On Wednesday I drove to neighboring Midland (Michigan). I was picking up honey from an entomologist friend and when she suggested Tuesday or Wednesday to meet, I jumped on the latter because it’s a Farmers Market day. (The other is Saturday. More on the Midland Area Farmers Market within the next week.)

Midland can be an odd place. It’s very much a company town, and that company is Dow Chemical. Because this global behemoth needs to keep employees happy in a town of 42,000 people, there are amenities that don’t usually show up in small Midwestern cities. Also, things are neat and attractive, hence its Sparkle City nickname. That’s not a compliment; it’s a dig at the gentrification and greenbelting.

One positive is that the public plantings often are stunning. This is especially true downtown, where the beds and containers sport interesting plants and combinations – so much so that I had to stop for pictures just outside the market.

I love texture, so I’m intrigued by this prickly plant against this feathery one.

Looking back up the hill toward Main Street.

Color groupings are common, such as this purple…

…and this red.

Sometimes the combinations are ones that never would have occurred to me, like the one above where the flowers and foliage have no similarities at all.

I wonder if my hibiscus would like a tall tropical plant friend like this one.

These prickly things among the zinnias remind me of baby birds.

More satisfaction for my texture obsession.