to
grow things not food related. A lovely bush basil will
grace my doorstep, already fat with leaves begging to
be put into another spinach pie like the ones I made for
Coronation.

I rescued a rosemary plant and some chocolate mint
from a lady who didn't understand them. And a new
organic grower in the market gifted me with a stunning
variegated sage that should do well in it's new home in
my back yard. The bee balm he had was lovely, so I
bought that too.

Two tomato plants will make their debut in my vegetable
garden this year: yellow pears and sweet 100s, which my
husband loves in the morning as he gets ready to get in
the car to go to work. The flat of violas I found will go well
nearby and with hope I'll be able to sugar the flowers this
year.

My find for the day, however, was a lovely double-headed
trillium. I confess I do not have a place for this plant in
my yard. It needs the shade and moisture of a forest or near
forest-edge floor. I bought it because the owners of the shop
have a license to dig and regrow this protected and endangered
plant and are making a serious effort to preserve the
beauty that is part of Michigan. And I bought it because it
made me think of the wonders of Spring and how lucky
we are to see such beauty in the plants we study..

All the loveliness made the parking ticket I got not seem
so bad after all. I think the police officer was rather
stunned that I thanked him.

Cheers and good morning from the Middle Kingdom,

Jasmine
Iasmin de Cordoba
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