Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 15 from 9:00 to 2:00.

Our first plant sale of the season is right around the corner! Join us at our growing location (215 Copples Lane, Wallingford PA).

Here is a little summary of what to expect in May...

Perennials

Many perennials will be available in May, but there are some that like more heat to really get growing. These will be available in June and September. To find out what is being offered, you can check the May sale availability list here.

Some of the perennials that will be offered in larger pots later in the season will be available in smaller pots in May. These smaller plants are less expensive, easier to plant, and are great for creating clusters or drifts. They will spend the season growing happily in your garden and reward you with flowers at their proper bloom times. Because these plants start out smaller, be sure to stay on top of watering until they are established.

What’s new this year?

How about Pussy Toes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)? This low growing native plant is a host for American Painted Lady butterfly caterpillars. It forms a silver-gray mat and sends up flowers shaped like cat paws. It’s carefree and easy to grow in full sun with good drainage.  I don’t know why, but something about this plant just makes me happy.

Our selection of much beloved coneflowers (Echinacea) will include more cultivars, and also two new species - Echinacea tennesseensis 'Rocky Top' and Echinacea pallida.

We are big fans of Salvia – the bees love the flowers, the deer and rabbits hate the foliage, and Salvias are drought and heat tolerant – so we will have 7 different types, something for everyone.

I’m also excited about offering native Vernonia (Iron Weed) – we will have both the upland species (lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’) and the wetland species (noveboracensis). The purple flowers pop in the fall and pollinators just love them.  Lettermannii will be available in quarts in May, and noveboracensis will be available in June.

I’m making room to plant some of the native Monarda fistulosa ‘Claire Grace’. It was a top performer in Mount Cuba’s Monarda trials and can take more dryness than most other Monardas.

A couple other fun perennials…

We have a bleeding heart called ‘Valentine’. The foliage is darker and the flowers more red than the common bleeding heart. It has a crisp look that I really like. Don’t tell anyone, but I already planted one in the garden. The new foliage comes up purple!

And we have Rhubarb (strangely, a variety also called ‘Valentine’). Now before you say “yuck” – you don’t have to eat it! It’s a beautiful plant – like a big Hosta with red stems for sun – that deer don’t like. And it’s there if you get the urge to make a pie…

So many other plants to see - old favorites and potentially new friends. You can see the perennial availability list for May here.

Annuals

The May sale is prime time for annuals. By that time it should be safe to plant most things out, but it pays to watch the weather. Our annuals spend time in the great outdoors – so they will be hardened off and ready to plant.

We try to target somewhat unusual annuals and grow them to a larger size; we do not have flats of bedding plants. Here is the availability list for annuals.

Some favorites in annuals?

Well, I have to include the mighty orange Tithonia – aka Mexican Sunflower. When the weather gets hot, it shoots up, grows about 6 feet tall, and covers itself with bright orange flowers.

I also love tall Ageratum. The clear, blue flowers blend so well with other plants in the garden. They are an excellent cut flower and last a long time in a vase.

Impatiens are back! We have some of the new Beacon impatiens that are resistant to downy mildew (limited quantity in white and violet).

Our tomatoes and peppers are grown using organic methods. Most of the tomatoes are heirloom varieties that I have grown in the past. We also have some tomatoes from the Dwarf Tomato Project – if you want to try something new.

You can see the availability list for annuals here.

Shrubs

As in the past, our shrub offering is a little limited. It takes a while to grow them... But we do have a few really lovely Fothergilla ‘Mt Airy’ (my favorite native shrub). Here is what is available in May (all limited quantities).

We do not sell shrubs in June but will have more shrubs to offer in fall.

A few tips for the sale...

We do take cash, checks and credit cards.

If you want a specific plant, you may not want to wait until the end, as some items sell out early. Our “staff” is very limited, so we can’t take pre-orders, but we would be happy to email you after the sale with what is still available if you cannot attend on the sale date.

We have people (my children actually - hey, they need to earn their keep) to help get your purchases to your car. Also, we try to source recycled boxes, but no matter how many we have, we always seem to run out – so you may want to BYOB (bring your own box) to make transport easier.

We hope you can stop by, check out the plants and chat about gardening! We promise to try not to talk your ear off…