Agriculture

The cool spring has finally ushered in May flowers! I love cut flowers from the garden. There is a simple, happy satisfaction that comes from picking a bundle of peonies for the kitchen work table. Just be sure to shake the ants off first. The other thing about a cool spring with adequate rain fall is that the weather is acting as a sort of preservative: all those beautiful blooms are lasting much longer than normal.

Last year I spent some time rejuvenating, if you will, our “Miss Kim” lilac. It had gone years without any maintenance pruning, just never making the priority list for chores out at the farm. Although “Miss Kim” is considered a dwarf variety and needs less maintenance, it was in need of some serious reduction.

I am heading to Boulder, Colo., for a Slow Money National Gathering Conference, and at writing they are melting a record April snow fall. A warming trend occurs before my arrival, thank goodness. Our cold spring met with a blizzard in my destination that is the one opportunity I have to get away for some continuing education this year does not sit well.

If you’re looking for locally grown produce, plants and other handmade goods, the Shelby County Farmers’ Market will return Saturday for the 13th season of its weekly bizarre at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.

The market is open 8 a.m.-noon each Saturday through October – rain or shine, organizers say – in the Coots Barn at 1513 Midland Trail.