May is the month when the seasons speed up - as a flurry of new ingredients hit their stride. 

The European stone fruit season is underway - apricots, peaches, cherries, nectarines.

Tomatoes from the Continent - grown under cover to bring the season forward - are already eating well. 

Courgettes, peas and broad beans are abundant. 

These are the lesser-spotted Tromboncino from southern Italy. 

The UK asparagus season is still going strong. This is 'purple grass' from the Wye Valley.

Or here's wild asparagus from Italy ...  White and traditional green also available, of course. 

Foraged wild garlic is flowering now - so the intensity of flavour starts to wane. 

UK salads start in May - from Little Gem to round radicchios. Other local lines include outdoor rhubarb, purple sprouting broccoli, rainbow chard and tenderstem.

UK-grown new potatoes are being harvested across the warmer spots of Britain - although the growers would love some rain. Cornish mids are excellent. Here are smallest grade ('chats' or 'pearls' ) of Jersey Royals. I also saw nets of Ratte potatoes from France. 

It's a great month for berries. The first UK strawberries are on the Market. From Europe, varieties such as Mara de Bois, Clery and frais be bois. Below are white / pink strawberries grown in the Netherlands. Raspberries are also a good call. 

We should not forget new-season onions - such as these purple-tinged Tropea from Italy. 

Or Grelots from France .... 

For wild mushrooms, Morels are star of the show - these are Turkish. 

Here is a larger display of cultivated species. . 

It really is a glorious month on Buyers' Walk. See you in June for our next Market Report.