Want to give that fresh asparagus, lettuce or kale you buy at the Kingstowne Farmers Market a bit of pizzazz? Try adding fresh herbs from Kim Carlisle’s Wellspring Gardens.

Carlisle, who has been running her “creative horticulture” business for almost 40 years, still enjoys experimenting with her herbs. After spending more than two hours watering everything in our recent intense heat, the smile could still be heard in her voice as she listed experiments with her favorite herb. “Lemon basil in the green beans, or the Thai basil and the dill on salmon, and some French thyme in my tomato sauce, and of course basil in salad,” she said.

Herbs have been Carlisle’s biggest sellers at farmers markets and garden shows for the last ten or 15 years. This is her first year in Kingstowne, where she is often found discussing ways to use herbs with shoppers. “I use them myself,” she said, “so I like to be able to recommend to my customers how they might also be able to use them.” Some of Carlisle’s herbs can also be used simply to beautify a home, especially the ones she’s combined in pots made especially for her by Owings Mills, Maryland potter Tez DeJesus.

After her freshman year in college, Carlisle went home to New Jersey for the summer and gave birth to Wellspring Gardens. “I was a biology major and I wanted to do something nature related. I was born a nature nut,” she said. She also liked the idea of working for herself, which is mostly what she has done since the early years when she also did some landscape design and maintenance of interior plants for other businesses.

Carlisle’s decades of experience have also yielded advice for people just starting out in businesses that rely upon farmers markets and craft fairs.

“Knowing the product” is important, she said. As well as “knowing how to sell it, being able to relate to the customer, trying to anticipate the questions or the problems they might have before the problems actually arise, and follow-through. If [Carlisle’s customers] have any questions they’ve got my phone number if they want it,” she said. Carlisle also said they should not have income expectations. “Just because you love it doesn’t mean everyone else is gonna love it and buy it. For people who are starting out, be patient and build your clientele.”

Now that Carlisle is building her Kingstowne clientele, what does she think of the area? “It’s a very busy market. I’m impressed by the number of people who come through,” she said. “And they’re active buyers. They come on a mission. I’m happy to be there!”

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Wellspring Gardens

Rockville, MD, 301-330-4467

Kingstowne Farmers Market Hours: Fridays, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.