The Montgomery County Master Gardener Plant Sale was held on Saturday, May 30 just as promised. Initially I had not planned to attend. It was not like I needed more plants or anything. In fact, I was selling plants to try to edit my gardens. Pictured above are my good friends Phil and Judie. They carried my plants to the sale because I thought I'd be out of town on the day of the plant sale. You see, we had intended to be on our way to North Carolina on this particular day, but due to this plant sale and Mr. Fix-it's car interests we postponed the trip by one day. Can you hear opportunity knocking on the door??
The sale started at 8:00 am. Usually the group is sold out by early afternoon and if you are not there early, you will not get anything good. I definitely knew I would not be there at 8:00 am. Being one of the first at a plant sale usually means crowds all vying for the good plants. Pushing and shoving and elbowing fellow plant enthusiasts for good plants is not my idea of fun. I avoid these kinds of plant sales at all costs. No good plant or deal is worth the aggravation, but I digress. I arrived at nearly 11:00 am and wow! There were tons of great plants available for sale. Not only were there tons of great plants available, but the nice folks selling the plants were marking them down!! And no crowds anywhere in sight!Now let me tell you, anyone who has ever participated in plant sales knows it is a big deal. You have to plan months in advance and be determined in order to get a nice showing of good plants. Plant sales take work. All of the master gardeners went out of their way to offer outstanding plants of high quality at good prices. If you missed this plant sale, you totally missed out! But hang in there as there will be a fall plant sale too. I can honestly say I will not miss another Master Gardener plant sale if I can help it.
There were some really good gardeners selling plants from their own gardens at this plant sale. Dr. Matthews, a retired Austin Peay horticulture professor, had a great deal of wonderful plants available for sale. I picked up a single kerria, winter jasmine, 'Autumn Sun' rudbeckia (a huge plant), and several others from him. David, the past President of the Master Gardener Association was selling some of his famous angel trumpets. I also picked up a dwarf lamb's ear, bottlebrush buckeye, celadine poppies, Indian Pinks, and too many other plants to name. I wish I could name all of the master gardeners who donated their time and plants to make this plant sale a success, but there are just too many. These guys deserve a big round of applause for taking the time to pot up all these numerous plants and donate them to the plant sale. Money used from the plant sale benefits the community so this is truly a community event.
And of course I cannot let you go without showing you my haul. I spent a grand total of $29. For this sum I received about 30 celandine poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum), 2 sweet autumn clematis, winter jasmine, Tartarian aster, bottlebrush buckeye, angel trumpet, lamb's ear, Indian Pinks, 'Autumn Sun' rudbeckia, kerria (a single), horsetails, and many more. I unfortunately have not logged them all, though most all were planted on the same day as the plant sale. What a marathon planting session! I was able to head off on vacation with a clear mind that all plants were safe in the ground though.If you get the chance to come to this sale this fall, jump on it! And don't worry about the crowds, they are folks just like you and me, all looking for a nice deal on that dream plant. Just watch the elbows:) I'll post again in plenty of time for you to plan your day around this fabulous plant sale. See you there.
in the garden....
Wow, great sale indeed and super looking plants! Lil Bundle says have a great day Tina!
ReplyDeleteTina, The celadine poppies will look wonderful~and your other plants are fantastic. Love the Bottlebrush buckeye, Indian Pinks! Luck you!...and I am so totally not surprised they went in the ground the same day! You are amazing! Mine would still be in pots! gail
ReplyDeleteI love plant sales--wish I could be there! So many times the plants are so tiny, I am scared to buy them....but I usually do and they all do great!
ReplyDeleteMaster Gardener plant sales are always fun and prices are usually VERY good...looks like yours was exactly that. Look forward to seeing your goodies in ground and an assessment of how they are doing.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had a more well advertized one here in Kingston .. I have managed to miss the city hort club sale almost ALL the time. Wow ! you got some great plants there girl and in the ground the same day .. you RULE !! : )
ReplyDeleteWow! You got a nice haul! I've noticed the members of the town pitching in and growing areas around town. It has made the newspaper a few times and said it was part of the master garderner program.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great haul you have. And in the ground the same day. You rock girl. The plants look marvelous & so many. Keep us up to date on how they are.
ReplyDeleteHi All. Have a wonderful day.
You loaded up didn't you? Good for you! We aren't master gardeners but we are going to donate plants to the sale next spring. We have a Montgomery county here too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a haul indeed and for such a small price! Great job Tina and glad you were able to be there! It does not surprise me that you had them in the ground before you took off for vacation. :-) But then you could relax and not think about them therefore enjoy your vacation even more.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you are up early today wonder why? lol, I bet Little Bundle keeps you going with little sleep but oh so much fun!
Lola, you are up early as well. Looks like we all have some plans for the day.
I have a big day planned and all I will say is I just love surprises! Have a good day all...
LOL, yep, it's the same here too: the pushing, shoving, and elbowing... and most of these people getting the better of me are 20 years my senior! I'm not wild about being in a crowd, so I also try to avoid being early!
ReplyDeleteI'm drooling over your haul, Tina. Will you get all that planted before you leave or do you have a place to heel them in until you are ready like I do?
ReplyDeleteDonna
Hi Tina, we have a couple really nice plant sales in our area. Recently I went to one that wasn't so great. It was to benefit our local arboretum. Nameless yellow daylilies, nameless hosta, nameless blackeyed susans, you get the drift.
