“The earth laughs in flowers.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
As predictable as the return of April showers and May flowers is the Garden Club of Harvard’s annual plant sale. This year the event will be held Saturday, May 20, on the Common, 9 a.m. to noon.
Hostas potted up and awaiting the May 20 plant sale on the Common. (Courtesy photo)
Longtime residents and avid gardeners know that this sale is the place to come for homegrown, hardy perennials, young shrubs, a wide selection of herbs and vegetables, and an array of favorite annuals—all at competitive prices. They also know that the best bargain of the morning is the free advice available from the many knowledgeable gardeners selling the plants, who will happily tell you the growing habits of plants that interest you and the conditions under which they will thrive. New residents and novice gardeners can discover these secrets for themselves—and should come early to have the best choice of plants. All proceeds from the sale go to support the club’s service and education programs, including town beautification, garden therapy for residents of local health care facilities, and a yearly education grant.
The layout will be the same as it has been for the past several years: a roped-off horseshoe at the south end of the Common. Plants are arranged with shade perennials on the east side, perennials for sun along the north, annuals turning the corner, herbs and vegetable along the west side, ending in shrubs. Perennials are arranged alphabetically, with shady “A” starting at the bottom of the east side of the horseshoe, and sunny “A” beginning at the west end of the tables along the north side. Colored pictures will help customers locate desired plants.
Chairwomen MaryAnn Piasecki and Janice Rusiecki have led this year’s efforts with cheerful enthusiasm and organizational skills that have inspired many willing workers to pot up perennials during the four weeks leading up to the sale.
To the immediate right of the entrance will be tables of specialty plants, including gas plant, hosta ‘Golden Tiara,’ Japanese woodland peony, shredded umbrella plant, double bloodroot, star-flowered Solomon’s seal, fern leaf meadow rue, and a selection of choice native woodland gems. There will also be a few succulent plant gardens in homemade hypertufa planters.
Tried and true, locally hardy
If you are looking for a newly introduced plant variety that you just saw in a catalog, chances are you won’t find it here. The perennials at the sale are all dug from well-established Harvard gardens, and while they may not be the “latest,” they are tried-and-true. Here you will find such workhorses as pink and white bleeding heart, astilbe, hosta, Shasta daisies, coneflowers, grasses, and black-eyed Susan. “We have had an entire collection of Siberian iris donated to us this year, with a wide selection of colors,” said Piasecki.
In the sunny perennials section will be several named daylilies: ‘Blueberry Breakfast,’ ‘Mardi Gras Parade,’ ‘Velvet Thunder,’ ‘Bella Amber,’ ‘Siloam Tiny Mite,’ ‘Janice Brown,’ ‘Fires of Fuji,’ ‘Apricot Sparkles,’ ‘Fairy Tale Pink,’ and ‘Just George.’
Every plant will have two stick labels. A white stick, giving name and growing conditions, will identify the plant. The labels will be easier to read this year, as most of them were printed with a label maker. The colored stick is a price stick and corresponds to a color-coded price list posted in three or four locations around the tables.
Vegetables, 42 varieties
According to Barbara Heim, veggie guru, there will be 42 varieties of vegetables, most ordered through Herbs & Harvest of Groton and some grown by herself and other members. There will be the same number of tomato plants as last year but fewer varieties (16), to make choosing easier. Heim has, however, added two new varieties: ‘Amish Paste’ and ‘Celebrity.’ A new yellow pepper, ‘Antohi Romanian,’ is flavorful but not hot. Lettuce and broccoli have been added to chard, kale, watercress, and kohlrabi. In addition, several different kinds of peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, and peas will be available.
The herb tables, run by Theresa and Bob Ledoux, will feature herbs used for cooking, such as dill, tarragon, rosemary, and oregano, as well as those for fragrance, like lavender and thyme. All these plants are grown specifically for the Garden Club by Herbs & Harvest of Groton. The Ledoux team said this year they have ordered more plants but less variety, because last year they ran out of staples like basil and parsley early in the sale. They have upped the numbers on those herbs and said adieu to small numbers of more exotic plants like French sorrel.
Fran Maiore, chairwoman of annuals, has ordered 50 geraniums, and she predicts they will go quickly. She and her committee will shop at Lancaster Gardens for a variety of familiar annuals like petunias, as well as some more unusual plants. Maiore said she knows they will be purchasing a wide selection of “beautiful, blooming plants” to resell at competitive prices.
Small shrubs and trees from members’ gardens include rose of Sharon, lilac, spirea, rosa rugosa, and purple smoke tree.
Once shoppers have finished—or have done a first round—they take their plants to a tallying table, where the color-coded sticks are exchanged for a slip of paper with the total amount due. This gets collected by a cashier, and payment can be by check or cash. Checks should be made out to Garden Club of Harvard.
The sale will happen sun, rain, fog—or snow!
