After many sunny Saturdays (and a few very chilly ones) in Burlington City Hall Park, the 2008 summer Farmers’ Market has come to an end. The Halloween costumes came out for the last one; there were little lions and tigers and bears galore. We were even fortunate enough to meet a family of bee keepers out trick-or-treating. The dogs we had enjoyed so much every week came back to see us one last time and some owners stocked up on jars of two pound honey for their dogs for the winter.
the Burlington Farmers Market, August 2008
I had never thought to try to feed dogs honey until one couple approached my sister and me to ask to take a honey sample for their large brown Komondor, a pup that greatly resembles a mop. They told us that one day each week they fast their dog, feeding him only our raw honey to cleanse his body. It was wonderful to share a gift, a food and a medicine, that a pup and his owner could benefit from and enjoy together.
Families who came to the market together could not pass our stand without stopping for their children to sample the honey, rarely parting without a jar of honey and bottle of elderberry or wild cherry bark syrup. The families took pleasure in sharing stories of when Honey Gardens’ products helped their family, all the way from their teething children to their sickly college students. Many concerned parents bought our cold and flu remedies to ship to their college students who had traveled out of Vermont to achieve higher education.
When a longtime customer would pass our stand and hear my sister or I explaining Honey Gardens’ products to new potential customers, they would stop and explain with us, and most would tell how they swear by our products and keep a jar of Apitherapy raw honey in their home at all times, and our cold and flu products in their medicine cabinet. As these magnificent souls gathered to share their thoughts on our products, folks would see a crowd forming around our stand and swarm in to learn of the wonders of elderberry, propolis and raw honey.
There were new college students who had never heard of Honey Gardens’ at the beginning of the Summer Market, and by the end they were regulars, coming every Saturday to purchase more honey or syrup and to share our gift with their friends. The college seniors especially seemed to enjoy our Mead, and loved presenting us with their identification cards to prove that they were finally 21 and able to sample legally.
Most customers knew about raw honey already, and a good portion knew of the wonders that are our syrups and healing salve, however, our Mead was something new to share with people. Not many knew what Mead was and all were excited to hear the story of it and wondered if it was sweet like honey. Once people learned about Mead, they were eager to try it and, more often than not, buy it. Whether they were purchasing it for themselves, as a gift for a loved one, or in its traditional use as a wedding gift, one and all were happy with it.
Sharing our products with the people of Burlington has been wonderful. We have just returned from the first Winter Market in Memorial Auditorium (the next ones will be Dec. 20th, Jan. 17th, Feb. 21st, March 21st,, and April 18th). Natural cold and flu season remedies, all made using raw honey, is the best gift one could give or receive; remember that this holiday season!