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Greater Seattle Area Plant Sales in Spring 2010

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

(May 3, 2010 update): The sale announcements keep rolling in. Need a plan for mother’s day? How about a rare and native plant sale at a very special garden? Read on for details about the Kruckeberg sale and open house!

Plants for Sale!

Plants for Sale!

(April 24, 2010 update) Even more sale updates are being submitted! Read on for locations offering up sips of strawberry lemonade while you shop for your locally grown tomato starts.

(March 25, 2010 update) Plant sale updates keep rolling in, so it’s time to remind you to mark your calenders. Today, late breaking foodie plant news– it isn’t too late to get cool season crops from Seattle Tilth! If you missed the sale on March 20th, take heart! They’re doing it again on March 27th. Plus, we’ve been adding in other upcoming specialty sales coming up throughout the spring. Readers have contributed their submissions; if you have one to share, please send it in! Now, read on to find the hot horty sale spots for spring 2010!

If you haven’t already, it is time to mark your calender for all the great plant sales coming to the greater Seattle area this spring. Following is a list of some of my favorites. (Originally posted 3-14-2010)

If you have another plant sale you would like to see added to this list, let us know here.

If you aren’t in the greater Seattle area but would like to contribute plant sale information for your part of the world, let us know here.

Kruckeberg Gardens: Kruckeberg gardens is offering natives, spring bulbs, and unusual exotic plants for sale along with a free garden tour on May 8th. Too, expect family activities as well. Be sure to check their website for parking details. Local parking is limited, but satellite locations have been arranged. If you take the shuttle, you’ll get a $5 coupon!

  • May 7th & 8th from 10am-5pm
  • May 9th & 10th from 10am-5pm

Or, thinking of becoming a member? Members get in on the preview sale Thursday, May 6th from 10am-7pm. New members are welcome!

Fred Lind Manor and Jones Creek Farms are teaming up to offer our neighbors some old-fashioned hospitality. Sip on a complimentary glass of strawberry lemonade while you pick out the perfect tomato start from a local selection of organically grown, heirloom tomato plants. Fred Lind Manor, on the corner of 17th and Howell,  is a non-profit retirement community that has been serving Capitol Hill for 22 years. For more information, please call 206-774-5387 or just drop by the sale on Sunday, May 16, 2010

Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sales: Yes, this year there are several from Seattle to Issaquah!

  • Added in March: March 27, 2010: Second Chance Edible Plant Sale for 40-60% off on cool season crop leftovers from the March 20th sale. Plus bareroot fruiting shrubs, vines and trees!

Lake Washington Technical College Plant Sale: Plants propagated, grown, and sold by students. Proceeds support this fantastic program. And, the plants range from trees to tomatoes.

  • April 24-25 & May 1-2, 2010: In addition to all the fantastic plants grown by students, Wholesale Nursery Northwest Nursery will be offering unbeatable prices on trees, shrubs, perennials and more. Proceeds from Northwest Nursery sales will go toward nursery founder, Jim Colman Memorial Scholarship fund, also helping students in horticulture.

Seattle Arboretum Plant Sales: Specialty plants, bulbs and much, much more.

Seattle Bamboo Festival: Bamboo poles, plants products, seminars, crafts, plus rare plant gallery and attending bamboo experts. Information on the Seattle Chapter of the American Bamboo Society is available here.

  • May 1-2, 2010: At the Graham Visitor Center at the Seattle arboretum.

King County Master Gardener Plant Sale: Buy plants, diagnose issues from your own garden, attend “how-to” seminars all in one location!

Highline Seatac Botanical Garden: From all-round garden reliables to rare botanicals. Meet with various botanical interest groups and more.

Broadview Garden Club Plant Sale: Including Trillium and Galanthus selections from Dunn Gardens!

