Fairly Blossoming

How can you not relish an event that welcomes you with a two-story inflatable vanilla soft-serve cone? County fair and carnival all rolled into one, this midway featured not tilt-a-whirls, home-grown sows or berry pies, but flowers, plants, tropicals and still more hanging flowers. Get a bunch of plant lovers together; add gorgeous flowers, good prices and kettle corn to the mix and you get a frenzy of excitement!

Friends drove me fifty miles away to Florence where the Southern Plant and Flower Festival was being held at the Pee Dee State Farmers Market. Just makes you smile, doesn’t it? We arrived not long after the opening hour, but the parking lots were already full and we were directed to the last row in a field. We got out of the van and started walking as fast as three “mature” women can walk without actually running. People were already loading up their cars and we were afraid they would sell out before we could even get started.

When we arrived at the ice cream cone, I realized I had nothing to worry about. I have never seen so many plants and flowers in one place. We slowed down to a reasonable walking pace and I began to chat with people on either side of me. Can I just make a personal observation here? That is not my normal inclination, but folks here are just so friendly, you can’t resist the urge to pass a little time with them as you walk along.

Beautiful hanging baskets swung in a warm breeze and palm trees nodded at a lazy pace. Ferns waiting to be hung on front porches stood in potted rows. Flowering bedding plants of every kind lined up and begged for attention. They were all there – tropicals, orchids, begonias, vincas, geraniums, banana trees, bamboo, petunias, Shasta daisies, impatiens and more kinds of ferns than I realized exist.

I stood for just a moment and savored the sheer gentle, nostalgic quality of the scene. Everyone pulled red wagons full of favorites and sweet southern voices good-naturedly complained about the early heat. An occasional squeal of excitement over a discovery was balanced by the rise and fall of quiet laughter as plant-loving friends met by surprise.

We pulled our three red wagons full of ferns and flowers back to the van and then made two more return trips. When the van could hold not even one more bedding plant, we made our way through the craft and food booths in the center of the farmers’ market. We talked ourselves out of handmade bird houses and sampled dip made with Willie’s Hog Dust. (Good stuff, by the way. I bought a bottle.)

Tired and dusty, we decided to grab lunch and head for home. We staked out a place at a picnic table and feasted on hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries and funnel cake. It was one of my favorite days in my new home state.

And I left with my head held high! I sailed right past the fried Snickers and Milky Way candy bars without stopping.