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Artful Living: Local plant sales sprouting up all over

Linda Brazill  —  5/08/2008 6:19 pm

Warm weather seems to be here for good and all the plants that I madly moved around the garden last fall have finally appeared. So now I know where the design gaps are and can decide what plants might best fill them -- just in time for the spring plant sales sponsored by local public gardens, garden clubs and societies.

The granddaddies are those sponsored by Madison's two public gardens, Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the UW-Madison Arboretum. The array of plant material is vast; it's only exceeded by the knowledge of the sales "staff," typically members of local gardening groups or professional horticulturists.

These days Olbrich makes a very specific point of that fact, even calling their event: "Plant Sale with the Pros." But quite frankly, almost every smaller sale in the accompanying list is staffed with master gardeners and knowledgeable amateurs.

That's one of the main reasons to shop these events. The folks running them can not only answer your questions, but the majority of the plants on sale come from members' gardens. So, if someone else has had good luck growing a plant, odds are you will, too.

I've bought many trees and shrubs from Olbrich in past years. A number of them have come from Roy Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery, according to the labels. While they are not what some folks might call cheap, often they are the same price as in Klehm's catalog and you don't have to pay shipping and handling -- and the sale benefits Olbrich. And I've never seen plants that are healthier and more likely to succeed than those from Song Sparrow. I always consider them a good value for the price.

But some of the sales do offer real deals. The only problem is you never know what you might find where. So bring a list of what you're looking to find; otherwise it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the variety spread out before you. And knowing the botanical Latin name helps a lot!

At the same time, be open to serendipity. One year there was big selection of dwarf conifers (about $11 each, as I remember) at the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society's sale. Last year I found small Acer pseudosieboldiana trees -- Korean maples that look like Japanese maples but are super hardy -- for only $7 each at the same event.

All of these sales have stacks of cardboard "trays" for you to use to carry your plants in, but you can shop much more efficiently if you bring your own plant transportation. Choose something that's really sturdy -- I use a wire mesh basket with a handle so I can slip it over my arm if I need both hands free. Best of all is a child's wagon; that way you don't have to worry that any plant will be too big or heavy to carry or that you'll have more things than you can hold.

One of my favorite sales, sponsored by the West Side Garden Club, is held in a private garden so you also get to shop in a beautiful atmosphere. Olbrich and the Arboretum offer similar sensations since the gardens are right there, ready for you to tour when you finish shopping.

If you get home and realize you bought more than you can manage to shoehorn into your incredibly full garden, check out the Madison Stuff Exchange. This Web site, open to anyone who lives or works in Dane County, has a plant exchange category. For more info or to register, visit www.madisonstuffexchange.com.

Once you get everything planted, be aware that the city of Madison has started to recycle plastic flowerpots, hard plastic plant containers and garden trays. Rinse them out and then take them to the city's dropoff sites at 1501 W. Badger Road and 4602 Sycamore Ave.

The light plastic containers used for multipacks of vegetables and flowers, however, are not acceptable.

For more information: www.cityofmadison.com/streets or 267-2626.

Linda Brazill  —  5/08/2008 6:19 pm