We're farmers, too!

Just because you can’t eat it doesn’t mean it wasn’t farmed. While food is first and foremost at farmers markets there are several vendors who are every bit farmers in the sense that they grow the products they offer…but you can’t eat them.FlowersNothing puts an immediate smile on shoppers faces like gorgeous flowers. The vibrant colors and assorted shapes offer instant happiness. While it is still early in the season for the full spectrum of garden bouquets, there are still plenty of blooms to grace the lives of Central Farm Markets customers.Floradise Orchids, the newest flower vendor at Bethesda, have been cultivating orchids since 1979. They grow hundreds of varieties and have a dedicated following of enthusiasts. In addition to selling individual plants at the market, their lovely orchids are often seen in professional offices, lobbies, restaurants, spas and embassies throughout the DMV area.For those wanting fresh-cut flowers and bouquets, Wollam Gardens (Bethesda), Sunnyside Flowers (Pike), and Cabin Hill Farm (Mosaic) all offer individual stems and bouquets. Just like fruits and vegetables, flowers have their own seasons. Jeanette Smith of Cabin Hill Farm explained the differences between winter and summer annuals. “The flowers showing up at market this time of year have been slowly growing since last fall like rudbeckia, snap dragons, stock, Canterbury Bells and bachelor buttons. As the summer heats up, those give way to sunflowers, zinnias, statice, amaranth and celosia that were planted in May after the threat of frost. As cooler weather arrives in the fall, the brilliant dahlias and asters make their way to the market."Claire O’Brien, grower and florist at Sunnyside Flowers, also pointed out that just like other farmers who make educated choices on the varieties and species which best serve their market, flower growers do the same. For instance, growing the varieties of sunflowers specific to cut flowers which do not produce pollen or ones that stay nice for the entire week, if not longer, such as lisianthus.FiberJust as colorful and unique as market flowers, the yarns and knitted wares at Kiparoo Farm (Bethesda) are farmed products. Driving back the lane to Annie Kelly’s 158-acre working sheep and dairy farm, visitors are greeted by her flock of Border Leicester sheep grazing peacefully in lush green pastures. But wait…they’re all white. The magic happens in a small building behind the farmhouse where kettles of color meet skeins of white yarn after it returns from the mill where it is sorted, cleaned, carded and spun into various types of yarns. When I visited Kiparoo Farm last spring, I saw an entire shed full of freshly shorn fleeces bagged up and ready to be sent off for processing which showed up at the market in the fall as yarn ready for winter projects.Every bit of a farmer as the rest of us, I look forward to exchanging the “what did your sheep do this week?” stories with Annie in a comforting comradery of validation to our agrarian lives.For those who want to see where your wool comes from, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 20, 21 and 22) is the Countryside Artisan Studio Tour and Kiparoo Farm is one of the stops. There will be lots of lambs to cuddle. NOTE: Kiparoo Farm will not be at Bethesda Central Farmers Market this Sunday due to the studio tour.