Farmers’ market back with lineup of favorites

Before discussing today’s opening of the Liberty Lake Farmers’ Market, it must be pointed out that, despite this week’s summerlike temperatures, this still is only May 20.

“Every year we get people coming in the first weekend, asking us where the produce is,” said Susan Parker, owner of Garden Gate Floral, 1421 N. Meadowwood Lane – the market’s home Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “We’re not like the supermarket – the produce there comes from Florida.”

Today, Parker said, market visitors can find bedding plants – perennials and herbs, maybe some vegetable starts – to go with the market’s regular array of crafters

“I know we’re going to have our plant vendors,” Parker said. “The Herb Garden. And we have a guy who does native plants – they’re called Desert Jewels, and his wife is a field botanist from the Bureau of Land Management, so she’s an expert in these plants.

“We’ll still have Lenny, who does his taco sauce. We’ll have our organic eggs. And we’ll have our guy back who has lots of honey and honey products, and our people who always have lavender and lavender products.”

As the growing season progresses, more and more local produce will find its way to the market, joining the regular assortment of crafters. That’s been the key to making the Liberty Lake Farmers’ Market a success.

“We really have been,” Parker said. “Much more so than the farmers’ market up on Moran Prairie. The biggest thing here is that the community has really embraced it. They really want to incorporate us into the city landscape. The mayor and the City Council really want to see us thrive – they’ve even given us a grant this year to help us advertise.

“The nice thing is that we see people show up even when it rains.”

Some of the familiar crafters from the past several years have moved on, Parker said – which is a good thing.

“We want to see them move on and get bigger,” she said. “We want them to get their start here and grow. Our farmers, though, we want back every year.”