About 2,000 plants will be up for grabs at the New Westminster Horticultural Society’s annual plant sale.
The society’s spring plant sale is on Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Thomas More Collegiate, 7450 12th Ave. That’s just across the border at the corner of Kingsway and 12th Avenue in Burnaby.
“We think we will have 2,000-plus plants,” said society member Audrey Barnes. “We don’t know what is going to be there until the plants arrive.”
Club members will deliver their plants to STM on Friday night and organize them inside the school – determining how much space will be needed on Saturday morning for the various categories . The day’s offerings will include shade perennials, sun perennials, trees and shrubs, annuals and vegetables.
In the morning, volunteers will haul out the plants and organize them under the building’s canopy.
“I have potted up myself about 700 perennials,” Barnes told the Record. “I had a whole bunch of things that next year would be too big for their spots.”
For gardeners looking to put some food on the table this summer, the sale’s selections includes tomato, pepper, lettuce, kale, cabbage and onion plants.
“We aim to be one-half to two-thirds the price of an equal plant in a garden centre,” Barnes said. “The idea is we want to make money for the club because that is what we survive on. Also, we only have four hours to get rid of it, whereas a nursery has a whole season.”
Along with plants, some gardening books will be sold at Saturday’s sale.
“It’s a fun day. It should be good weather,” Barnes said. “It’s on rain or shine.”
Barnes noted the society “had a problem” at the beginning of last year’s sale – the parking lot was full. She said society members are going to park at other nearby locations, including the Our Lady of Mercy Church parking lot on 10th Avenue to free up some parking spots, and shoppers can do the same if there’s no spaces available in STM’s parking lot.
Check it out
The New Westminster Horticultural Society meets monthly on the second Tuesday of the month (except January) at 7 p.m. in Centennial Lodge in Queen’s Park. Along with its monthly meetings, the society holds other activities, including its popular spring plant sale.
“Check us out,” Barnes said.
Here’s what’s coming up at the club’s upcoming meetings:
- Tuesday, May 13: Pam Erikson on What’s New and Exciting in Perennials for 2024
- Tuesday, June 11: Jason Croutch on Debunking Garden Myths
- Tuesday, July 9: Barrie Agar on Growing Fruit in Small Spaces.
The drop-in fee for meetings is $5, and a 2024 membership is $20.
More information is available at www.newwesthortsociety.org.
