On Saturday, September 12, for the fourth year in a row, the Grey County Master Gardeners (GCMG) head to the Meaford Rotary Harbour Pavilion for their fall plant sale, an annual event since 1998.
“We love coming back to the harbour pavilion,” said master gardener and events coordinator Carole Warren. “It’s such a beautiful space, right next to the water, with lots of room for plants, people, and parking. And if it rains, we’ve got a roof.”
The theme this year is ‘Find your favourite plant’, appropriately named because this is the group’s biggest sale ever, with more than 1,500 plants and 120 varieties.
Warren admits it’s a “crazy idea” to build what’s essentially a pop-up nursery in just a couple of hours.
“That’s a big part of the challenge,” she said. “We’re always trying to improve the sale. Last year, we reorganized the set up to make unloading less chaotic and easier for people to find the plants they want. This year, we’ve tweaked things even more with better signage, consistent labelling, and a master list available both on the day and ahead of time on the GCMG website.”
Master Gardeners (MGs) are experienced gardeners who have studied horticulture extensively and continue to upgrade their skills through technical training. They share that knowledge as volunteers, offering presentations, advice clinics and workshops tailored to the home gardener. The plant sale raises funds to support projects, equipment, and the group’s winter seminar series.
For months now, members of GCMG have been hard at work, nurturing plants from seed, and taking the best from their own gardens to offer a wide variety of native, pollinator, and perennial plants including herbs. Growing, labelling and transporting more than fifteen hundred plants from across Grey and Bruce Counties to Meaford is a logistical challenge.
“People come back year after year because they know we’ll have a wide variety of healthy plants at very reasonable prices,” said Warren. “Because the plants we offer come from this area, with its particular climate, gardeners have more confidence that they’ll do well. And we’re there to offer advice on their choices, helping them find the right plant for the right place.”
This year, as usual, the sale includes the always popular Advice Clinic.
“It’s so much fun, but get there early,” said Warren. “There’s always a line up.”
Payment is cash or credit.
For more information and a sneak preview of the plants featured at the sale, please visit:
www.greycountymastergardeners.com
Facebook: greycountymastergardeners
Saturday, September 12, 9 a.m. to noon
Meaford Rotary Harbour Pavilion
