The sun came out today. The rain held off. We had the doors and windows wide open. And the first 'hedge veg' of the season appeared down the road.
'Hedge veg' - often referred to as an 'honesty box' - is normally a wooden box on a stone wall, in a hedge, or on a grassy bank. The box will contain a few offerings of whatever the owner has grown: a few tomatoes; bunches of new carrots, still with their feathery tops on; two or three onions in a plastic bag; a lettuce. All for sale.
The money - exact change only - is put into a suitable container. This might be a milk churn with a slit in the top, padlocked and set into concrete; a small cashbox with a hole in it for the money; or, quite simply, a jam jar or plastic ice cream box.
Occasionally, an honesty box is robbed. This makes the local newspaper, sometimes the radio. But usually the system works beautifully. We love to buy this fresh produce.
And, in Guernsey, flowers are available in this way all the year round. Wonderful.
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