21April 2021
CBGC's first annual plant sale held at the Heathsville Farmers Market on April 17th was an amazing success. Mother Nature created a beautiful day for the event, and members were out in full force to support this important fund raiser for the garden club.
Preparation began long before sale day. In early March, members started herb and vegetable seeds in six-pack containers at their homes. At the beginning of April, members and a few spouses visited the gardens of Helen Bell on Coles Point to dig and pot a variety of herb and flowering perennials from Helen's very own garden to sell on behalf of the club.
Several members repotted plants from their own indoor and outdoor gardens for the sale. The club also received sale advice from Carolyn Quinn of Dug-in Farms. Plants were offered at prices far below the big box stores. Debbie Gillispie even purchased some annual flowers from the Mennonite Farms (a wholesaler) to brighten the displays. All in all, we had over 500 plants to sell!
Significant non-gardening work was required to prepare for this sale. Anne Haynie painted the signs for color coding the prices. Wonda Allan provided instructions and materials for the six-pack seed plantings. Sue Moore, Wonda Allain, Jacque Konzelman, and Debbie Boze donated tables. Jacque Konzelman and Debbie Boze donated tents. Members and spouses arrived early on the morning of April 17th to set up the tents, tables and deliver plants. Many stayed to sell the plants and answer gardening questions. Another group of members arrived for clean up.
Jacque Penny and Anne Crawley were in charge of the entire sale which took a lot of organization and hard work with support from many members of CBGC.
During the sale, members offered expert advice on the plants. Customers not only went home with healthy plants but with good information on how to grow them. Customers, club members, spouses, and their pets enjoyed a beautiful day.
THANK YOU to the Heathsville Tavern and Farmers Market staff, our dedicated members and the wonderful people of the Northern Neck for your support.
Article by Karen Luzuriaga. Photos by Karen Luzuriaga and Debbie Gwaltney.