The wonder weeders
(Real Simple) -- Gayle Jamison's garden in Woodstock, New York, is a well-ordered oasis filled with gentle lines of peonies and hydrangeas, artfully placed azaleas, and weeping cherry trees.
A soothing vista dotted with various shades of pink and purple, the garden is so immaculately maintained that you would expect to see a professional landscaper continuously at work perfecting it.
Not so. Instead, on Friday mornings from April through September, you will find a cheerful band of six women -- some graying, some not, most of them attired in old T-shirts or overalls and work boots. One day a week, they set aside their own jobs to garden as a team at one of their homes, rotating every week so that each woman's property gets the full benefit of their collective burst of labor and artistic vision.
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In the eight years since the group came together, the women, who call themselves the Wonder Weeders, have created pathways and sculptures, moved trees, and carved out acres of gardens from hillsides and overgrown bramble. Often they converse as they work, talking about the primroses that they are mulching, the big news that a friend has just received, or challenges that they are facing with their jobs. Other times they seem to read one another's minds, knowing when it's time to put down the garden gloves and just listen.
At the Farmers Market this week
The annual Men’s Cook-Off fires up the Saugerties Farmers Market on Saturday, Oct. 1. Five local chefs will go head-to-head, preparing their recipes from fresh market ingredients. Watch the competition and taste the results from 11:30 a.m.-noon, then vote for your favorite. The winner will receive $100 in market dollars.
A bounty awaits shoppers this week: look for peaches, plums, nectarines, seasonal pears and apples, mesclun mix, kale, celeriac, broccoli, garlic, specialty potatoes, pumpkins, local eggs, pastured chicken and grass-fed beef, rabbit and goat meat, cheese, wine, hand-blended teas, bread, pastries, and more. Rachel Staby will help children print on T-shirts in the art tent from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Bring your own tee or purchase one from Art Lab for $5. The Farmers Market is open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. with just one more left for the season. The market will conclude Saturday, Oct. 8 and then the monthly Holiday Market moves indoors on selected Sundays from noon-4 p.m. beginning Oct. 30. For more information, visit www.SaugertiesFarmersMarket.com.
Rachel Staby will help children print on T-shirts in the art tent from 10 am-1 pm Bring your own tee or purchase one from Art Lab for $5. The Farmers Market is open from 10 am-2 pm with just one more left for the season. The market will conclude
In addition to Hohner Melodicas, clever logo T-shirts, hot rod art and psychedelia that make up the "eclectic" in the shop name, there's a range of other items to be enjoyed, each suiting its owner's artistic sensibilities. Local guy Gian Pogliano is
