Oh puhleez. Is it worth going to?? IS IT WORTH GOING TO????

LOL.

It's a great sale. But you've GOT to get there early. I will be getting there around 8AM, maybe 8:30. It's one of those "experience" sorta things. Ya gotta wait in line, ya gotta rush in like crazy people at a clearance sale for the last Cabbage Patch doll, ya gotta snatch up the best plants before they're all gone.....you get the picture. ;-)

Ya wanna know anything about the sale, just ask. I go EVERY year. Oh, and I'm with you on not-a-morning-person-itis. But ya gotta do it anyway!

All that before noon?!? It sounds like a side of Knoxville gardeners I'm not sure I want to see:)

LOL -
This post is going to get interesting.

I think I would rather spend my day checking out two nurseries I've never been to and trying to pick the right stone to build a new raised bed fore next spring ....

Ok Amazondoc, before I set my alarm on Saturday morning (which is my ONE day to sleep until I am ready to get up), tell me - - do they have unusual stuff or pretty much the same things as the good nurseries. If it's about having the opportunity to get something new (I just drove to Florida this weekend for a swap which PROVES I will go the distance), then I'll be there. If it's just about the thrill of the chase or saving a few dollars -- then I'd rather head over to Stanley's or Popes later in the day.

Be honest!! Cheryl (maybe I should change my name to LazyShadyLady)

Where are Stanley's and Pope's? The only nursery (besides lowe's/home depot) I've been to around here is Thress up on Clinton.

I live in Kodak which is right next to sevierville. I'm thinking of heading to Dave's (?) which is on chapman hwy right outside of sevierville and then up to a nursery near Boyd's Creek and Chapman in Seymour (but I can't think of the name)

... sorry, i just realized that I'm WAY off topic here ...

andy

Andy,
Stanleys Greenhouse 3029 Davenport Rd Knoxville TN 37920 Tel: 865 573 9591

Turn onto Blount in front of Baptist Hospital, Turn right onto Sevier Ave., Turn right at first light onto Davenport. Stanleys is about a mile on the right. Can't miss it once on Davenport.

Here is a link that might be useful: Directions to Popes

If ya really want to go the distance make sure you get to the Md TN Swap on the 21st as well as the E. TN Swap.

Always pimp'n the Swap,
Jeff

You are all about the mid-TN swap!!!

Alright, I hear you Jeff! I kind of figure that I will be swapped out by then. I went to Florida last week, am going to Macon, Ga. in 2 1/2 weeks, and then the East Tn. swap in May. After that point, I probably will be homebound for a while!

My poor hubby has instructions to follow me around and say "and where are you going to put that?" anytime he sees me pick up a pot. LOL

Pianoboy don't waste your time if you're coming to Seymour. All we have is the Seymour lawn and garden and McMahans. One only has regular stuff, and the other is way too expensive. Nothing unusual to be had around here. Nice to see you posting again Doc !

Cheryl

TSL, naturally Cheryl's Swap I can understand but FL & GA? C'mon, those are foreigners! It shouldn't be legal to bring those Gator and Bulldog plants across state lines. At least hang with and support your compadres on the TN Forum!!!

Andy if you come to the MTPS you'll understand that pimp'n the Swap is a labor of love. You'll meet the nicest people that you could ever imagine. Free plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, veggies and stuff is just extra gravy in the bowl.
(I added the gravy in the bowl thing for Dr. Renee.)

The Talahi sale will have some great stuff and some run-of-the-mill stuff.

I always head to the natives tent first. This year I'm especially stocking up on bloodroot, which I love and need a lot more of. They'll have trilliums, native phlox, native asters, celadine poppies, phacelia, twinleaf, maybe hepatica, all sorts of natives I'm not thinking of. If you want a native, they've probably got it. Most of the natives are grown on garden club members' property, dug up and donated every year.

Then I'll head to the perennial tent, looking for new and unheard-of (to me) sages, of which they had several last year. I'll be looking for melon sage and fruit-scented (not pineapple) sage this year. I'll also hit the herb tent to look for interesting sages and other stuff, especially Alexandria alpine strawberries, which I can never find anywhere else for some reason.

I'll also drool over the wonderful Japanese maples from the grower in Louisville, and I'll be hoping to see the holly table from the fine old holly-growing family (the patriarch died a coupla years ago, so I'm not sure whether they'll be there or not).

They'll also have annuals -- again, some interesting and some not.

It's definitely NOT a place to save money. Prices will be comparable to nurseries. But the profits go to fund local scholarships and other good garden-related stuff, so it's well spent!

Thanks Amazondoc - - Japanese Maples??? That might be something I'd be interested in.

