Inside Union Square Greenmarket’s Festive Evergreenery

Mountain Sweet Berry Farm’s wreaths come plain or decorated with local plants like juniper, mountain laurel, and rose hips. Photo: Marcus McDonald Turkey is the turning point,” says Rick Bishop, owner of Mountain Sweet Berry Farm in Roscoe. He’s talking about the annual moment when he goes from being one of Union Square Greenmarket’s preeminent farmers, famous for his spring ramps, summer strawberries, and autumn spuds, to an emissary of Christmastime cheer.

For New Yorkers who want their seasonal décor as local as their weekly groceries, the Greenmarket is a great source of festive evergreenery. Each stand takes a different approach: Van Houten Farms is big on trees and tree wreaths, Stokes has cornered the market on wreaths crafted from its signature herbs, and River Garden specializes in dried flowers. Mountain Sweet Berry distinguishes itself with its creative use of princess pine, a.k.a.

Like the ramp, princess pine is a wild plant and can become endangered if not foraged judiciously. For Bishop, good stewardship is synonymous with good business. “You never want to pick where it’s weak, only where it’s lush,” he says. This means minding the growth cycle, bypassing first-year plants for more mature ones with three or four branches, and rotating patches. He starts wreath production once the plants get hardened off by the cold.

Once the last Atlas carrot is dug, Bishop and his farm crew, intergenerational family members from the town of Cuilco, Guatemala, set to work on the holiday decorations. Garlands, typically sold in 25-yard increments, are made with the assistance of a special machine Bishop bought from a florist who went out of business. But wreaths are hand work, and he credits the special touch of team members like Rony Gomez. “Guatemalans are famous for textiles, and their hands are magic,” he says.

But it’s not only apartment dwellers who are drawn to the stand. Over the years, Bishop has sold wreaths of all sizes and custom designs to chefs and restaurateurs to decorate the façades of businesses like Loring Place, Wallsé, Blue Water Grill, 232 Bleecker, and La Mercerie. Last year, Wildair’s Jeremiah Stone bought several dozen to sell from the restaurant’s online store.

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