Brimming with vibrant bouquets of flowers since the ‘80s, the Plenty of Posies stand at the Ithaca Farmers Market is a market staple.
The stall annually shares its space with The Marigold Gardens, expanding its colorful display with marigold garlands to decorate the stand beginning in July. The two flower farms share a “symbiotic” relationship, said Caitlin Mathes, founder of The Marigold Gardens.
While The Marigold Gardens officially joined the Ithaca Farmers Market in 2022, Plenty of Posies has been a vendor since 1985. Audrey Norberg ’78, founder of Plenty of Posies, studied at Cornell for three semesters in the ‘70s before dropping out, realizing that she wanted to dedicate more time to growing flowers.
Norberg worked at Little Tree Orchards before buying a farm next door. Her brother and parents gave her flowers to decorate the farm, and that’s when she figured out that “people really like fresh flowers.” She has been in floriculture ever since.
Norberg’s journey with the Ithaca Farmers Market began early on, when the market operated out of a grassy parking lot at the Cayuga inlet. She helped build the current market pavilion at Steamboat Landing by hand, transforming what once was a dump site into a shared community space. Over the years, she said that she has seen the market evolve into one with more permanent vendors and diverse goods.
“There’s so many good people [at the market],” Norberg said. “I'm a pretty reclusive person. I like to stay on my farm, and I'm not very socially engaged. This is my favorite environment. We have wonderful people, wonderful vendors — it's a good life.”
Norberg helped Mathes get her start in the flower business nearly eight years ago, when Mathes told Norberg that she “can pull a good weed.” Norberg soon offered her a position to harvest flowers and work the farmer’s market. Mathes’ close relationship with Norberg and Plenty of Posies grew organically, and she eventually started her own niche marigold business. With the support and inspiration of Norberg, Mathes opened The Marigold Gardens.
Around 2020, Mathes said she “really started getting into marigolds” and began cultivating 17 varieties of the flower. Now she grows 1,400 marigold plants of 50 different varieties.
Sharing a stand with Plenty of Posies — the roots of her floral journey — The Marigold Gardens exclusively sells marigolds in bloom at the farmers market.
But Mathes is continually crafting with the marigold flower — whether that be creating digital collages on her Instagram, selling “anti-groundhog shirts” or designing marigold trading cards. She hopes to share her passion for the golden flower with the community.
Alongside her marigold crafts, Mathes expresses her creativity through music, with a degree in vocal performance from Ithaca College. Mathes began doing cabarets around 20 years ago. Often conducted in casual environments, cabarets are performances that integrate song, dance and comedy.
“What I love about a cabaret is it's [like] when you are a kid and you go into a basement and you make a show, and then you bring it up and you share it,” Mathes said. “That's a little bit what I try to do with the business — kind of share [the] delight in it, and hope that people are somehow transported with the marigolds.”
Norberg’s influence stretches beyond The Marigold Gardens. Alexis Self, co-founder of Perry City Orchard and Nursery and former employee at Plenty of Posies, described Norberg as one of the most hardworking people she knows. She said the stall has been a cornerstone vendor for a long time and brings “the joy and color” to the market from April to December.
“I think Audrey's booth is the most cheerful booth in the market, and the Marigold Gardens is a perfect addition to it,” Self said. “I'll just say that Audrey is one of the most generous people I've ever met in my whole life. She almost gives away more flowers [than she sells].”
Mathes echoed Self’s sentiment toward Norberg and Plenty of Posies. Since marigolds bloom starting mid-July, the beginning of the year at the market for her is dedicated entirely to Plenty of Posies. She said she values the close relationships between vendors and the “bucolic charm” of the atmosphere, which is cultivated by businesses such as Norberg’s.
“I mean, I just love [Plenty of Posies],” Mathes said. “Every time the [Plenty of Posies] truck backs up at the Farmers Market and the back gets opened, the bounty and the beauty [of the flowers] is just jaw dropping. For me, it is such a privilege to get to help sell [the flowers] and also create bouquets with them.”
Shubha Gautam is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at sgautam@cornellsun.com.
