HOT SPRINGS — The Garland County Master Gardeners want the public to know all about the birds and the bees … and the butterflies, too.
Members of the organization will be on hand from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Historic Downtown Farmers Market in Hot Springs to explain what garden enthusiasts should plant to attract these pollinators. The Master Gardeners will also be selling numerous plants that will do just that.
“For the first time, we have a theme for our annual plant sale,” said Bev Merritt, plant sale chairwoman. “The theme is ‘Back to Native: Planting for the Environment — Birds, Bees and Butterflies.’
“We are trying to use the plant sale as an educational platform. We want people to know about native plants. We want them to know what plants bring in the birds, bees and butterflies. It’s important that we take care of our environment in the right way.”
There is no admission to Saturday’s plant sale, which will feature thousands of plants and hanging baskets. Prices usually range from $2 to $15, with the hanging baskets starting at $10.
“We don’t open until 8, but there will be people lined up by 7,” Merritt said. “And we will probably be sold out by noon.
“Come early,” she said.
Merritt and several other Master Gardeners have been hard at work growing, storing and sorting the plants at the Lake Hamilton High School greenhouse.
“We propagated most of these,” she said, referring to the greenhouse almost full of plants. “We started from seeds or cuttings, and it has just evolved.
“The coleus are really popping right now,” she said, pointing to various colors of the plant — greens, pinks, reds and maroons. “They are very easy to propagate and very easy to grow. We will probably have 800 to 900 coleus plants for sale.”
Referring to the list of plants that she has stored in her smartphone, Merritt said there will also be Swedish ivy, begonias, wandering Jew, airplane plants, rose of Sharon, canna lilies, swamp sunflowers, oxalis, hydrangeas, and arum lords and ladies.
“We cover the whole spectrum,” she said with a laugh.
In addition to the many plants grown in the greenhouse, there will also be hundreds of plants brought in by Master Gardeners from their own yards and greenhouses. Among these plants will be several kinds of day lilies, multicolored iris, native poppies, shrubs, dwarf nandina, blackberry bushes, palms, elephant ears, succulents,
angel trumpet vines, herbs and ginger plants, among others.
“We will also have a huge display of butterfly plants,” Merritt said.
“We have 232 Master
Gardeners in Garland County,” she said. “This is an all-call event. Every member is asked to participate.”
Merritt said this is the first year the event will have outside vendors. These include the Hot Springs Day Lily
Society, the Ouachita Hosta Society, Rosemary Hill Herb Farm, Hot Springs Sod and Turf, the Lake Hamilton Garden Center and Nursery, and Made by Me.
“Also for the first time, the Master Gardeners will have a special section of
environmental crafts they will offer for sale,” Merritt said.
Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions and provide free advice.
“It will be a fun event,” she said.
Merritt said the proceeds of the sale are used in a number of ways, including supporting Master
Gardener projects and helping members with the cost of attending workshops and conferences.
The group also donates money to an established scholarship.
The Historic Downtown Hot Springs Farmers Market is at 121 Orange St. in Hot Springs.
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.