  • May 1, 2010 (10am-2pm): Broadview Thompson School at 132nd and Greenwood
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Fall Plant Sales in Seattle Begin for 2009

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

The fall plant sale announcements are starting to roll in, beginning with the Seattle Arboretum Fall Bulb sale and the Lake Washington Technical College Environmental Horticulture Fall Sale:

Autumn Joy Sedum

Autumn Joy Sedum

Lake Washington Technical College Environmental Horticulture Program’s Annual Fall Plant Sale
All Plant Material Grown by Students

When: Friday October 2, 2009, 10:00am-1:00pm

Where: Directions & Maps here

For more info visit: www.lwtchort.com

Some of the plants at this year’s sale include:
Perennials: hardy geraniums, deciduous grasses, creeping phlox, campanula, evergreen ferns, hardy primrose, dianthus (pinks), heath, sedums, hens ‘n chicks and more…..
Shrubs: weigela, Sarcococca, arborvitae and some fun 4″ shrub starts
We may even have some colorful houseplants!

Also at the sale this year:
Support the Jim Colman Scholarship
Additional plants will be available from Northwest Nurseries, a local wholesale nursery. Proceeds from these sales will go to the Jim Colman Scholarship Fund, awarding full tuition to one student in the Environmental Horticulture program each quarter.
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All About Bulbs-With Bob & Marty
Tips and Advice on Gardening with Bulbs from Two Plant Experts

When: Friday, September 18, 7 to 9 PM
Where: Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum
2300 Arboretum Drive East, Seattle
What: A workshop and Q&A on bulbs, corms, and tubers
How much: Free for Arboretum Foundation members; $5 for non-members

Ornamental Allium

Ornamental Allium

In anticipation of this year’s Fall Bulb & Plant Sale (October 4 and 5), plantsman and author Bob Lilly will host a workshop on bulbs with gardening guru Marty Wingate this Friday, September 18, at the Graham Visitors Center. Bob and Marty will cover the basics of gardening with bulbs and answer bulb-related questions from the audience.

Light refreshments will be served to kick off the event. The workshop is free for Arboretum Foundation members and $5 for non-members. We’ll also be selling memberships, so guests can join on the spot and then attend our Member Pre-Sale, October 3, to get first pick of the bulbs at the main event.

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Fall is a fantastic time to put in plants, and this year the discount and sale announcements are everywhere, so watch out for bargains. Have a sale you’d like to see listed here, please submit details here.

And, for those of you who might be planning plant trade Dig ‘n Split parties, let us know. Sharing divisions is a great way to help friends develop each others gardens inexpensively. Plus, these parties are really fun, even if we do get soaked and sloppy in the fall rains.


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Plant a Row for the Hungry from Free Edible Starts

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Regular readers know that I set a goal earlier this year (actually late last year)  to grow more edibles this year from seed than I have in past. And, so far, I think I’m doing a pretty decent job.

Maturing Cabbage, Cauliflower & More Planted in March

Maturing Cabbage, Cauliflower & More Planted in March

I started planning our expanded edible garden last December. I ordered seed in January. And I began seeding my edibles in early January with mixed results. So far, we’re harvesting buckets full of lettuce, spinach and sorrel each day for enormous salads. We’ve had radishes coming out of the ground since Easter and are now on our third planting of them. Our chard and kales (lacinato and red winter)  are coming in by the bundle every few days. And our cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli are starting to tighten up to form tasty heads.

The hoop houses (now covered only with floating row cover) have made a huge difference with retaining heat, protecting seedlings from freak hail storms, and keeping out worm-laying pests. Sure, I’d love to admire the beautiful plants rather than the white sheeting, but there’s enough beauty elsewhere in the garden that the sheets don’t bother me much — especially when I’m able to pick dinner from under them each day!

So, what hasn’t worked out as I’d hoped?

Well, first I’ve had mixed results seeding. Some plants happily germinated and produced incredibly well. Others completely failed to germinate or had low percentage success rates. For instance, where I ended up with over 100 tomatoes, I only produced one successful Bottlehouse gourd start. Although crookneck squash came through 100%,  Butternut only germinated at about a 20% success rate.

Tomatomania -- Free To a Good Home!

Tomatomania -- Free To a Good Home!

