Asheville – The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation is pleased to announce that the 71st Annual Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Year after year, the Garden Club members have planted a wide variety of seeds in the Club’s greenhouse. They grow them to offer unusal varieties of hard-to-find plants at their annual plant sale. In addition, numerous local vendors will be at this plant sale to offer unusual plants and garden items. Some come from quite a distance to be present.
The sale is held on the grounds of Clem’s Cabin, located at 1000 Hendersonville Road, south of Biltmore Village, with easy parking. Anyone who is passionate about plants or simply wants to learn more about gardening is encouraged to attend. The event will be held rain or shine. Here amongst friends and family, a visitor will be able to enjoy an afternoon of shopping,learning more about horticulture, and visiting with neighbors and friends.
Celebrating pollinators on Earth Day in 2023 is the theme this year. As most of us are aware, the plight of pollinators must be taken seriously by any gardener. Small changes in a gardener’s customary habits can make a big difference to the survival of a pollinator.
Are you aware that just leaving the fallen leaves and not taking them away supports pollinators? It can also help the earth. Don’t just put them in a plastic bag and haul them away. A majority of butterfly and moth species in temperate climates seek refuge among fallen leaves during the winter months. Planting your garden so it will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds is of the utmost importance to the pollinator’s future. Native plants, particularly native milkweeds and bee balms, are of utmost importance. Did you know that pollinators are directly responsible for one-third of all the food that humans consume?
Many of the Garden Club members have been working for months, planting seeds, transplanting them, and attending workshops to prepare them to be ready in time for this plant sale. They have planted annuals, perennials, vegetables, and herbs in the greenhouse—zinnias in Apricot Blush (a salmon color) or the Queen Lime Peach varieties, blackberry lilies, eggplant, tomatoes (Cherokee purple), sage, basil (dark opal), milkweed (Balloon variety with white blossoms),bee balm, and many others. It is a labor of love with well over 800 seedlings grown by members. The proceeds from this plant sale contribute to the club’s horticulture scholarships given to students.
For this sale, the club partners with a number of local growers and businesses, who bring an outstanding selection. Sandy Mush Herb Nursery has been collecting, propagating, and selling herbs, perennials, wildflowers, and other plants native to western North Carolina. Coming from their tucked-away spot in the mountains in Leicester, they will once again be at the plant sale with many heavenly herbs and some extraordinary wild native plants. Sandy Mush Herb Nursery is one of the French Broad’s longest-running vendors at the Plant Sale!
Tom Ross of High Country Nursery in Fairview, NC, who specializes in fine and unusual landscape plants and trees, will be there, bringing fine ornamental trees and plants. Pat Sommers of Natural Selections Nursery in Weaverville will be bringing herbaceous perennials and ferns of the Southern Appalachians grown from seed, spore, cuttings, or divisions. The nursery produces only species plants and does not grow named cultivars or hybrids.
Other events will be held throughout the day. Garden treasures are being offered. One should be able to find some unusual containers, botanic prints, trays, bird houses, or any item appropriate for the garden. These are “curated” garden accessories donated by Garden Club members. In addition, you will find wrought iron pieces from Wesley Angel’s Newfound Forge. So many of his beautifully welded pieces would add to your garden’s aesthetic. In the afternoon, talented musicians from the Asheville Ukulele Society are donating their time from 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. to add to the visitors’ enjoyment while shopping.
The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation
The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation plant sale has been a community event for many years. This plant sale supports horticulture and conservation by providing scholarships that include students at Warren Wilson, Haywood Community College, Mars Hill, UNCA and others. At this event, 100% of club proceeds and donations are awarded to these local students studying the environment and horticulture. Each February, these scholarship recipients join the Club’s monthly meeting to report on their scholastic activities and their vision for their future careers. Over the past five years,the French Broad River Garden Club Foundation has awarded more than $15,000 in scholarships to local students.
The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation (FBRGCF), located in Asheville, North Carolina, was chartered in 1927 and admitted to the Garden Club of America in 1930. The Garden Club is committed to promoting the conservation, development, and intelligent use of the natural resources of North Carolina and elsewhere. FBRGCF welcomes visitors to tour their gardens at Clem’s Cabin at 1000 Hendersonville Road in Asheville. The gardens are managed and maintained by the club members. The French Broad River Garden Club has a limited amount of funding available to support horticultural or conservation projects or education in the community. Applications for a project are due on May 1st. Do plan to come to the annual plant sale on Saturday, April 22, to support the members in their efforts. You will be able to find some beautiful and unusual plants that are difficult to find elsewhere and will be a showpiece in your garden.