A healthy, flourishing garden has a way of adding colour, drama and texture to any yard, usually attracting bees, butterflies, birds, some envying glances and a wheelbarrow full of compliments.
Anyone willing to create a new mood in their yard is invited to The St. Albert & District Garden Club plant sale and auction on Tuesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Sir George Simpson School gym.
The sale is the club’s major fundraiser and the money is used to subsidize the annual St. Albert & District Garden Club flower show in August. Last year, the club generated more than $2,000.
Members, a few non-members and local garden centres donate all the bedding plants. The offerings include an assortment of petunias, pansies, begonias, zinnias, asters, marigolds, dianthus, nicotiana, dahlias and snapdragons. Most of the plants are priced from $1 to $4.
This year the club has designated cosmos, an eight-petalled bloom with a yellow centre and feathery leaves, as flower of the year and there will be plenty in stock. “They’re easy to grow in your garden and they’ve come up with new colours and varieties this year,” said organizer Lucy Krisco, describing several yellow, orange and red varieties on her list.
The auction tables instead are loaded with hanging baskets, garden accessories, birdbaths, knick-knacks, tools and gift certificates.
Krisco recognizes that most gardeners like to individualize their garden with the least expense and the sale caters to those tastes. “There’s a good chance of getting a bargain, and there are some varieties of plants not available at local nurseries.”
For more information visit www.stalbertgardenclub.info.
