It was one of the hottest days of the year so far, and yet Detroit's Eastern Market was packed with hundreds of people Sunday. Wagon-bearing shoppers cast keen eyes on the dozens of stalls stocked with flowers and vegetables, determined to spot the best price and most promising bloom. It was the return of one of the market's favorite events, Flower Day, and people came prepared.
"It's the start of summer," said Renika Foster, 38, of southwest Detroit. "Once I put my plants out, that's the start of summer."
The annual event, which was paused for two years when the pandemic hit, is less of a garden sale and more akin to a festival — complete with elephant ears, corndogs, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Prices are comparable to big-box garden stores, but the thrum of excitement running through the crowd can't compare to the sterile aisles of corporate greenhouses.
Pots of lantanas, petunias, impatiens, and a seemingly endless variety of flowers lined the floors and tabletops throughout the Eastern Market. And, like sheep, herds of shoppers were guided through the sheds to inspect and collect. "It's overwhelming, it's just flowers everywhere, but if you're determined and know what you want, you just embrace it," said Krystal Cowan, 51, of Detroit.
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