Lightening, thunder and rain oh my! What a wet day to be out and about. Part of the day I stayed south of Kansas City, the sky was very menacing and when it started to rain it would just pour. I was a little soggy and muddy by the end of the day. I will definitely have to wash the truck on the way home. Today I really mixed things up a bit; I visited an artist/crafter vendor, a greenhouse vendor and a new farmer.

After rush hour traffic lightened up a little I headed to Blue Springs, Missouri to approve a new artist crafter vendor, Brenda Green. Brenda’s specialty is making little miniature gardens, these were super cute! She makes very little bird houses, stepping stones and butterflies from polymer clay and places them in a garden scene in concrete containers which she also makes. I was amazed how many different things she makes out of so many different types of materials. Brenda also makes unique stepping stones out of concrete, broken plates, shells and glass pebbles, each one is unique. Another outside item she will be bringing to the Market are hand painted wooden signs painted with house paint so should hold up very well. Brenda is lucky enough to have a craft room in her home which was filled to the brim with supplies. In addition to items for your yard she also makes scrapbook type shower invitation, party favors, party games and centerpieces, you will have to see these to appreciate them. Brenda’s booth at the Sunday farmers market should prove to be very unique. www.salesbytheyard.com

 

It was raining pretty heavy as I passed by Garden City so I opted to bypass the Malcom’s for now and catch them on the way back to KC. Linferd and Judith Klassen, with the help of their daughters ,run a very nice greenhouse in  Rockville, Missouri. The Klassen’s have been coming to the Market since 2009 as daily waiting list vendors. This season they have really increased the number of succulents they are bringing to the Marked. Judith has put together some beautiful succulent wreaths, moss baskets and hanging baskets. I am sure I will be buying one of these very soon, they are very cool. You will find Country Blooms Greenhouse at the Market every Saturday through mid-June. Their location changes every week so feel free to stop by the yellow information tent and we can point you in the right direction. For more information visit their web site at www.countrybloomsgreenhouse.com

 

Back to Sheila and Robert Malcom’s in Garden City. It was still raining a little but that is why I have a raincoat and boots. The Malcom’s are new to growing for farmers markets so Sundays will be a perfect place to start. They also plan to sell at the Lee’s Summit market on Saturday. They have not been able to build a greenhouse this year but hope to do so by 2015. They did the next best thing and started the seeds in their garage in planting beds with plant lights. They have land they are leasing which has been tilled and made ready to plant. The north end of the plot has been planted with onions, assorted peas and a variety of lettuce. I think they should have enough early produce to bring in towards the end of May. I will visit them again towards the end of June to see how they are coming along.

The market will be booming tomorrow, we will have 104 stalls filled. Sunday is a little questionable right now, Mother Nature is just not cooperating, but we do need the rain.