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Cold rain and temperatures about 20 degrees below normal turned the American Horticultural Society’s annual spring garden market into a test of endurance on April 11.
The temperature hovered near 44 degrees during the first day of the two-day event at River Farm in Mount Vernon. Ellen Sliger of Nature by Design struggled to operate a handheld credit card machine while wearing gloves as rain soaked the grounds and vendors’ tents.
Most of the 35 vendors waited under cover for customers. Dave O’Neill of Harrisonburg-based Radical Roots described those who ventured out as the “diehard gardeners.”
Business moved slowly for some sellers. Ben Stowe of Little Hat Creek Farm had served about 30 customers by 2 p.m., five hours after the market opened. The rain shifted between drizzle and downpour throughout the day, providing welcome moisture for the plants even as it complicated sales.
Conditions improved slightly Sunday. The rain stopped, although clouds remained and the temperature had reached only 50 degrees by 1 p.m. Plant enthusiasts nevertheless arrived in larger numbers.
About 1,300 people browsed and bought items during the market’s two days. That was down from roughly 2,300 shoppers during two sunny days the previous year.
Stowe brought ecologically grown vegetables, fruits and other plants from his farm in Nelson County. Participating for the third year, he called the event a good market and said his farm aims to leave its land and community better than it found them.
Another booth drew attention with the name Peony’s Envy. Kathleen Gagan, who grows only peonies at her Bernardsville, New Jersey, farm, offered cultivation advice to gardener Corey McGee.
Gagan said she entered the peony business by accident after discovering it was the first crop she could grow successfully. Deer also leave the plants alone, she said. Her farm includes a 14-acre display garden and 12 production acres containing tens of thousands of peonies.
Mount Vernon-area potter Bruce Ciske returned with distinctive vases and containers that often appeal to Ikebana enthusiasts. He said he attends every year because of the pleasant people at the market.
Ryan Starnes of Greg’s Art and Garden traveled from Covington, Kentucky, with iron garden decorations. His butterflies and dragonflies, fashioned from spoons, forks and knives, continued to shine through the rain.
Additional vendors inside the estate house sold artwork, woodwork, stoneware, floral arrangements, ceramics, soap and other goods.
River Farm, the horticultural society’s headquarters, occupies the northernmost of George Washington’s five farms.
The organization also scheduled a virtual program for April 17 at 2 p.m. featuring native-plant advocate Dr. Douglas Tallamy. He was set to discuss his book, How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard.