It’s spring and the plants are calling.
“Wennndy…,” they say, “come buy us. Look how fresh and fluffy we are. Look how pretty. We died on you last time, but this year it will be different. We won’t run all over the garden and strangle the heather; we won’t reseed by the millions in the hellebore bed; we won’t grow into huge, life-sucking blobs that hog the sunlight and starve the miscanthus. Come buy us.”
Ha! I don’t need you, plants. My garden is complete without you: my sweet peas are swell; my bleeding heart robustly defibrillated. Who says I need you?
OK, fine. I’ll take a look. Well, hello, Aarisaema griffithii var pradhanii. Where have you been all my life?
You see how spring can get expensive. Fortunately, I know how to subdue the sticker shock. The secret is four little words that make the difference between $$ and $$$.
Garden club plant sales.
Give this girl some room. Don’t make me body-check you between the herbs and the houseplants. That dogwood is mine. I have my flat-bottomed plastic tote in my hand and a backup shopping bag in my back pocket. My garden clogs are on and I WILL step on toes. Plant sales aren’t just about plants; they’re about adventure. I am here to win.
On any other day, I’m a fairly non-competitive person. Sports … meh. Climbing the corporate ladder … not going to happen. I’d much rather work with you than against you. But on plant sale days, my inner Attila takes over. The ninja pulls down her hood and plans her attack. The rope drops, the door opens, and I storm the beach waving cash and screaming “oorah!” I’m not proud of it, but I accept it — and I do it well.
If you are inspired to join the quest, know that North Kitsap has four main garden club sales: Kingston, Hansville, Poulsbo, and (perhaps) Indianola. I say “perhaps” because the Indianola sale is the Xanadu of local events; it is ethereal and mysterious, and those who stumble upon it find a pleasure dome of shade-loving plants and other spots of greenery. One never knows if or when this sale will happen; it’s a secret on par with the business plan of the ex-foot ferry. Legend says that it sometimes appears on the last Saturday of April in conjunction with the flea market at the Indianola Clubhouse. But that is all we know.
The other three sales are more calendar-dependent. This year, the Kingston sale is May 4, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Kingston Community Center. The Poulsbo sale is the same day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at James Lumber in the Poulsbo Junction. If we hurry, we can catch them both.
Hansville’s Flotsam and Jetsam sale is the following Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to noon, at the clubhouse at Buck Lake. This crowd-pleaser has plants outdoors, and homemade baked goods, houseplants and flower arrangements indoors. It’s the day before Mother’s Day, so you can tell Mom you baked, arranged or grew it yourself. Better yet, show her your bruises and tell her you EARNED her present this year.
— Besides being the Indiana Jones of plant sales, Wendy is an award-winning writer and generally mild-mannered resident of Kingston. Contact her at wendy@wendytweten.com.
