Happy Summer!

I love summer! Vacations, long days, barbecues and gardening--I wish it was summer all year long. But here in Wisconsin, it's not. So I have to enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts. And that means heading to the Farmer's Market bright and early on Saturday mornings.

By far my favorite stop to make at the market is Mark and Chris's stand from Creekside Farm. They drive all the way from Prairie du Chein to Madison and they bring with them all kinds of interesting and unusual succulents. Later in the season they harvest equally wonderful vegetables like purple tomatillos and, our favorite, mouse melons. Mark knows me by name, and by now, he likes me enough to give me a discount.


This stunning aloe caught my eye immediately. I love the color and the beautiful fine lines in the leaves. Don't worry--I didn't buy it, it seems too beautiful for even my collection. :)

I was admiring the red Gasteria at the top of this photo. Maybe next week...

But I did go home with a little gem. This is a Euphorbia Quadrangularus, named for its 4-sided stems. It is currently indoors, being babied. Speaking of babies, you can see our little girl, Birdie in the upper left corner. :)

Lots of Fun at the Farmer's Market

We went to the Market this morning. Creekside Farm stand is always the highlight for me. It is owned by Mark and Chris, who come all the way from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and bring with them beautiful succulents and very interesting and unusual produce. Above are a few examples of their fabulous succulent dish gardens.

I had e-mailed Mark earlier in the week asking if he had any small Crassula Rupestris. He said he just had one large one, but that he would bring some similar others for me to peruse. Sure enough! He brought a whole box full of wonderful specimens, and even some cuttings of the rupestris (below). I apologize for the blurry photos, my camera seems to be on the fritz.

This was my haul from today:

This little guy (Crassula "Baby Necklace") is similar to the rupestris, and it seems their names are interchangeable.

(Below) I'm not sure of the name of this one, although Mark said it is about 7-8 years old. I really love the woody stem and the beautiful colorful leaves. This has to be my favorite of the four I got today.

Below is the crassula coulmnnella. You can see on the right there are actually two "branches" starting to grow from the center.

These are Mouse Melons. Just one example of the really neat produce Chris and Mark grow. They taste just like a cucumber but with a tangy lime flavor. There was also some teeny-tiny cherry tomatoes on the vine, and last year they had purple tomatillos!