The Historic Downtown Hot Springs Farmers Market will be teeming with plants — and people — Saturday as the Garland County Master Gardeners host their annual plant sale.
The sale will open at 8 a.m. — rain or shine — and “most of the plants will be gone by noon,” said plant-sale chairwoman Diane Daniel of Hot Springs Village. “Come early for the best selection.
“It’s like March Madness — four hours of crazy gardeners selling plants … fast and furious.”
Daniel said the sale will feature “a nice variety” of plants, including shrubs and trees. She said the prices of the plants will be “very reasonable.” The cost of hanging baskets will start at $10.
Carolyn Davis of Hot Springs, publicity chairwoman for the plant sale, said a new feature this year will be a butterfly table, where visitors can receive information about attracting butterflies to their gardens.
“Host and nectar plants will be displayed,” Davis said. “Some of the plants included will be spicebush, bee balm, coneflower, Asiatic lilies, yarrow, Joe Pye weed, blood flower (asclepias curassavica, a type of milkweed), fennel and bird’s-foot violets.
“Educational handouts will be available for guidance in the appropriate selection of plants for the home gardener,” Davis said.
Among new offerings at the plant sale will be double-white peonies in pots, variegated sedum and coreopsis.
“We will also probably have a few strawberries,” Daniel said.
Among the favorite returning plants will be annuals such as amaranths, zinnias, marigolds and black-eyed Susans — all grown from seeds.
“Coleus are big sellers, too,” she said. “We’ll also have Becky daisies and regular Shasta daisies, as well as ferns.”
Mary Ann Jarvis of Hot Springs Village will bring in a variety of herbs in planters.
Hostas and daylilies will also be available.
Daniel said the local Master Gardeners have been preparing for the sale since last year. The group uses the greenhouses at Fountain Lake High School and Lake Hamilton High School to store the plants until the day before the sale. The organization donates money back to the schools for allowing them to use their greenhouses.
In September, the Master Gardeners will bring in the “mother plants” and propagate new ones from them. Among these plants are geraniums and wandering Jews.
“We’ve gotten to know these plants personally,” Daniel said with a laugh.
“A lot of people call us and ask us if we want to come get their extras,” Daniel said. She said a woman called recently and “offered us a couple thousand bulbs — daffodils, red spider lilies and others.
“We dug them up and will sell them,” she said, adding, “Many bulbs are labeled OGK — only God knows (what kind they are).”
The sale will also feature a Trash to Treasure Table, where visitors can purchase gently used garden items such as tools, planters, books, magazines and pots.
The logistics of the setup on Friday have been carefully designed.
“We will have 2,500 plants, easily, between the two greenhouses,” Daniel said. “We have a caravan moving between the greenhouses and the farmers market. We have crews set in the greenhouses to load the plants into the vans that take the plants to the Farmers Market.
“This year, we will have a ‘holding area’ so customers can continue to shop without carrying everything around with them before they are ready to check out.”
Daniel said a Master Gardener and her husband will set up their recreational vehicle and stay at the Farmers Market on Friday night to provide security.
Daniel said part of the proceeds from the plant sale are used for Master Gardeners’ projects, including helping members with the costs of attending workshops and the state conference.
“When the sale is over, we usually donate money to an
established scholarship,” Daniel said. “Last year, we gave money to the 4-H organization.
“Master Gardeners make recommendations about the recipient of the scholarship, and we decide in the winter where to donate the money. We try to give at least $1,000.”
The Master Gardeners have more than 200 members in the county. They work on a variety of projects throughout Hot Springs, including planting the hanging baskets downtown, helping at the city’s greenhouse and maintaining the flower bed at the Hot Springs Confederate Memorial. They also participate in projects at Hot Springs Middle School, the Hot Springs Senior Center and Garvan Woodland Gardens.
The group provides community education, too, offering classes at the library and other sites.
“During the farmers market, from May until September, we have Master Gardeners participate in the Ask a Master Gardener program,” Daniel said. “People can bring in their plants and ask us about them, or they can just ask us general gardening questions. Some even just come by to say ‘thank you.’”
The Historic Downtown Hot Springs Farmers Market is at 121 Orange St.
For more information about the plant sale or the Master Gardeners program, call the Garland County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture at (501) 623-6841.