Saturday market sights

Saltspring's Saturday market is a showpiece for what's happening in the gardens, kitchens and studios of the community. In the middle of summer, it's all abundance and colour: Sweet peas, glowing tomatoes, bags of lettuce lit up with orange nasturtiums. A checkerboard of raspberries and blueberries. Tables of beets, carrots and broad beans. From the studios, beautifully knit teddy bears and bats with wings that fold and button up. Felted owls like little statuettes. From the kitchens, the Laughing Daughters baked goods; Bite Me scones. And from the fantasy world, fairy doors -- lots of fairy doors. Here are some photos from Saturday's tour through the market in Ganges:

My sweetpeas are coming out at home, so I resisted the urge to buy a bunch. But lots of people did -- I spotted bouquets all through the crowd.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying this bouquet, with its unusual pale pink foxgloves surrounded by delicate white flowers I can't name.

Fall sunflowers are already brightening up some stalls.

A checkerboard table of blueberries and raspberries caught my eye.

Salad greens look like beautiful bouquets when orange nasturtium flowers are added.

A table of colourful tomatoes.

Freshly picked vegetables stacked on a table. I bought a bunch of carrots, which tasted just like the ones from the farm garden  at home. 

I thought of my knitting friend Linda when I came across this display of knit rabbits and teddy bears.

The display had a row of bats of all colours. Their wings spread out...

... and fold up, held closed with a colourful button. 

The knitting display, and the knitter.

There's always lavender somewhere at the market. This was a pretty display of it.

I'm not sure what these wire things are, but perhaps they're structures for growing plants over. I liked the woman in the background with the flowers peeping out of her beautiful bag.

These look like they're carved, but they're actually made of felt.

There were two displays of fairy paraphernalia at Saturday's market. This one offers make-it-yourself fixings.

In the same booth, a couple of completed fairy doors, all dressed up with mushrooms and flowers.

Another fairy door with different trimmings.Somebody must have fun pulling all this together.

And, at another booth, serious fairy doors you can attach to a tree and leave outside. A couple are already painted, but there are plain ones you can decorate yourself. A kid could have fun with this!

The market territory has been expanded so there are booths now bordering the water. I include this photo of a booth of glass doo-dads because you can (kind of) see the boats and harbour behind it.