Farmers' Market Reflections
Greetings!
A market display from past years.
Greetings! Today we’ve got a special guest post from our market manager and long time farm employee Dave Doyle. If you’ve visited our market stand, chances are you’ve met Dave. His kindness and enthusiasm is unsurpassed; we’re incredibly lucky to have Dave working on the farm and at the market. He holds a wealth of knowledge about trees and plants, and he’s always excited to share what he knows. Dave is endlessly positive and always there to cheer us on. With that, I’ll let him take the newsletter reins!
I am proud to say this is my fifth season working at Two Boots, third season selling our beautiful blooms under the JFX and my very first time writing the newsletter. I’ve gotten the chance to do a lot of cool things here but representing Two Boots at the Baltimore Farmers Market has to be my favorite role so far. The people there, our beautiful flowers and the connection back to “why we do what we do” on the farm are why I think it’s so rewarding to me.
Dave and our market van during Pride Week.
A happy BYO Bouquet Customer
The people at the market are amazing. The guests, the vendors, the staff… AMAZING. On any given Sunday we will get impromptu visits from restaurant owners and food critics, students and families, florists and artists, traveling business people and sports fans. Baltimore brings in a fantastic mix of people and passions and I get a front row seat to watch them all converge on my city.
Our mixed flower arrangements are absolutely stunning. Every week Amelia, Karen and Olivia methodically assemble bouquets in a variety of sizes and color ways that evoke emotion with hypnotizing rhythms and textures. I get SO much joy watching market guests oodle over the different color pallets and unique varieties while painstakingly trying to decide on THE one to take home. Pro Tip: you don’t only have to take one.
Olivia and Karen showing off market bouquets.
Dave in his eucalyptus forest
I begin most Thursday mornings by harvesting 20-25 bunches of Eucalyptus in the “Euphor-est”. (AKA our Euphoric Eucalyptus Forest) A lot of times I’ll find myself stressing on whether I’m getting the most fragrant stems for my people and their elaborate shower routines. This week I found myself chuckling about a recent regular who told me that after her eucalyptus is retired from the shower she crumbles it up and vacuums it into her carpet. Almost every crop has a story like that, and it’s just a great example of how the market fills me up for the week to come regardless of how hot, rainy or cold it may be.
In close, the Baltimore Farmers Market has become a magical place for me and if you haven’t experienced it you really need to come visit soon. For our market guests who already knew what a great time we have every week please don’t underestimate how much your purchases drive our decisions on what to bring to market. Your social media posts and recommendations to your friends are a huge help too!
2024 Pawpaw Popups
We’ll have tons of pawpaws available this weekend at Dupont Circle and in Baltimore, and we’re planning to do it all over again the following week!
Dupont Circle Farmers Market, DC - Sept 22, Sept 29
We’re back at the Baltimore Farmers Market this Sunday, September 22nd from 7:00- 12:00!
We’re planning to bring bouquets, celosia, dahlias, eucalyptus, salvia, veronica, and Two Boots merch. We’ll have plenty of pawpaws too.
And, of course, the Build Your Own Bouquet bar is back. We hope to see you there for the first day of fall!
Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you at the market!
Dave & The Two Boots crew
Late summer market bouquet.