Spring gardening fever: Friends School plant sale

Submitted by Grace Kelly, 4/23/08 • MN Blue • Just like the Girl Scout Cookies sale tops all other cookie sales, so does the Friends School Plant Sale top all other plant sales. Yes, this is a typical shopping cart of what people use to stack plants being purchased at the Friends School Plant Sale. Why? These are the plants that you don’t find elsewhere – shade, perennial, native, unusual, low price plants from local growers using sustainable practices. Best of all, the profits go to scholarships (82% non-Quaker) for the Friends school. So a plant sale does belong in a political blog when it is for a good social cause, moves into green sustainable practices and is really fun.

Republished from MN Blue

The Friends School Plant Sale only lasts for three days, May 9-11. The sale is held in the State Fair’s Grandstand Building, with a brightly lit indoor space and indoor bathrooms! Free parking is available anywhere on the Fairgrounds. Admission is also free.

Over 1,900 varieties of plants are offered for sale, however the most popular items might sell out within the first few hours. Over the years, the sale volunteers are now experienced enough, to anticipate and restock the most likely to be popular plants. The costs are kept low by selling small plants. So while I will not take a risk on one ten dollar plant, I will take a risk on five different small two dollar plants. So most people go early to take advantage of the best selection. The other strategy is to go on half price Sunday, to get the best deals.

St Paul is the city of trees, which I love. However between trees, buildings and fences, there is a lot of shade. However with shade perennials, suddenly I can have flower gardens and trees. This lungwort has a beautiful striking appearance even when not in bloom. And if you love this flower, then start a Friends School Plant Sale list: “P 474 Lungwort (Pulmonaria ‘Gaelic Magic’)- $6” which will be found alphabetically at the garden sale under L in the section “Garden Perennials”. My most successful shade plant has been the Columbine. Once, I bought one of each of all shade perennials under 2 feet, in my favorite colors, blue and burgundy, and then just watched to see what grew.

That’s how I found out about micro-climates. Right next to the house, I have a high shade somewhat dry line for flowers. I have an under the water drain area that only has rocks. In front, I have a moist woodland area. Every 6 inches out from the house, a different set of plants will grow.

There is one way for beginning gardeners to one up the neighborhood snobbish gardeners, and that is by finding a exotic showy plant that is not too hard to grow like the “Star Trek Rose” Cockscomb. Other unusual plants to consider are Lion’s Ears or Living Stones.

My tips for shopping the sale:

• Use the small, newspaper-like plant sale guide available in St Paul places like grocery coops to make a wish list, note plant locations.

• Bring the wish list, a cart with stackable boxes, and a friend .

• If you are using the early strategy, you and your friends, should arrive long before the opening time of 11AM and get a numbered wristband. Then go have breakfast at local restaurant and come back at 10:30. Expect lines to go in and to check out. Bringing a friend is the best way to handle waiting in line.

• If you use the Sunday half price strategy, then lines are usually not so bad. Be much more flexible in the wish list.

• Talk to the master gardeners for amazing great free advice.

• Once you have your wish list, check out using “compost tea” instead of chemicals. Also check out rain barrels and rain gardens. Some of the best green practices are featured here.

Squirrels & Rabbits: In my area of St Paul every bulb has to be planted wrapped in chicken wire, or the squirrels dig them up. Fertilizer discourages squirrels. Rabbits have totally eaten all lettuce, peapods and corn, unless those plants are grown in a chicken wire cage (which my husband finds very funny). Tomato plants are left alone because the green part of the tomato plant is poisonous.

Planting tips: Plant in sets of threes, so there a noticeable number of plants. Place a cup of water in each planting hole before adding the plant. Try to not to plant in the direct heat of the day. If something dies later, fill in with something easy and cheap to find, like Marigolds (tee hee).

So take some risks, and have some fun planting something new and wonderful from the Friends School Plant Sale.