Oh happy day! The Greenmarket is back at The New York Botanical Garden! And while the staff may be very happy for the return of fresh produce, ice cold juices, delicious pies, and freshly-baked breads, the Greenmarket is really a boon to the neighborhood. Grounds admission is free on Wednesdays (there is an additional charge for entrance to the Conservatory and certain gardens), but there’s so much to see on the grounds right now (The Rose Garden! The Perennial Garden! The Forest!) that a quick trip to pick up some salad greens and strawberries could easily turn into an all-day affair.

Here’s a look at what’s fresh and delicious today at the Greenmarket:

At Gajeski Produce you can find sugar snap peas, spinach, lettuces, kale, collards, and zucchini. Herbs like basil, dill, and parsley are fragrant and flavorful. This year they will also be bringing fresh eggs from Feather Ridge Farm for all to enjoy.

Migliorelli Farm has cooked up homemade marinara sauce and tomato juice for a different way to enjoy the harvest. Bok choy, swiss chard, arugula, and cilantro abound.

Large and small fruit pies go fast from The Little Bake Shop–a variety of fruits are featured–cherry, blueberry, apple, and raspberry in the Linzer tart. Chocolate croissants are also available.

Bread Alone has multigrain and foccacia breads; raisin nut, Ciabatta, and peasant rolls; as well as muffins, tarts, danishes and cookies.

Red Jacket Orchard has strawberries, rhubarb, and Bosc pears. Red delicious, empire, and crispin apples, apple butter, and refreshing fruit juices are standard favorites.

Come learn about composting from Bronx Green-Up and get some nutrition tips from the Lead Nutritionist of Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

You can learn more about Greenmarket, part of the Council on the Environment of New York City and one of the largest open-air farmers market programs in the country at their booth. Also today there will be health screenings from Montefiore Hospital and a healthy cooking demonstration meeting at the market at 12:30 p.m.

The market is located inside the New York Botanical Garden near Tulip Tree Allee at the Mosholu Gate entrance. EBT/Food Stamps and WIC & Senior FMNP coupons are accepted.

Did you know that there’s a second rose garden at NYBG? It’s much smaller, but it’s even less pampered: It’s the EarthKind™ Rose Trials beds, just south of Daffodil Hill. The goal of the EarthKind™ program is to identify cultivars that combine beauty with proven durability in the landscape. These roses get no water other than what falls from the sky. In fact they get almost no attention at all (other than an occasional trim), and yet they thrive. If you think roses are fussy and hard to grow, check out these beds for some great choices for your own yard.

Check out this short video on the subject hosted by the rose garden curator Peter Kukielski himself.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen