Today my mother & I took a little driving trip around some of Durham's local markets. It was a lovely day for a drive and what beautiful countryside lies just north of us. Rolling hills, quaint little towns with beautiful century homes ... many lovingly restored, loads of little country stores, the odd small lake, dense forestry as well as beautifully manicured farms.
First stop - Hy-Hope Farms htt
p://www.hyhopefarm.ca/ which is located at 5450 Lakeridge Road (approximately 20 minutes north of Ajax). Over the last 25 years Hy-Hope Farms have gone from a folding table at the side of the road to a year round market, which carries seasonal fruits and vegetables, home made jams and preserves as well as an 18 hole executive golf course. They have a beautiful assortment of seasonal plantings, patio pots, hanging baskets enough to make the passionate gardener green with envy. $18.00 for a hanging basket - why if I give up coffee for a week I could buy 2 or 3.
p://www.hyhopefarm.ca/ which is located at 5450 Lakeridge Road (approximately 20 minutes north of Ajax). Over the last 25 years Hy-Hope Farms have gone from a folding table at the side of the road to a year round market, which carries seasonal fruits and vegetables, home made jams and preserves as well as an 18 hole executive golf course. They have a beautiful assortment of seasonal plantings, patio pots, hanging baskets enough to make the passionate gardener green with envy. $18.00 for a hanging basket - why if I give up coffee for a week I could buy 2 or 3. They sell their preserves which can be loaded into a canvas bag - holds 4 bottles which makes a wonderful gift. The canvas bag is $10.00 and the jars are $5.00 - $6.00 apiece.
I dare you to visit Hy-Hope Farms without sampling their homemade pies or famous butter tarts ..... Ahhhh - butter tarts .... just the thought of plump raisins, juice dripping through my fingers ......................... Sooooooooooo, after buying a freshly brewed coffee and of course a couple of their pies and a few butter tarts, we're off to our next stop. Up to Raglan Side Road and across to Simcoe Road in Oshawa where we visit The Whitefeather Country Store. They are located at 15 Raglan Road East in Oshawa - slightly north ofWinchester Road.
This store is a cornucopia of country fun. Around this time every spring they have a baby chicks exhibition. My grandsons went last year and loved it. They have an onsite bakery that incidently makes one of the best chelsea buns I've ever tasted (do you think I have an addiction to bread products????), a terrific frozen food section (an entire freezer is dedicated to frozen fruit). They carry gourmet dips, pasta mixes, baked potato toppings, etc... Moving through this section takes us into the gift shop. I don't think my 82 year old mother has had this much fun shopping in a long time. We filled a buggy with goodies and then she still had to carry a couple of extra things. She purchased a beautiful jacket, hand quilted and appliqued for only $29.95 and beautiful hand dressed Bearington Bears for only $15.00 - http://www.bearingtoncollection.com/. There are gourmet kitchen accessories, an extensive collection of Yankee candles, hand made pine furniture, shelving, placemats, throws, jewellry .... need I go on.
There is no end to the wonderful markets in the Durham Region. What are you looking for? Emu oil - we have it, goat products - we have that too, alpaca yarns - you guessed it - we've got it.
Check out what Durham has to offer by going to Durham Farm Fresh website http://www.durhamfarmfresh.ca/.
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