The 18th annual Master Gardener Plant Sale in Greene County will start at 7:30 a.m., Saturday, April 25, at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center located in Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Parks, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Mo.

Members of the Master Gardeners of Greene County gather plants to sell from their own gardens — and from the two city gardens that Master Gardeners maintain in Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park and at the Xeriscape on South National – at this sale.

“The quality is excellent and the prices are real bargains. Those factors have made this annual event very popular among area gardeners,” said Patrick Byers, a horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

People are advised to arrive early if they want the best choices of shrubs, small trees, bulbs, perennials, annuals, grasses, ground covers, houseplants, vegetables, herbs and garden related items. The sale continues until the plants are sold out.

“This is the 18th time we’ve done this sale, and each year we try to make the sale better than the preceding year,” said Catherine Banks, head of this year’s Plant Sale Committee. “Some Master Gardeners are getting ready to start Heirloom tomatoes seeds, pepper and herbs to be available for the sale. Some people divided plants from last autumn and are overwintering them. Other Master Gardeners are growing succulents, cacti and other small plants to plant in the papercrete pots that we made last fall. This spring we’ll begin to divide plants in our Demonstration and Xeriscape Gardens. We hope to have a huge variety for people to enjoy.”

Master Gardeners will be on site to assist with purchases and answer questions. Cash, checks and credit or debit cards are accepted.

The fundraiser helps the Master Gardeners of Greene County maintain the public demonstration gardens and serve the public by providing quality lawn and garden programs as volunteers of University of Missouri Extension.

Last year, members in the Master Gardeners of Greene County chapter gave more than 23,000 hours in volunteer service.

If you have questions or need more information about the sale in Greene County, contact the Greene County Extension Center at (417) 881-8909.

Keep watching this site for updates as we divide our gardens and pot the plants for the sale.

Our 2015 Annual Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2015, Rain or Shine. See you there!

Here are just a few of the plants that are waiting for you:

For your shade garden:
Hostas
Ferns
Coral Bells (Heuchera)
Lenten Roses (Hellebores)
Variegated Solomon’s Seal
Wild geraniums

For your sunny garden:
Coneflowers
Milkweed
Asters
Iris
Daylilies
Ornamental grasses
Sunflowers (Rudbeckia)

Vegetables and culinary herbs:
Heirloom tomatoes (partial list)
Black Krim
Sunrise Bumble Bee
Amish Paste
Yellow Pear Tomatoes
Paul Robeson
Cabbages
Peppers
Basil
Sage
Thyme
Parsley

Groundcovers

Shrubs