Plants at a Normandy Market

Today I give you, not pictures from our garden here at Eco-Gites of Lenault but plants I saw at the market in Condé-sur-Noireau, where I went this morning.  I go most Thursdays, meet with a friend for coffee and buy any supplies I need.  Today I came home with lettuce and red cabbage seedlings, melons, nectarines, cherries and 2 cucumbers.  My cucumbers, as I mentioned last week are fruiting but not fast enough to keep the hungry mouths here fed - I think I need more plants next year!

Markets are wonderful places for plants and you can buy a huge variety of either small or large plants, made up pots/hanging baskets, herbs and vegetable seedlings, all usually of very good quality and not too expensive.  Often the plants will be grown locally, especially if you visit the part of the market we call "The Little People" - here local people can set up a stall and sell produce from their own gardens.  I don't know what the rules are for having a stall (I must find out) but I do love the wonderful mix of things for sale - I bought a kilo bag of cherries but I could have had cut flowers, eggs, jams, potted herbs, fresh veg and even live pigeons and rabbits!  I'll try and get some photos another time but the stalls were too crowded today to get a decent shot.  Here instead are other photos of the plants for sale on the main stalls:

Bright Busy Lizzies

A mix of summer annuals

Delicate Geraniums

Scented Pinks

Pots of Herbs

Leek Seedlings

And this final one I snapped at a flower shop in the town just because the lavenders were so beautiful in their matching pots that I could not resist a photo.  The shop is called Exotic Fleurs which makes me chuckle every time I read it.  The French for exotic is exotique but they have chosen the English word and placed it before the noun when in fact the French adjective almost always goes after the noun.  The Académie française (note the adjective is after the noun!) works it's socks off to try and stop non-French words entering the French language but it seems it's citizens might not always be d'accord with that!

Lovely Lavender

I love French markets and there are local markets every day in the various towns and villages close to Eco-Gites of Lenault.  If you click on "markets" in the labels section to the right you can see plenty more pictures from these Normandy markets.  What do you love about French markets?

Joining in with Annie's How Does Your Garden Grow linky as well as the new linky #LoveWhereILive from Elaine at Entertaining Elliot.

Finally an apology - with Simon away last week I was extra busy and did not get round to commenting on any #HDYGG blogs last week (hangs head in shame).  I promise not to just dump a link and run this week :)