There are a few things that play into these rates. First, when seeding, I tried a few seed tray methods. I found that using egg cartons works fairly well, but they dry out really fast. So my watering was a bit off for those and contributed to some of my failure rates. Too, where I seeded tray after tray of tomatoes, I only seeded about 1/4 of a tray of gourds. There’s the rub — seeding just enough to fit your garden does not guarantee you’ll end up with enough if germination isn’t perfect. So, instead, we seed too much. And now, I can’t give away enough starts!

Yesterday, I invited friends to visit my garden and take away extra edible plants ranging from Amaranthus to Tomatoes. I collected donations that will be passed along to a local foodbank. I figure this is a way I can plant a row for the hungry (and so can the people who took the plants away!). Despite giving away mountains of lettuce, trays of tomatoes, boxes of squash, and lots of other fun items, my back patio is still filled with extras that I need to distribute. These will NOT go back in my greenhouse.

Curbits, Lettuce & Brassica Free to a Good Home!

Curbits, Lettuce & Brassica Free to a Good Home!

It’s time for me to pot up my own plants to grow them on for my own garden, and believe it or not, it is time for me to sow even more seeds. One tomato seed is recommended for a late sowing and late harvest. Apparently, the fruit from it will store into late winter. So, for these crops and the winter crop seeding that begins in July, I need my greenhouse space back.

Today, the remaining plants are going into a public place for free in hopes they find good homes with hungry people who will care for them and enjoy their bounty later this summer. And, perhaps, some of the bounty grown from these starts might even make it to the food bank from your garden?!

If you’re interested in making a donation to the hungry and taking away some great edible starts (or you need some free edible starts to feed your own hungry family) , get in touch here with your contact info. If we have anything available by the time we hear from you, we’ll be in touch.

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Spring 2009 Plant Sales in Seattle

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Newest Sale Updates Included Below…just scroll down…

Seattlites are in a spring daze of summer weather this week. It won’t last, but go ahead and dream. Start your shopping lists. Mark your calenders. Pull your weeds. Test your soil. Amend your soil. And get ready. The best spring plant sales around are just, well, around the corner. Following are a few of the many not to miss:

Organic Buttercrunch Lettuce

Organic Buttercrunch Lettuce

Lake Washington Technical College Environmental Horticulture Spring Plant Sale

When: Friday, April 24th-Saturday, April 25th and Friday, May 1st-Saturday, May 2nd . 9am-3pm each day

Where: 11605 132nd Avenue NE Kirkland, WA 98034

My alma mater! Find a huge array of perennials, woody shrubs, annuals, hanging baskets all propagated and cared for by students for the benefit of the program itself. Plus, Northwest Nurseries will be offering wholesale prices on prime trees, shrubs and perennials. This is a not-to-miss event!

Tilth Edible Plant Sale

When: Saturday, May 2-Sunday May 3, 9am-3pm each day

Where: Meridian Park in the Wallingford Neighborhood

Want to check out some city chickens? Need some organically grown edible starts or herbs or perennials or interested in composting? Or, maybe you just want to spend a day outdoors with the family. This is a great spot for all of these choices — and more!

Florabundance! Seattle Arboretum Foundation Plant Sale

When: Saturday, April 25, 9am-5pm & Sunday, April 26, 10am-3pm

Where: 7400 Sandpoint Way NE Seattle, WA

Species cultivators, plant collectors, and fine specialty nurseries will be on hand. Consider joining the Seattle Arboretum, which will get you into the sale early on Friday, April 24th from 5:30-8pm.

Master Gardeners Plant & Book Sale

When: Saturday, May 2, 2009, 8am-5pm and Sunday, May 3, 2009, 10am-3pm

Where: UW Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) in Seattle, WA

Proceeds support the Master Gardener Foundation of King County which is a not-for-profit organization formed to raise the funds needed to operate all of the educational programs organized and staffed by the more than 650 volunteer Master Gardeners of King County. These programs include 34 plant problem clinics, 11 demonstration / outreach gardens, 17 youth garden sites, free public classes in a variety of locations, a speaker’s list, 11 portable classroom teaching kits for use in schools and community groups and a diagnostics center in Seattle.

Are you involved in a local plant sale (or even one outside Seattle) that you would like to see listed on gardenhelp.org? Please feel free to submit it here, and we’ll post details for others.

