1889 Tease: Hang on, Northerners, They Are Coming!!!

The cool spring, and now summer, here in New England has slowed gardens down.  Big, ripe tomatoes and ripe melons are still far in the future.  

So when I saw this illustration from Vick's Floral Guide the image resonated with my dreams.

Then I had to know more about that melon with the Native American name... Irondequoit.

"Irondequoit aptly means “where the land and waters meet” for the town is bordered by Lake Ontario, the Genesee River, Irondequoit Bay, the 1000-acre Durand-Eastman Park, and the City of Rochester."

http://www.irondequoit.org/about

"...known as the garden spot of western New York, famed for its peaches, superb melons, and vineyards on the slopes of Irondequoit Bay, truck farms that produced celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus and numerous other vegetables. "

http://www.irondequoit.org/about/history-of-irondequoit