Essex Garden Club’s May Market returns May 7

ESSEX — The Essex Garden Club members want you to know that their prized Garlic Salt is back.

So are the prized perennials, ground covers, grasses, and shrubs dug and potted from the gardens of club members – totaling more than 1,500 — as well as fresh flowers, herbs, and tomato plants.

It will all be part of the Essex Garden Club’s May Market, taking place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 7, rain or shine, at Essex Main Street Park, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The club is also celebrating its 70th anniversary.

Selections from the Members’ Plants section are proven winners in a microclimate and soil found locally.

In time for Mother’s Day, bouquets of fresh flowers will be available, which include springtime favorites such as lilacs, lilies, pussy willows and more. Annual and hanging baskets will also be for sale along with herbs such as basil, thyme, and oregano for the chefs.

Some 300 tomato plants will be for sale with a great choice of varieties including cherry, grape, artisan (focus on flavor and unique colors and shapes) early and main crops, bush and heirloom.

Garden Gifts features handcrafted items made by the EGC members such as greeting cards made of pressed flowers, Kokedama Moss Balls, Hypertufa planters and driftwood planters. The Gift Boutique will offer a Simon Pearce Vase, Vintage Belgian Linens, Ceramic tulipiere and a Tiffany vase, among the various special items. The Treasures section is a great place to find gently used garden pieces, planters, gardening tools and a mix of odds and ends.

As for the Garlic Salt — its recipe has been a closely guarded secret since 1953, and fans are urged to stock up before it sells out.

May Market is the Garden Club’s only annual fundraising event. Proceeds support civic improvement projects, such as beautifying town parks and traffic islands in Essex, Centerbrook and Ivoryton. Funds also provide scholarships for high school seniors and college students, summer camperships for young students and educational programs for the Essex Elementary School and John Winthrop Middle school, as well as adult and children’s programs in both Essex and Ivoryton libraries.

For more information, go to essexgardenclub ct.org.

Contributed photos Essex Garden Club’s May Market returns May 7, rain or shine, at Essex Main Street Park, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

You can pick up a jar of famous garlic salt at Essex Garden Club’s May Market.