The doors won’t open until 8 a.m. Saturday for the Saline County Master Gardeners Plant Sale at the Saline County Fairgrounds, but it’s a sure bet there will be people lined up long before that.
“We have one woman every year that’s here at 6:30,” said Sandy Morris of Avilla, who has been a Master Gardener for 10 years. “She always wants to be first in line.
“We encourage people to get here early. We will be here until about noon, but we will probably be cleaned out before then.”
There is no admission charge to the sale, which is held in the commercial building at the fairgrounds, 406 Fairfield Road in Benton.
Sandy Rial of Haskell said the plant sale will feature annuals, perennials, shrubs, houseplants and vegetables, as well as herbs and succulents.
“We’ll have them divided into sun and shade groupings, too,” Rial said, adding that all of the plants are grown by local Master Gardeners.
Horticulture vendors will be on-site as well.
Morris and Rial met recently at the Benton home of Sherry Faulkner to fertilize the plants that are being stored in her new greenhouse until the sale, which is the 19th annual event and is sponsored by the Saline County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. Faulkner joined the volunteer organization four years ago.
“We hope to have things that have not been seen before,” Faulkner said. “I’ve learned to propagate some plants, including Apple Scented geranium and Rex begonia.
“We will also have some bee houses made specifically for the Mason bee, which is a solitary bee,” Morris said. “We make the houses out of bamboo. The female lays the eggs, and we have more bees. These bees are good pollinators.”
Morris said some of the Master Gardeners are very creative.
“Some of them have taken plants that they have grown from seedlings and arranged them with other plants in beautiful, decorative pots,” she said, noting that some of these plants include Baby Duck and Red Cascade petunias.
The cost of the plants offered at the sale will range from 50 cents to approximately $25.
The Saline County Master Gardeners use the proceeds from the sale, in part, to fund three $500 scholarships for high school students, and to help with members’ expenses to various workshops and conventions. The Master Gardeners also serve the community with various beautification projects, including those at the Veterans Memorial and the Saline County Courthouse, the Gann Museum, the Bryant Public Library, the Benton and Bryant chambers of commerce, Hospice House of Bryant, Tyndall Park in Benton and the Benton post office.
“We also trim and mulch 500 to 600 crape myrtle trees that line Benton Parkway, and more than 50 crape myrtles in downtown Benton,” Rial said.
The Saline County Master Gardeners meet at 9 a.m. the third Saturday of each month at the Benton Senior Adult Center, 210 Jefferson St.
The group also sponsors Monday Night at the Library at 6:30 the first Monday of each month at the Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, 1800 Smithers St. in Benton. This is an educational program and is free and open to the public.
Officers of the local organization include Bruce Schrader of Benton, president; Phil McConnell of Bryant, vice president; Kathy Lewallen of Bryant, secretary; and Julie Kerr of Benton, treasurer. Linda Berger of Benton is chairwoman of the plant sale committee.
The Saline County Master Gardeners will offer Saturday Master Gardener Basic Training from 8 a.m. to 4:30 pm. Saturdays from June 11 through July 16 (skipping July 2) at The Center at Bishop Park in Bryant. The cost is $85; the application deadline is May 11.
The 40-hour training program is offered statewide by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in 67 counties. Following the training, participants are required to volunteer at least 40 hours to the program and to accumulate at least 20 hours of learning within the next year. To maintain the status of Master Gardener thereafter, individuals must provide 20 “working” or service hours and accrue 20 “learning” or education hours per year.
Information found on the website www.uaex.edu shows that in 2014, Master Gardeners statewide reported 102,850 education hours and 181,371 service hours.
“We are all volunteers,” Faulkner said. “Just think, if the state had to hire somebody at minimum wage to do all that we do, that would be a lot of money. We save taxpayers and incorporated cities a lot of money.”
Rial added, with a smile, “We are worth something, but we also have a lot of fun.”
For more information on the Saline County Master Gardeners Plant Sale, call the Saline County Cooperative Extension Service, at (501) 303-5672.