Annapolis Royal’s inaugural Winter Market was a great success today. The sun was shining, there were food vendors with baked goods, meat, eggs, fish, wine, squash, parsnips, and lots more, some non-food vendors, and lots of people coming through the doors and making purchases. I never thought to bring a clicker so I could count heads, but I would estimate easily more than 100 people… all seeming very pleased at this new effort!
Town Crier Peter Davies officially opens the Winter Market!
Jerri buys some fish...
John & Melissa getting their weekly meat supply!
The Winter Market will continue in the “Gazebo” at the Historic Gardens throughout the winter. Although the building is unheated, once there were people inside it stayed surprisingly warm. And remember, we have walls and a roof, so the Market will be open rain or shine on Saturday mornings, 9-12. For information, call 532-2043.
It’s official now… after much discussion and planning, Annapolis Royal’s first “Winter Market” will be launched on November 7.
Annapolis Royal Farmer’s Market in September
Our summer Farmer’s Market has been a resounding success for many years. In this day and age, when consumers have a renewed interest in locally produced food, it seems that a year round market presence is a great idea. To that end, the Town of Annapolis Royal has agreed to spearhead the project for its first year, to try to build a successful Winter Market.
Now I might say at this point that I really don’t like the term “Winter Market”… it sounds sooooo cold, and truly, winter does not actually begin until late December. So let’s call it an Autumn Market for a while, at least until the snow flies, or the Cooler Season Market… even the Frost Market sounds a little less cold. Perhaps the Town should have encourage some creative naming and see what comes up.
Whatever you call it, the “Winter Market” starts November 7 and runs every Saturday morning 9-12. And the location is at the Historic Gardens, in a sheltered outdoor area behind the German Bakery & Garden Cafe (which will also be open with coffee, baked goods and maybe even some hot soup! )
And so, a new tradition will be born… Meet you at the Market!
CORNUCOPIA OF ACTIVITIES AT HISTORIC GARDENS’ HARVEST FEST
The Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal is hosting a fall fling Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 with a variety of activities designed to enjoy the season’s harvest.
Sample our local harvest fare and enjoy hot apple cider in the Gardens Shop all weekend. Guided tours will be held daily with lots to see: dazzling dahlias; the Innovative Garden’s wild and wacky produce; blooming perennial beds with fall asters, coneflowers, sunflowers, owl’s claws; funky magnolia fruit; towering Castor beans; and a full complement of flowering annuals, not to mention lots of wonderful trees & shrubs in full autumn glory. On Sunday afternoon, local talent Noelle Lucas will treat visitors to some great music, while Manfred Jonitz is on hand demonstrating cider making. All activities are complimentary with a special Harvest Weekend admission fee of $6.00 per person (and kids are free).
For more information on these and other events at the Historic Gardens, visit the website at www.historicgardens.com or call 532-7018.
Cedar of Lebanon is another Funky Feature in the Historic Gardens. Featured on the flag of Lebanon, this cedar has a long and interesting history. There are numerous biblical references to the Cedar of Lebanon, now a christian symbol representative of Christ and associated with eternal life. The Arnold Arboretum, a great resource for anything related to trees, has a great article on the “The Quest for the Hardy Cedar-of-Lebanon“. A couple other good references are found at Blue Planet Biomes , Berkeley and Kew Gardens.
The young Cedar of Lebanon at the Historic Gardens
Our Cedar of Lebanon, located on the lawn above the Lower Ponds, is still a small tree, but we can look forward to great things to come!
Well, as promised, we’ve been going Hawg Wild in the Gardens as part of Wharf Rat Rally 2009!
To start with, we created a display of cycle-themed planters in the Courtyard, thanks to Julie, one of our creative gardeners. Thanks to Loomer’s in Kingston who contributed the old motorcycle parts!
Secondly, we’ve had the odd motorcycle on display which has turned out to be really popular! A good number of visitors have been seen taking pictures with the display bikes! This one is mine…
We had Mark Towers, sax player extraordinaire, providing music…
And of course, we’ve had the Wharf Rats bringing their bikes into the Gardens for photos! The “bikers” have been extremely enthusiastic about getting their bikes photographed in the Gardens!
It’s here! It’s Wharf Rat Rally time, a motorcycle rally centred in Digby, Nova Scotia but spilling over into nearby communities as well. Here at the Historic Gardens, we’re welcoming Wharf Rats September 2-7 with a great discount and a really unique photo opp, Photos in the Gardens: You & Your Bike.
A few weeks ago, I used my brother as a guinea pig (brothers historically make really good guinea pigs) and we did a photo shoot in the Gardens. The results were kinda cool.
So once we had that trial run, the rest was easy… spread the word and see how much excitement we could generate! As a result, our first “customers” came this morning for their photo shoot, and it went well – they were really pleased with the experience!
The Gardens look terrific in their late summer glory! The roses, the heathers, thousands of annuals… and lots more! Have a look at the most recent YouTube Bloom Report.
We gathered this morning to release our beautiful monarch friend in the Victorian Gardens where there are lots of butterfly-friendly flowers for her to feed on!
Karen carrying the "butterfly house" into the garden...
The crowd gathers...
She's feeling the fresh air, getting ready to go...
Getting closer...
Baby's first step...
And she finds a perch to rest for a bit...
One of our young visitors named her: “Queen Bright Wing”… a perfect name! Thanks Sam!
Perhaps next entry I’ll provide some more pics and a bit more information. But for now, stay safe Madame Butterfly!
At about 1:30pm today, our Monarch emerged! What a beautiful creature!
The darkened chrysalis this morning...
And a couple hours later...
Unfortunately for us, she chose to emerge when nobody was there to witness it! But here’s a link to a series of shots capturing the emergence of another Monarch…
What a difference a few hours makes at this stage. The chrysalis started to change this morning. The first shot was taken at about 1pm today.
This next photo was taken at about 8pm. A huge change!
See how much thinner the cocoon is? And look at the markings of the monarch – it’s already beautiful and it’s still all scrunched up!
I built her (yes, I believe it is a girl, from the markings) a butterfly house of sorts tonight so that she will be safe until we can release her in the garden. As a butterfly, she will be a delicate creature and we don’t want to hurt her in transit!
It will be exciting to see if she has already emerged by morning, or if perhaps she will wait until we can see the grand event… she’s really close, so it may be an overnight birth!
Annapolis Royal Farmer’s Market in September