New Sales Added!

Early Bloomers Sale
When: Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Graham Visitors Center at the Arboretum

The charming, volunteer-run sale features plants propagated from specimens in the Arboretum collection, as well as others donated to us by area gardeners. Shoppers will find a great selection of early-blooming perennials such as epimediums and trilliums, as well a wonderful array of young shrubs, conifers, and small trees. For more information, call 206-325-4510.

Broadview Garden Club Plant Sale

When: April 25th 10-2pm

Where: Broadview Thompson School on Greenwood and 130ish in Seattle.

Just in from Sue at Dunn Gardens: This may be a small sale, but it’s local and with some little treasures like Dunn Garden trillium and snowdrops. If you can”t get to the big ones, it’s fun and a good group. (If it can get up there, I tell you I’m grabbing some Trillium!)


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Recycle Gardening Books by Donating to the Master Gardener Book Sale

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

My good friend and colleague, Kay, emailed the other day to ask if I had any old gardening books I no longer use that I could donate to the Master Gardener Fundraiser. I told her I’d do her one better — I’d post to the gardenhelp.org network of readers to draw from all of your libraries as well.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got gardening books on your shelf that you never crack. Sure, you have your favorites that are missing half a cover and cracked at the binding and held together with rubber bands. But, I bet you’ve got a few that just don’t fit your needs. Maybe you bought them online and were surprised they didn’t really live up to your expectations. Or, maybe someone gave you one as a well-meaning gift, but the topic doesn’t fit you. Or, perhaps you’ve moved from one region to another but kept books that ended up no longer applying.  Or, maybe you’ve got multiple copies or multiple editions of the same thing. There’s got to be at least one on the shelf that you can part with, right?

Heck, I just pulled three big books off my shelves to donate. I bet somebody out there wants them, right? Well, go to the sale!

  • The Practical Gardener’s Encyclopedia from Whitecap Books
  • Sunset Western Landscaping
  • Sunset Water Gardens

So, consider giving to the  ultimate book recycling program this spring by donating your used garden books to the Master Gardener Sale. The funds from these books will be used to educate the public about sustainable gardening practices.  And, a book sitting on your shelf gathering dust, taking up room that your newest “must have” title needs, will move on to the hot hands of another horty in need.

The goal of the Master Gardener’s of King County program is to help the public practice sustainable gardening through integrated pest management, water-wise planting and similar science-based methods of meeting the horticultural challenges of home gardeners in the Pacific Northwest.

Why give to the program (besides doing a little spring cleaning for yourself?):

The Used Garden Book Sale is an important part of the Master Gardener Plant Sale.

Proceeds support the Master Gardener Foundation of King County which is a not-for-profit organization formed to raise the funds needed to operate all of the educational programs organized and staffed by the more than 650 volunteer Master Gardeners of King County. These programs include 34 plant problem clinics, 11 demonstration / outreach gardens, 17 youth garden sites, free public classes in a variety of locations, a speaker’s list, 11 portable classroom teaching kits for use in schools and community groups and a diagnostics center in Seattle.

(And, folks, you’ll be hearing more on this blog soon about how budget cuts will likely be affecting these programs. The picture isn’t pretty.)

Which books are appropriate to donate?

Any garden-related topic; horticulture literature or essays; gardening journals/magazines that are fairly new. They’ll take very old gardening books as well…. One person’s “throw away” may be another’s “treasure”!

Where and When to Drop Your Donations:

  • Where: Books can be dropped off at CUH
  • When: Tuesdays, March 17, March 24, March 31, and April 14 between 9-noon. (If you can’t make these dates, see Kaye’s info below to arrange for another pick up time.)
  • Who: Ask for Kaye Moreton

Want to go shopping at the sale?

  • When: Saturday, May 2, 2009,  8am-5pm  and Sunday, May 3, 2009, 10am-3pm
  • Where: UW Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) in Seattle, WA

For More information or to arrange a special pickup/drop off:

  • Kaye Moreton: kmoreton(at)gmail.com or 425.308.0710
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