The River Garden at the Union Square Greenmarket and in Martha Stewart Living

By West Village Bill

Before I moved to Manhattan, I was only slightly acquainted with The River Garden, which has, hands down, the most beautiful display of flowers at the Union Square Greenmarket. I'd occasionally catch these flower farmers at the market on a Friday when I was off or able to leave work early. Now that Union Square is my local Greenmarket, I've come to realize that TRG is here every day the market is open: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

The August issue of Martha Stewart Living has a wonderful, eight-page article on TRG, which is in South Cairo, New York, and its owners, Bernadette and Walter Kowalski, who met cute while manning neighboring stands at a farmers market 20 years ago. (There's no link to the story on marthastewart.com. And TRG doesn't seem to have a website of its own.)

TRG's Union Square stand compels you to approach. There's such a tremendous variety of beautiful colors, and the mixed bouquets are so striking and imaginative. At today's market, I bought a bouquet of pink and green zinnias for my bedroom and some sunflowers, which I paired with some unusual-looking rudbeckia from another stand, for my living room.

Bachelor's Buttons

By Brooklyn Bill

I love cornflowers, aka bachelor's buttons. Such pretty blues, pinks, and purples. These came from Lebak Farms in Burlington County, New Jersey—my usual flower supplier at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket.

Spring Flowers From the Greenmarket

By Brooklyn Bill

Like Stash and hungry rabbit, spring makes me think of certain foods, especially fresh produce from the Greenmarket. But I'm also delighted this time of year with the reappearance of gorgeous, locally grown flowers.

I'm usually loyal to a family of flower growers from Burlington County, New Jersey, who come to my neighborhood Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza. The past couple of weeks, though, I've been stepping out on them and buying my bouquets at the Union Square market. Don't tell 'em.

Anemones

Narcissus. These were advertised by the farmer as mildly scented, and they do have a nice perfume along the lines of hyacinth, only much more subtle.