ReplyDeleteOne of our best sales (which I missed this spring) is the Clauson sale. A group of plant collectors get together to sell divisions of their plants, making room for new arrivals. Great stuff at that sale and you get to walk thru a really, really nice garden.
Marnie
What a bargain you got, Tina! I don't think I'll make it to Tennessee for the fall plant sale:) But I will be looking for any Master Gardeners' sales in our area. Beckie and I did visit the Herb Society's and Prairie Plant Association's sale a month ago, and I was excited to come home with some native plants and a few ornamental herbs. This is a great way to add natives to the garden.
ReplyDeleteTina, I also got quite a few great plants at the sale. I went early!
ReplyDeleteNot being familiar with the calandine poppies, I only bought five. After researching them I wished I had bought more! I looked for the bottlebrush buckeye, but missed it somehow.
So many plants, I was like "a kid in a candy store" Nina
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, You have a fabulous day with that baby. Say hi to the kiddos for us all on this side of town.
Gail, I was amazed at all the natives there. Makes sense though since they came out of local gardens. I hope they all do well here.
Linda, These were all huge plants. There were very few small plants. I took a chance and hope they are doing well. Plant sales are so fun!
Janet, Excellent prices. I kept thinking about how much it would cost me if I purchased them all in a store. Too much for sure.
Joy, I miss them too and boy do you ever miss out. Maybe you'll catch it one of these days? So worth it!
Dawn, Yes, master gardeners volunteer within their communities. Almost all counties have programs. A good outlet that is all volunteer run. Nice gardens too I bet.
Lola, Couldn't believe I got them all planted. What a job! They needed to be though as they were a bit timeworn from being dug. But they are resilient.
Jamie and Randy, It is nice to donate plants. Most all organizations will for sure take your extra plants. Another alternative is to give them away on Freecycle. I've been doing that too. I still have irises that need to go. You are going to go to the plant sale when it comes? To buy too?
Skeeter, I always feel good when plants are tucked into their new homes. I can just picture there roots saying ahhhhh! With all this rain it's been great! Have fun today!
Monica, Thank you! I thought it was only me but boy oh boy plant sales can make folks kind of--hmm-vicious? They want those plants and want them now. I bow out for sure. You are a kindred spirit.
Donna, It's all safely tucked in to beds. I'm quite happy about it too! You should come up in the fall, as if they have anything like this spring sale, it would be worth it.
Marnie, Going to a plant collectors sale would be so great! And getting to see a garden too? Woohoo! Sign me up! Too bad about the other sale.
Rose, We'll get together one day for sure and maybe there'll be a plant sale nearby-or we can find one! Master gardener and local plant sales are really great resources. This is the season to find them too.
Hi Nina! So glad you went to the sale. Sorry we missed each other. The celadine is a great woodland plant. Likes shade for sure. 5 is an excellent start as they will self seed around. A great thing in woodland gardens. If you go in the fall, let me know and I'll meet you there. The prices here were great and all these guys such good gardeners.
On my way out-everyone have a great day!
Wow, that's a great sale. I don't know if there's anything like it here, with deals like that. I always avoid the crowds too, it spoils the experience for me. I'm sure the people who went through the effort to prepare for the sale would prefer bigger crowds, but I'd be happy to shop on a quiet day like that.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sure was a good haul for the money!!! Good going.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great deal! You got some great plants! Don't you love how we start off so good and know we don't have room for more plants, and yet you just can't stop yourself once you see the plants? :)
ReplyDeleteI need to find out if they do plant sales like this around here.
Hi Tina~
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was a GREAT sale! I can't believe you already have them planted in your garden...I think I'll start calling you Super Gardener! Hope you have a wonderful vacation!
Tina, I am jealous of the haul you made! Lucky for you! I'm getting caught up on reading blogs this morning.
ReplyDeleteWhat a deal Tina. I've never attended a plant sale ~ can you believe it?? I think I've been missing out now. I usually mail order, start from seed or purchase all my plants. You got a lot of great plants for $29.00 tho! It makes me want to reconsider. I am not an elbowy type person either which I why I avoid crowds... Thanks for posting about the sale. Next time I see info about one in our area, I'll think twice.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly got a great deal for your $29, my mouth was watering over your list of available goodies. A testimony to the wonders of LOCAL PLANTS, always the best deals, the most interesting selections, and likely to do best where you live.
ReplyDeleteA fall plant sale, huh? Maybe a trip to Montgomery County is in order! and at least you know for next time that you DON'T have to be there at the crack of dawn to get good plants. That would discourage me, too.
ReplyDeleteI AM impressed with your haul! What deals you got and they all look to be in excellent condition. Now comes the fun part-finding goods homes for them in your garden. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI so miss such gathering of gardeners. Don't know when such days would begin in India too (or at least my city)! Poppies! I love 'em! Their huge blooms are such a delight during summer, only I couldn't get them to germinate. Good luck with all your plants, Tina!
ReplyDeleteHey all, Sorry I'm so late getting back here. Lovely for you all to drop in. Local plant sales are really super ways to meet others and get some great deals on good plants. Do try them out!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks everyone for taking the time to comment and say hi. Have a great day!
I have NO space in my garden, but our local master gardener sale is this weekend. You can probably guess that I'm still planning on going. What plant person could miss an opportunity like this?
ReplyDeleteHi nice to see your comment at my blog. I cannot understand the fact that you are a retired army personnel and now a student..how come?
ReplyDeleteLooks like you got some wonderful plants for a nice price. That sounds like alot of planting. :)
ReplyDelete