ROCKINGHAM — This year, Singing River Farm hosts Pansy Pick-up Days instead of its usual Pansy Festival. The dates for this two day event are May 11 and 12, Mother's Day weekend. Hundreds of field-grown pansies will be for sale between noon and 4 p.m. each day.
The pansies will be on display at the farmhouse, 2/10 of a mile north of Vermont Route 103 at 2128 Brockways Mills Road in Rockingham, between Exit 7 of Interstate 91 and Chester.
Singing River Farm says its field-grown pansies are nurtured to grow as nature intends, with strong, large root systems. “Compared to commercially raised hot-house pansies sold in cell pack trays, field-grown pansies are more robust and more likely to continue blooming until fall,” they wrote in a news release.
Laurel Green, who grows the pansies, will be on hand to discuss how to care for field-grown pansies, their origins, and other pansy lore.
Since the last Pansy Festival, Steve Crofter and Laurel Green have turned their attention from farming to social and climate justice work. Crofter is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Community Asylum Seekers Project, providing basic needs and support for those seeking asylum in the U.S. More information is available at www.caspvt.org.
Green has led a series of workshops about reversing global warming with solutions described in the book Drawdown, edited by Paul Hawken. Community organizing around climate justice is her passion. She helped start Mountain Valley Climate Action and has various roles with Sustaining All Life and the Pachamama Alliance.
Green and Crofter want to thank all of the loyal field-grown-pansy patrons and aficionados who have shared in their past Pansy Festivals. They say they hope their pansies “have refreshed a memory of a loved one whom you've cherished, added a little color to your early growing seasons, and brought a smile to your face.”
Pansy Pick-up Days will happen rain or shine. For more information, call the farm at 802-275-4646.