Eastern Market's Flower Day shoppers bring garden dreams and a big wagon
Detroit — At Eastern Market's annual Flower Day, it pays off to bring a big wagon.
At Sunday's event, long an informal kickoff to summer gardening season in southeast Michigan, there were all types: classic red Radio Flyers, deep canvas-sided ones, and custom-built contraptions designed to transport the maximum number of flowers, veggie plants, and shrubs back to the car.
Clarkston resident Monica McCabe, 32, built one of the latter for her mom as a Mother's Day gift more than five years ago. The custom multi-level wooden cart on Sunday was even equipped with some extra flair like a grass hula skirt around the base and a Bluetooth speaker blasting tunes. It was loaded with plants including tomatoes, citronellas, cucumbers, kale, geraniums and more.
"It's something to do together, and it's a good environment," said McCabe of the Flower Day tradition with her parents, Karen and Mike Michalski. There's the added fun of trying to make her mom the "center of attention" with such an over-the-top wagon.
The Eastern Market flower and plant extravaganza has run since 1967 and organizers say it's among the biggest events of its type in the country. The flower varieties from regional growers are, of course, plentiful — from begonias to zinnias, fuschias to marigolds. But plenty of shrubs and even smaller trees can be found scattered among the sheds and are interspersed with numerous types of veggie plants.
To ease traffic and extend access, organizers also have been hosting Flower Tuesday markets this month, with one more coming next week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Sheds 5 and 6. And some flower and plant offerings are available daily, in Shed 6, through Father's Day.
Westland resident Donna Trombley, 59, made her first trek to Flower Day last year as a Mother's Day excursion with her daughter. She plans to keep coming back and on Sunday — after arriving just as the sale began at 7 a.m. and several hours of shopping — she had picked out impatiens and hydrangeas, baskets packed with a few flower varieties, along with several succulents and more.
"I have never been to anything of this scale for flowers and plants, but Eastern Market is like the place, you know?" Trombley said.
Vendors were doing big business. Dennis Mingle, 53, helped sell plants at the stall of New Haven-based Odrobina Farms on Sunday morning, and said it had been a hectic start to the day. Canna lilies were a top-seller, he said, as were some hanging pots featuring a variety of flowers that can run $30 to $50 each.
"This is all about people getting ready in spring, lighting up their yard," Mingle said. "All these people are into landscaping and making their yard beautiful — that's what this is all about."
Kim Gee, 33, and Spencer Harrison, 32, had packed a variety of veggies and herbs into a wagon to get their garden started for the season, including chives, basil, peppers, and sorrel. It was actually their second run of the day, having already carted off a full load of flowers after arriving to Eastern Market at about 6:30 a.m. to beat the hordes of shoppers. It was the Clarkston couple's third year coming to Flower Day, and they plan to keep it up.
"We like the vibe," said Gee, noting that not far from the plants is live music and a variety food trucks. "Everyone's just having a great time. Everyone just finds joy here."
After an early-morning trip to Eastern Market, there was plenty of work ahead on Sunday afternoon.
"We'll start getting these going in the beds, the garden space," said Harrison of the couple's wagon packed with plants.
lramseth@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Eastern Market's Flower Day shoppers bring garden dreams and a big wagon
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