Since 1907, growers have been bringing produce to Pike Place Market to sell. 76 stalls were built that first year, and now hundreds of farmers, businesses and craftspeople sell goods at Pike Place Market to millions of people every year. Residents and tourists wander the market for fresh food, fresh flowers, interesting crafts, books, foreign newspapers…it’s a concentrated mix of ingredients. Perched along a steep hill overlooking the water and loaded with specialty food stores, musicians, fishmongers, and crowds snacking on anything from felafel to freshly made cheese, it’s a great place to spend the afternoon in early spring, when rows of flower stalls packed with a brilliant riot of tulips and daffodils are adding their bright colors to the scene.
Many of the flowers you see at Pike Place are grown and sold by Hmong immigrants, some of whom have been here since the early 80’s.
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Outside the market, a flower cart loaded with buckets of tulips rests on the brick street. If it weren’t for the plastic buckets this could almost be a scene from a hundred years ago, but surprisingly, the brick roadbed was installed in the 1970’s to slow down car traffic.
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Plastic tarps create a wall between the market stalls and the street in warmer weather. When workers slide buckets of flowers back on the work tables, the flowers are pressed against the tarp. From the outside, the effect makes me think of an Old Master still life, its colors slightly obscured by centuries of dust and grime.
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The variety of tulips and daffodils is amazing. They’re beautiful from any angle.
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Yes, only $10.00 for these big, fresh bouquets! And you can ask the workers to add a little more of your favorite color, if you like.
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Here’s a link for the market.
bluebrightly 
Beautiful. This tells a story… nicely done 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by & commenting. You sure know how to tell one yourself!
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Ooh beautiful – I can almost smell all those beautiful blooms. : ))
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But…the fish is right across the aisle!
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Mmmmmm >: {
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Beautiful photographs and beautifully presented post!
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Thanks Ken, I appreciate it!
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What stunning pictures, once again, Lynn. I love them all, but especially the Hmong woman and her flower arrangement in the first one, and the yellow and coral tulips in the 2nd. I’m sure the market must be a fabulous place to stroll through with a camera in hand. I can’t believe those bouquets are only $10!! 🙂
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Thanks Cathy, it’s true…and it’s a reliably fun place to visit anytime – well, maybe excepting major holidays.
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Incredible images!!! Looks like my kind of place!
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Oh I think so, Susan, but I see you’re outdoors in your garden all weekend, so you’re set!
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What fun…I used to play music under the spiral staircase. Great images for a hometown boy long gone.
Later…
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Scott, I bet you were up to no good. I’m sorry there aren’t more photos that show the market itself, but glad you got a taste!
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Great shots. I just love them 🙂
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Thank you Muhammed – your photos are always a treasure for me, so I’m glad you enjoyed these.
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Lovely vibrant post BB 🙂 Flower shots are splendid … I love that those ladies are echoing the flowers with their own bright head scarves too !
Your Old Masters have come up Beautifully 🙂
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Yes, isn’t it interesting that they choose those scarves? Thank for your comments and I’m glad you like the old ones.
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Wow, nice photos!
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Awesome! Pike Place is indeed a feast for the eyes. The flowers are magnificent as are all different varieties of fruits and veggies on display. And you are right, the simple, rustic setting really makes the goods stand out. Lovely post, just lovely.
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Thank you, and maybe by the time you see this, you’ll be feeling better. I hope so.
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you’ve captured it beautifully…just beautifully
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Thank you – I appreciate that, and you’ve been capturing a lot of beauty yourself these days!
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It’s wonderful how you are discovering and learning everything about your new city and then share it with us visually and in prose on your blog!
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The pleasure is mine. Thanks!
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beautiful, beautiful images! I love the way they’re all so different and unique! and colorful! I’m looking so much forward to when the flowers arrive in Oslo 😀
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Soon I hope! Thank you very much.
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I particularly like the first photo – it is nicely composed and is full of information, relating to both the flowers and the seller and the relationship between them. The second photo too is colourful and vibrant. I’m less convinced by sepia images in a flower market unless they are stressing shape and form. The last five or six convey the atmosphere very effectively.
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Louis, your thoughts are valued, as always. I’m glad you like the first one – I’m not one to take a lot of photos of strangers, and often the women don’t seem to want their photos taken so it can be tricky. Thanks!
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I LOVE the Pike Place Market. Beautiful shots!
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I’m glad – thanks for letting me know!
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Bluebrightly, not sure if you are following colored pencil artist, Ranjini’s blog, but she will have an exhibition in your area soon. Just FYI. Here is a link to her announcement of it: http://ranjini.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/upcoming-art-show-bam-community-gallery/
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Thanks for the info – I did not know about her. I checked out her website and should be able to get over to see the show. I’m glad you told me about her!
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🙂
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That market sounds like absolute heaven! I enjoyed your images and I am not kidding but I could literally smell the flowers from my screen! Lovely.
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Nice! Thanks for the chuckle. It’s a wonderful place, and it’s so good that Seattle has managed to keep it intact.
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A great place to take photos; I remember the intensity of the flower colors, hard to resist. I love the tarp filtered images – so creative and evocative!
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Ah, I’m glad to hear that – really. I have a series of them, and someday I’ll probably put the series up together. Thanks, Lynn!
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You really captured the market; it is one of my favorite stops early in the morning.
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I have yet to get there early, but usually I can go on a weekday so it’s never crowded and there’s always still lots to see. Glad you enjoyed the photos!
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Thank you for bringing back to my visit to Pike Place several years ago in early September. Instead of spring flowers, there were humongous dahlias, the biggest I have ever seen. The gorgeous, colorful bouquets were huge! Even though we were only staying in Seattle for only a few days, I had to buy a bouquet. We kept the flowers in a water pitcher in our vacation rental. They were glorious.
What a terrific post about Pike Place. You are a very gifted photographer and I like how you share a lovely back-story.
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Thanks for your comment. You’re too kind! It’s true, the flowers keep changing through the seasons – so you know they’re really fresh! Not like the supermarket, with roses all year. It’s what’s growing in the fields, and you can see that, too, if you drive northeast a bit. I bet I too would have bought the bouquet – vacation or not! Right now I have a small bouquet of roadside wildflowers, like those I used to pick in your home state of NJ, back when I lived there (too) many years ago.
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Absolutely love the 3 images below “Plastic tarps create a wall between the market stalls …”, and especially the lower two of these three. A
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