Ellen Bishop, owner of Roma’s Greenhouse and Gardens, is preparing to return to the Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market for the 2015 season.
“I’ll bring some tropicals, a few annuals and a few herbs — basil, oregano, thyme, sage and some parsley. I also have honey and beeswax candles. I’m a beekeeper,” she said.
Bishop will also sell potted kiwi and blackberry plants, along with a few vegetable plants.
“I’ll also have a few daylilies. … It’s kind of a big variety,” she said. “I’ll be there every week.”
Bishop’s flowers will be potted, and Castle Hayne Farms will bring cut flowers, such as iris, lilies, peonies, snapdragons, tulips and sunflowers when the market kicks off its seventh season Monday, May 18. Additional local vendors will sell produce, baked goods and handmade art from 8 a.m. to noon. Twenty-eight vendors are registered to participate in this year’s market.
“This is the most we’ve ever had,” said Katie Ryan, Wrightsville Beach Parks and Recreation program supervisor. “We have 10 craft vendors. They’re selling pottery, jewelry, photography and more.”
Sea of Glass will sell glass bead jewelry, Green Goddess Essentials will sell skin care products and Motsy Wynn will sell vases, bowls, platters and trays. Other craft vendors include Adelia, Genevieve, Mike Bryand Photography, Soul and Sea Studios, Wilmington Beach Photography and Wooden Things.
The market will also feature tasty treats.
“Two vendors are selling gourmet chocolate,” Ryan said. Avenue Des Chocolats and So Sweet Chocolates will have tables at the market. Other dessert vendors include Cape Fear Rum Cakes, Shuga Shack, Simply the Best Cakes and Uprising.
“There will be pastries and pound cakes,” Ryan said.
This year’s market will cater to animals, as well. My Porch Dawg will vend pet treats.
Ryan is impressed by the variety of food vendors.
“This year, you can purchase anything you’d need from a grocery store, as far as consumables go,” she said. “We have a chicken farmer and a pig farmer.”
Best Poultry Ever, Davis Seafood, Seaview Crab Company and Wonderland Farm are among the meat vendors. Sea Love Sea Salt, a business owned by a Wrightsville Beach resident, will also have a table.
“A lot of them are seasonal produce vendors,” Ryan said. Fruit and vegetable produce vendors will include Hanchey’s Produce, Healing Earth Farm, Patch Farmstead and Piney Woods Farms.
Ryan encourages everyone in the Wrightsville Beach area to visit the farmers market this season.
“It’s supporting fresh, local produce vendors and craft vendors. It’s important for local businesses,” she said. “There’s a sense of community.”
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