She leans in, listening intently, dispensing sage advice to the faithful and answering the tough questions like a plant whisperer. Which are sun-tolerant plants? Why do my tomato plants bear nothing but foliage? What are the best plants for a terrarium, the regulars want to know. A man in a big cowboy hat, boots and jeans saunters off empty-handed, arriving too late to buy the hot pepper plants that were snapped up earlier.

Margaret Sponberg and her husband, Vernon, have been growing and selling plants from their Edgewood nursery for the past 20 years, raising their three children with a love for green living things and respect for nature. She proudly sports a fleecy red shirt with her company logo, Kitts North Hill Greenhouse.

Under overcast skies, shoppers at the Federal Way Farmers Market mill around Margaret’s stand, pinching fresh herbs, inspecting the hanging baskets alive with fuchsias, sorting through the lettuce, hugging small cardboard boxes that hold their treasures. Whiffs of fragrant mint and pungent thyme linger in the air.

Margaret’s customers come for her vegetable starts of cukes, peppers, squash and pumpkin. A weekend gardener consults her on the diverse assortment of robust tomato plants: Early Girl, La Roma (for paste), Patio, Small Slicer, Sweet Cherry and Sungold (“Like eating candy,” she grins).

There are about 7,500 varieties of tomatoes, a relative of the nightshade family. Besides causing the downfall of the Aztec empire, the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes is also credited with transporting the first tomato plant back to Europe. Although the tomato is technically a fruit, in 1893 the U.S. Supreme Court decided it was a vegetable.

Margaret suggests freezing raw tomatoes in a baggie. Place the bag of frozen tomatoes under running hot water, “peel like a banana and just drop them in the pot” for zesty soups and stews.

Whatever Margaret sells depends mostly on the weather. On an overcast day, it’s mostly vegetables, she muses. Cabbages, kale and mums will follow in the fall.

Customers usually cluster around the creative displays of potted succulents, echeverias and hen-and-chicks bursting out from old kitchen pans and slabs of driftwood, the pride of Vernon’s and son Joshua’s tender ministrations.

Margaret dispenses more pearls of wisdom along with bags of produce: Yes, lemon geraniums keep mosquitoes away. Carrots will keep your dog’s teeth tartar-free. Plant hot peppers in your flower beds and leave room for the regal eggplant and its lavender flowers…

Back home, the Sponbergs love to gather around the dinner table to savor nature’s bounty, especially this easy family favorite:

Microwave Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 large red onion, sliced

• Yellow and green zucchini, sliced

• Green pepper or any “flat” vegetable (optional)

• 1 Tsp. butter or margarine

• Salt and pepper

• Directions: In a large microwave-safe casserole, add onion, zucchini and any other vegetable in layers. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Cover. Microwave on high for three minutes.

Check it out

Federal Way Farmers Market is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays at The Commons mall parking lot at South 320th Street and Pacific Highway South. Info: www.federalwayfarmersmarket.com