My last post was probably a bit negative concerning New Jersey. We did, after all, live in Mt. Laurel, NJ for eight years. Even though it was a track house in the Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, it was (when we had it built) somewhat in the “country.” I put the quotes around “country” because no place is really country in south Jersey. That said, New Jersey does deserve it's name as the Garden State. Within a few miles of our house there were many roadside farmer's market stands....some large, some small, and one I remember in particular over on Creek Road towards Delran was a large peach orchard. They had the most glorious peaches each summer. Bite into one and the juice would run down you arm. I do miss those peaches, and every time we go to visit or pass through the area, we buy peaches if they are in season. This trip last weekend was no exception. They are as good as I remember. And we also buy good ol' field tomatoes. Jersey has extremely good tomatoes. We eat them sliced with a little fresh basil, mozzarella, and olive oil....yum. I use to buy very cheaply “sauce” tomatoes (over-ripened in the field) by the bushel and make my own salsa. And lastly we buy Silver Queen Corn. I was raised on field corn, or what we called “roastin' ears.” It was the same corn we fed the horses and cows, but when it was young on the stalk, it was sweet and juicy. But I have to admit that the white and super sweet Silver Queen is the very best. Folks in the NE prefer “butter-sugar” corn that has a mixture of yellow and white kernels. But Silver Queen when fresh is so good, you don't even have to cook it – strip it down and eat it raw. So, when asked if there is anything I miss about New Jersey from my years of living there – yeah, I miss the farm stands a short bicycle ride down the road past the fields where their veggies and fruits were grown. Shipped in Jersey produce is just not the same as just picked off the stalk, tree, or vine the morning you buy it.

Thanks, Mark, for the plug on your Landscapist Blog....