A Touch of Provence....

One of the great pleasures of living in Manchester is its markets. There's usually one to be found somewhere in the city every weekend, either in the city centre or in one of the suburbs like Chorlton or Didsbury.

Sometimes the markets are small and beautifully formed, sometimes larger and themed. Then there are the wonderful Christmas Markets that run from late autumn up to just before the great day.

At the moment we are having the Spring Market in St. Ann's Square. The stalls change from day to day but a constant is Dutch Flower Guy who comes to the city at intervals so we can fill our gardens with beautiful plants and fantastic things for Christmas.

This time there was a touch of Provence in his market outside the grand entrance to the Royal Exchange Theatre. Lemon trees, complete with ripening fruit, and French Butterfly Lavender (the butterfly is on the top of the flower spike) looked good with each other.

It will have taken a long time to get a Lemon tree to this size and in this condition. And this was reflected in the price.....£200! That would make for a very expensive gin and tonic....