photograph by Rick Gush
You see all types at the agricultural carnival in Rapallo , Italy — even farmers wearing mink coats .
Last weekend was the big annual fair in Rapallo , Italy , and as common , two of the streets down by the water were fill with agrarian vender . Although it ’s still pretty cold outside and the garden is too muddied to do much work , this event always get me excited and leaves me find that spring is proper around the nook .
One of my favorite thing about these fairs is how the customer in the husbandry section are n’t all scruffy old granger , like me . Whole families were everywhere . Some of the younger fry savor the spectacle seated in their strollers , and the older ones excitedly helped their parents select the best specimens .
A young girl browsing the herbs finally choose four Marjoram plant . When she left , I moved in and grease one’s palms two for myself .
Even customers in mink coats buy plants and garden supply alongside the unsportsmanlike - fingernail crew . Mink coat are still popular here in politically faulty Italy , and some solar day , I swear I can see 500 of them strolling along the beachfront promenade that prevail Rapallo ’s downtown area . The agriculture bazaar is no elision . I watch dozens of them haggling with the merchants and carting home everything from bare - rootage yield Tree to onion sets .
You see all types at the agricultural fair in Rapallo, Italy — even farmers wearing mink coats.
This class at the agriculture carnival , I buy a new male New Zealander vine . While the distaff kiwi vines I planted a few year ago are growing robustly , the alone male person is wimpy , to say the least , and I have n’t had any fruit yet . I saw some of my neighbors also looking at kiwis , but they were n’t sure if they wanted to buy both males and female . I abuse forward and explain that because I was corrupt a male they would n’t need to — that part of our garden is right next to their own short plot of ground . They were quite happy and purchased two female person .
I also purchase a unexampled lemon Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . This is by now a custom with me , as I have been buy a new citrus fruit from the same vendor every yr at this funfair . The older trees are just start to produce fruit , and we had a few oranges , kumquats and lemons this past season . I ’m good brother with the citrus vendor now , and we spent a bunch of time discourse the nursery business organization . As usual he invited me to visit his glasshouse , which is on the slopes of the volcano Mt. Etna in Sicily . One of these years , I hope to take him up on his hospitality fling .
in conclusion , I bought two marjoram plants . Marjoram , which is almost always used fresh , is extremely popular for kitchen herb gardens here . Everybody has one , even those families live on the upper stories of the tall apartment buildings . Since I ’ve lived in Italy , marjoram has become my favorite seasoningherb . It storm me to remember back to when I lived in the States and did n’t grow this herb at all . What an ignoramus I was !
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