Two weeks ago I set aside the better part of a Saturday to dig up many of my perennials and pot them up for my horticultural society's annual plant sale. Included in the stash are heuchera, 'Twist of Lime' hosta, bachelor's buttons, two types of astilbe, artemesia, anemone, Lysimachia 'Firecracker', rhubarb, rudbeckia, 'Northern Sea Oats' grass, sedge, Sweet Woodruff, lamium, geranium and more.
Tonight, after I printed off 12 pages of labels (plant name, size at maturity, growth habit, whether it prefers sun, shade, etc.) I spent another couple hours fussing over the plants and labeling them. Tomorrow night I have to find some time to price them, and then Saturday...Saturday, May 19th you can come to Eglinton Flats park and buy my perennials, many perennials from other members of our hort society, as well as lots of nursery grown bedding plants, herbs, vegetable seedlings, etc. Oh, and there are also 4 trays of fabulously interesting heirloom tomato plants (grown by my friend Marsha. I still haven't planted mine outside, so I'm not sure which seedlings will be "spares.")
The sale starts at 9 but I have to tell you that if you want to get the interesting plants you will want to arrive by 8:50 and join the lineup (yes, there'll be a ribbon cutting and everything at 9 where we make a fuss and then let you loose on the plants.)
Insider tip: bring a wagon or some boxes/plant trays to cart your plants home in. Also recommended is a spouse, child or friend who is willing to carry your plants while you rummage through the tables looking for more.
You can find the sale in the northwest quadrant of Eglinton Flats Park. It's west of Jane and north of Eglinton. The park entrance is via Emmett Avenue--once you come along Emmett you can't miss the sale. Just follow the signs.
While at the park, you can find the Emmett Avenue Community Garden about 60' past our sale. Stop by to see how great their gardens look already (new fencing this week!)
If you don't have time for breakfast before you leave the house, or all that shopping makes you hungry, the Mount Dennis Social Club will have a hot breakfast available for purchase on site.
And just in case you're wondering what kind of treasures await you, here are a few pictures from 2011's sale (taken during the setup--I was way too busy answering plant questions once the sale started to photograph anything!)
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| That's a really looong table of perennials. Almost all priced between $1 and $5 |
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| Same tables, shot from a different angle. |
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| Vegetable seedlings... |
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| Annual flowers from the Ontario Food Terminal (and a smiling volunteer--anyone wearing one of those orange flowers is happy to answer your questions or help you with your purchase.) |
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| One of several extremely knowledgeable gardeners, ready to answer questions. |
The weather forecast for Saturday is fantastic and there will be a whole whack of wonderful plants, priced to sell, at Eglinton Flats park. Will I see you there?
