From right to left: Greenhouse Managers Patti Bessette and Eileen Adams stand in front of the upcoming plant sale collection.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WEST SPRINGFIELD — It’s officially that time of year where April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, and if they don’t, the West Springfield Garden Club definitely will.
The Garden Club has been working since March for its annual plant sale on May 15-16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until sold out, located at Mittineague Park, Route 20 and Fife Lane across from Santa’s House.
All proceeds from the event go toward the planting and maintenance of 15 town gardens, as well as the club’s educational programs.
Shoppers will be able to select from a wide selection of annuals, grown in the club’s greenhouse, or perennials from the club members’ gardens. There will also be a large option of vegetables, such as summer squash and zucchini, along with five varieties of tomatoes, herbs and hanging flower plants.
Annuals are plants that have their entire life cycle in one growing season and perennials are plants that live for more than two years.
The Garden Club is a volunteer organization, founded in 1963 with a mission to advance the knowledge and enjoyment of gardening and to promote civic beautification and conservation.
This sale is one of the club’s biggest events, but it also holds an annual picnic in the summer, public speakers to teach gardening methods and member field trips to places like rose gardens, parks or other greenhouses. The club also awards two scholarships a year to graduating seniors pursuing a career in horticulture.
“We are very active in town and we are very busy, especially this time of year planting for the beautification of the gardens all over time,” Greenhouse Manager Patti Bessette said.
Greenhouse Manager Eileen Adams said the greenhouse benches are currently bursting with color and that the event will feature new and exciting selections, such as the ornamental oregano and purple majesty millet.
She added that all the plant prices will be relatively the same from last year, despite a price increase on things like fertilizer, soil and the pots.
A new aspect of the sale includes pre-planted “drop and grow” containers, which includes combinations of plants that work well together, hand selected by club members. Shoppers can purchase these and drop them right into their own decorative containers at home.
Another new part of the sale this year will be soil testing on May 16 with a master gardener, a gardener trained in horticultural science.
The 15-minute test checks the pH levels, the measure of acidity in the soil, and suggests if gardeners need to add anything to correct any pH imbalance. The tests are $2 per bag and participants fill them with one cup of dry soil, labeling if it’s from a vegetable, flower, lawn or shrub.
Bessette said soil testing can be important so that a plant can get the right nutrients to thrive.
“Some soil is clay soil, so you’ve got to amend that soil with things that will lighten it up,” Bessette said. “Clay solid is very heavy and plants planted in it, not all plants like it, they won’t get oxygen through the roots. That’s why soil testing is important.”
She said that information like that can be helpful for new gardeners as well and always encourages new gardeners to join the club to get some advice on how to get started.
“Sometimes it’s overwhelming,” Bessette said. “If you were to look at all the plant varieties we have available, some people don’t know where to start. It’s like look at a blank canvas, so I like to help people put together the color combinations that will look good for months and months so that they can enjoy these beautiful plants in their gardens.”
Publicity and Social Media Manager Suzi Silver gave a shout out to the DPW for lending a hand in preparation for the sale.
“This is a massive amount of plants to move out of the greenhouse, up the hill and onto picnic benches,” Silver said. “So the DPW is very gracious and they bring their flatbeds and trucks and we load them up and portage them up the hill to across from Santa’s House.”
Silver said people should come to the sale to enjoy affordable prices, receive expert advice, meet neighbors and to shop locally.
