by Connie Oswald Stofko
For gardeners, one of the joys of winter is planning for spring!
Start your planning now with the Great Plant Sale from the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.
Not only can you browse through the selections now, you can order now before anything is sold out. Pick up your plants on May 19 or 20. (The sale will be online only this year.)
Joe Mannion, director of horticulture, noted that the Botanical Gardens has contracted Amos Zittel & Sons farm in Eden to do the growing this year.
“The quality is going to be amazing,” Mannion said. “They’re professional. All they do is grow plants, so they can give it 100 percent of their time.”
Another advantage is that Amos Zittel & Sons has a large nursery with more growing space than the Botanical Gardens has.
In addition, having the farm grow the plants allows more time for the horticultural staff to tend to the plants in the Botanical Gardens’ collection.
“We want to spend more time in the conservatory,” Mannion said.
Below are just three of the plants you will find in the sale.
I’m proud to say that Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com is a sponsor of the Great Plant Sale!
English lavender
Many gardeners want to attract bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators, Mannion said, and, although it’s not a native plant, lavender does attract bees and hummingbirds. The Great Plant Sale offers Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’, a perennial.
Many gardeners like this plant for its scent; you can use it in essential oils. Plant it in groups, rock gardens and borders.
“There are so many uses,” he said.
Lavender ‘Munstead’ likes full sun.
Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’
‘Mystic Spires’, an annual salvia, does something perennial salvias don’t do: It blooms most of the summer. (Specifically, it’s Salvia longispicata x farinacea.)
You can plant it in the ground or in pots. It grows 18-24 inches tall, so it can be your “thriller” in a container.
You won’t have to worry about daily watering; ‘Mystic Spires’ is drought tolerant. It likes full sun.
Coleus
From August to November last year, visitors to the Botanical Gardens were wowed by the Coleus & Creatures exhibit. And visitors kept asking one question: Where can I buy these coleus plants?
The Botanical Gardens is answering that question now by offering coleus in the Great Plant Sale. In the sale, the coleus is offered by color rather than species. There is a discount for purchasing in quantities of six or more.
Tip: Rather than planting a single coleus, group the plants together, Mannion said.
“I like to group coleus in threes and fives,” he said. “It’s a burst of color.”
Hi Gary, thanks for sharing.
Looking forward to BG plant sale .Each year Amos Zittel & Sons along with other Eden Valley growers and Eden Garden Study Club helps the Town of Eden Recreation Department by growing and nurturing 70 hanging baskets placed throughout town. They also order plants for the baskets and an additional 60 on the ground planters placed throughout town. 1,026 plants total. The Eden Central School Districts allows the Garden Club to use their greenhouse for some of the project as well.