Dog Days of Summer

They don't call this the Dog Days of Summer for nothing, right ? For all of us, just stepping out of our house is like stepping into a 400 degree oven ! Have found the only good time to spend in the garden is early morning or late afternoon/early evening. but we are making strides on our own place in St. Pete.....did the whole weed/grass killer thing and ready to put heavy duty ground cover down, so we can get the back yard beds and pathways in place.

From some reason, our little corner of St. Pete is not getting the rain that others are getting...boohoo! and sometimes,having to go out and hand water twice a day on some tender things. Must say,everything is holding up well under the heat and the butterflies are thriving.

Weather debating, we are scheduled to do the Sat. Safety Harbor Market this Sat., July 17th. We are eager to see some of our fellow vendor friends. Market hours are 8am-1pm. This is only a once-a-month market for the summer so come on out if you are in the area and see us..we appreciate your support !

People have been asking us if we are going to do another yard sale and we are debating...last year, this time, we did one, and had very poor turnout, and for dealing with the heat and effort needed to set this up, we are questioning whether it is worth it ? That is why we got our Availability List up and running, hoping to gain some income thru the summer with that. We do get a couple of calls every week for specific things, but it is slow and we realize, at this point, that most people feel it's too hot to much more new gardening right now!

That being said, we, as many others, are struggling with trying to get thru the summer with no revenue coming in. Many people have been asking us about the following and here is our "take":

Gulfport Tues. Morning Mkt: This market is under the guidance of a very motivated market manager and they have had decent press coverage and advertising. We know many vendors who set up there and while not a gang-busting sales event, it IS worth it for some vendors...for us, we have tried it many times and basically, always came up below expenses. Not sure why, people enjoy looking at our plants, but there seems to be little interest in actually buying any. We have tried everything from different set up to reducing prices, but it has never paid off. We continue to be supportive of this market and the Gulfport community and do encourage everyone to support it !

Bargain Barn (southside St.Pete at old Kmart): This is a relatively new venue that a family is trying to get going and has big plans for expansion. We felt it was not the type of venue for our product, and did know vendors that originally set up at it, but have pulled out since.

Seminole Market: This is a new venture that is going to run inside the Seminole Mall and is being managed by an event planner. They are planning to run Thur-Sunday but will open first weekend of August on Sat/Sun. Again, being an inside mall event, don't think it will be viable for us, but we wish them success and will check it out once it is up and running.

Tarpon Springs Sunday Market: Last we heard, the original management of this market was coming back into place (great!) and we urged them to start in September..haven't heard anything lately,but we have high hopes for returning to that Sunday Market come Fall.

In summary, our biggest wish has always been to get the Palmetto property up and running as retail, but the weather and the bad economy derailed plans for that at present. We have been actively looking for a small property in St. Pete to have a small retail center, but the current real estate atmosphere for commercial properties is way beyond our means. So, as always, we tell our devoted friends and customers, don't give up on us...we will keep chugging along like the little red engine and you will continue to see us at various markets and events, especially once the Fall season kicks into gear.

Thanks to many that continue to call and email their support to us !