15th Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale
Saturday, April 27, 2013 : 7:30 a.m.
Rain or Shine

Botanical Center West Plaza [MAP]
2400 S Scenic Ave, Springfield MO 65807

Our eagerly anticipated 15th Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale is a fundraiser to benefit the exciting programs, classes, initiatives, gardens, and natural areas that our chapter hosts. ItâÂÂs always the last Saturday in April starting at 7:30 a.m. sharp!

The Master Gardeners of Greene County plant sale began in 1998 and is always the last Saturday in April at 7:30 a.m. rain or shine.

âÂÂItâÂÂs how I started my garden when I moved here 13 years ago,â said Barbara St. Clair, former president of the Master Gardeners of Greene County.

Many of the hundreds of perennials and vegetables for sale are Master Gardener-grown plants gathered from the Xeriscape Garden on National Avenue and the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. âÂÂThese are successful plants, plants that our volunteer gardeners have thinned or divided from these two gardens,â said St. Clair. Proceeds from the sale benefit both of the public Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens.

âÂÂWe sell tried and true plants that come from our gardens so you can be assured they will grow in your garden,â said Gail Wright, one of the volunteers. The sale will include annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, bulbs, grasses, vines, ground covers, shrubs, hostas, trees and house plants.

âÂÂMy favorite thing about the plant sale,â said this yearâÂÂs chair, Gwen Wilson, âÂÂis buying a plant I know nothing about and getting a nice surprise when it blooms.â Adds volunteer Mary Sue Hoban: âÂÂI look forward to this every year. ItâÂÂs satisfying to share plants from our gardens and send them off for others to enjoy. Raising money for a good cause gives us a good excuse to get our hands dirty.âÂÂ

The sale attracts hundreds of area gardeners. âÂÂPeople line up at at 6:30 in the morning to get the best selection,â said St. Clair. âÂÂQuantities are limited and we close down when we run out of plants. Most plants are priced from $2 to $5, and some extraordinary specimens are $20.âÂÂ

In addition to perennials and vegetables, the inventory includes house plants, herbs, bulbs, grasses, vines, ground covers, ad shrubs and trees, which are potted up and donated from Master Gardener gardens.

âÂÂJust a few days ago, I saw some beautiful variegated SolomonâÂÂs Seal, a wonderful shade plant, potted up, and some Japanese anemone, an essential in a home garden that blooms in the heat of August,â said St. Clair.