Detroit Eastern Market Flower Day is back after 2-year hiatus
It’s finally starting to feel like springtime in Detroit, and with that comes the return of Eastern Market Flower Day on Sunday.
The event returns for its 54th season following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, bringing together more than 60 regional flower farmers, plus a street party with live music, food trucks and vendors.
“It's not for the faint of heart,” said Eastern Market President Dan Carmody. “Flower markets to me are joyful chaos, and Flower Days are like maximum joyful chaos.”
Flower Day is a partnership between Eastern Market and the Metro Detroit Flower Growers Association (MDFGA), which represents local growers. The event will have every flower in every color and size that people could want in one place, said Jerry Tuinier, MDFGA president and co-owner of Post Gardens Greenhouses.
“If it’s going to be in the metro Detroit area in a garden center or anywhere, you’ll find it here,” he said. “You don’t have to go shopping around, it’s one-stop shopping.”
The market will feature a variety of annuals and perennials, potted plants, hanging baskets and combination planters, including geraniums, petunias, stargazer lilies, vinca vines, mandevilla, hibiscus and more. It will also include shrubs, trees, ferns and vegetable starter plants.
Flower Season Tuesday Markets returning
Returning this May are the Flower Season Tuesday Markets introduced last year as an alternative to Flower Day when it was paused during the pandemic. The smaller Tuesday markets are less crowded with easier parking but have fewer plant options.
“If you just want to buy simple pots of flowers, come on a Tuesday,” said Carmody. “If you really want to see what’s out there and what’s available, then Flower Day is for you.”
Flowers will also be available for purchase in-person during weekly Saturday markets throughout flower season, though there will be no online sales this year.
Tuinier said the bonus of shopping for flowers at Eastern Market is the direct interaction with the growers that you may not get at a garden center.
“You can talk right to the farmer who grew that flower and have knowledge about how to take care of it and how to grow it,” Tuinier said. “It’s probably the largest flower event anywhere in the state, if not the country.”
For those not looking to shop for flowers, Carmody said the festival, plus the sheer beauty of 15 acres of flowers, is worth the trip.
“People, I think, are all looking to feel a little bit more joy after the last two years, and this is a return to joyfulness,” he said. “Come on down and bring your smile, bring a little patience, bring some money and get some flowers.”
Flower Day
When: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Eastern Market, 2934 Russel St., Detroit
Flower Season Tuesday Markets
When: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. May 10, 17, 24 and 31
Visit www.easternmarket.org.