Jeff -- you are too funny! I have lots of gardening friends in Ga and Fl that are seriously into tropicals - several even own nurseries. The primary reason I go that far is to see my friends and then as an added perk, I always come back with neat tropicals that are hard to find here. Hopefully, by this fall, all those neat new gingers I picked up will have multiplied enough to divide and bring to the fall swap. But you are correct, I NEED to get to know my fellow Tennessean Gardeners.

My friends continually hound me to move further south - - but there is NO PLACE like East Tennessee as far as I am concerned. Cheryl

I wasn't impressed with the Talahi plant sale last year. I could find the same stuff at nurseries and save money. But....I may still go this year in hope that things might be better and because I'm addicted to plant sales and find any hard to resist.

Pianoboy007, while you are checking out nurseries in Knoxville, check out Beaver Creek Nursery. It's a really really neat place if you're into small (young/one gallon pot) trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Brandon -- let me guess -- you went a bit later in the day? If so, then the best stuff was already sold out. Many of the items are gone within the first 15 or 20 minutes. ;-)

And I second Beaver Creek. At the Ivan Racheff Garden sale last week, I got two nice Corylopsis spicata from the Beaver Creek guys. I haven't ever been out to the nursery itself, but I plan to go soon!

No, I was one of the first ones in. As a matter of fact, I remember feeling that the wait was excessive for the payoff.

Why didn't someone tell me about the Ivan Racheff Garden sale? I missed it this year. OK, I will forgive you if you tell me next year.

Check out Beaver Creek nursery online at www.beavercreeknursery.net. In my opinion, their website is just a tiny bit hard to find. There's another company with the same name.

I would have liked to know about the Racheff Garden Sale, too. I'd heard something about it, but never got a date.
I've set up an event page on the East Tennessee Plant Swap website with ones I've heard about. Always happy to add more. Use the link on the page to let me know about them.

Here is a link that might be useful: East Tennessee garden events

Very cool site! Thanks for the link! :-)

I nearly missed the Racheff sale myself -- I happened to see it listed in the back of TN Gardening, I think, about a day before the sale!

Awesome idea, great info! (East Tennessee garden events site)

Well, it's a good thing you guys didn't go. There was more left for me! LOL.

I think I bought everything that wasn't nailed down. And here I intended to be sensible.....Oh Well!!! AND then I ALSO went to Stanleys....yes, I HAVE spent everything in my checking account....

I too haven't been very impressed with the prices at the Talahi Plant sale...sleep in and go late..sometimes they will mark things down at the end and that's the only good buys you'll find. I found better prices and better selection at my favorite nursery. Also, forget getting any help or answers to your questions at Talahi. The "garden club ladies" are just bored little housewives there to socialize, be seen and look cute walking around in their matching shirts. they are too busy chatting or shopping to help you. When this sale first started, it was fun ..now it's just another overpriced, pooly managed event.

Any information on dates for 2008...haven't seen much on it this year. For those that haven't attended in the past, I too have not been impressed with the prices and plants offered but it's still fun to walk around and compare prices with your favorite nursery. Their attendance seems to be off each year and they have had to mark things down earlier in the sale to get rid of plants. I go late and wait until they mark things down and have found a few good bargins at the end. Other than that, their prices are higher than my favorite nursery....Stanley's Also, don't bother asking the "garden club" ladies questions about plants..they are just there to socialize and have not been very helpful in the past.
My advice..sleep in and then go late for last minute bargins!

If you want really interesting plants, you have to stand in line for about an hour before the gates open and snatch your plants right away! They DO have interesting stuff there, but all the best things sell out very quickly!

What I do is get tehre very early, make a first run through to snatch up the most interesting stuff at regular price, THEN wait til the prices go down to get the "Bargains" of not-quite-so-interesting things.

We missed the Racheff sale, but we made it to Tahani about noon and got some nice herbs and big hostas that were $4 marked down. It was a beautiful day, afterwards we went to the farm and Greenhouse supply on Rutledge and picked up some veggies and grapevines. DH didn't let me get any of the $13 apple or plum trees though, boohoo!

He might have done you a favor. Do you know what variety the trees were and what rootstock was being used? Often, apple trees (especially) that are bought without research turn out to be a very high maintenance type on the wrong rootstock.

Hi. for you folks out my way between Seymour and Sevierville and like to shop locally. I have many woodland plants--wild strawberry begonia, foam flowers, wild geraniuma nd wild blue phlox the tall ones and some lemon drop primrose. Lots of ground covers. Feel free to send me an e-mail and we will plan a time for you to come look around and I'll pot some for you or you can buy some already potted. Oh, we have 400 varieties of daylily too. Fair prices, I think we we can negotiate. Happy planting and growning.

Beth Bach,
Gardenweb is NOT the place to advertise your business! Please refer to the TOS. If you want to give your plants away or offer them for trade, you can post your offer on the Plant Exchange Forum.