I was curious to hear how many people have plant sales near them? What kind are they? Plant swaps, different vendors with booths, or some organization?

We have a couple around here. One of them, held free to the public at the community college on Mother's Day, has vendors. Many local nurseries (some are from other towns, and even some from OR, and ID) set up booths. I don't really care for this one. Every year there seems to be less and less of actual plant material. It use to be pretty good until the crafters (selling things that wouldn't last a growing season if put outside) came, now there are people selling food, hand cream, and other things not in the least bit related to gardening. There is one booth I like that sells great looking plants for under $5. Also the lady that sells just Tomatoes.

There is a new one (at least, I had never heard of it before) comming up in a couple of weeks. It is held by local Master Gardeners. I am excited to see what they have to offer.

My favorite has got to be the one held at our Manito Park. The profits go for the upkeep of the extensive grounds and greenhouses. The only thing that bothers me is that they offer a deal where people can get into the sale a couple of hours early if they pay $35 or over. The general public is let in at a certain time later in the morning. I just go in with the public.

The Manito Plant sale is held twice a year, spring and fall (June and Sep.). They have a ton of awesome looking plants, some of them quite rare. They have such a good selection that I usually just end up only going there instead of to nurseries. Every year there list of plants gets longer and more diverse (I provided a link to their site below if anyone is interested). This year they seem to have a lot of new Agastache and Echinacea cultivars I have never heard of before (which is not surprising since I gave up both the Coneflower and Hyssop craze awhile ago).

So far I plan to get:

Lonicera sempervirens 'John Clayton' (yellow trumpet honeysuckle)

Lathyrus vernus (everlasting sweetpea)

Trollius 'Alabaster' (white or near white Globeflower)

Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's Seal/Spikenard)

Also to think about getting:

Allium cernuum (nodding onion)

Eremurus isabellinus 'Ruiters Hy.' (Foxtail Lilies)

Cyclamen 'Something Magic'

Dodecatheron 'Aphrodite' (shooting star)

Callirhoe involuctata (winecups)

Calceolaria biflora 'Goldcap' (pocketbook flower)

I also plan to take a peek at the Corydalis 'Berry Exciting' and Tree Peony 'Burgundy Wine' they are offering.

So how about you? Any good plant sales in your area? What do you plan to get?

CMK

Here is a link that might be useful: Manito Plant Sale