Have you started on your annual quest for new and different plants for your garden and home landscape yet this year?
Normally, I have a collection of assorted new plants camped out in the mulch under my Japanese maple tree waiting to be planted. But I am behind in my hunt this year with only one small pot of volunteer coneflowers waiting to be planted.
I plan to remedy this lack of greenery starting soon at Chadwick Arboretum’s Spring Plant Sale and Auction Fundraiser.
Central Ohio’s largest multiday plant sale will be held May 8-10 on the OSU campus. This year will mark the 38th edition of this spectacular array of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs and garden supplies and services.
For me, this annual sale is also like a family reunion, where I visit with gardening experts and friends, some of whom I haven’t seen since we had dirt under our fingernails last spring. Gardening gossip and braggadocio are also sure to be found at this reunion!
Horticultural gem in Greater Columbus
Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens is a not-for-profit organization which operates 60 acres of urban gardens and green reserve on the campus of the Ohio State University, with more than 2,000 different ornamental plants including trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, wildflowers, ferns, aquatic plants and ornamental grasses.
The arboretum includes formal gardens and wild areas including a large pond featuring fish and other aquatic life.
Funds raised through the plant sale and auction fundraiser provide support for student horticultural organizations, research, educational programming and operations of the arboretum.
Visiting Chadwick Arboretum is free to the public at all times, although there is a fee for parking on campus while visiting the arboretum. Bike to the arboretum and you will avoid the parking fee.
Chadwick Arboretum is truly a horticultural gem and a green oasis on one of the largest and busiest urban university campuses in the United States.
Plants galore
At the sale, gardeners will find 16,500 new, unusual and proven reliable, edible and ornamental plants, as well as a variety of garden planters and a garden tool-sharpening service.
All plants offered at the sale have been chosen to be of the highest quality with the most successful growth potential for specific growing conditions we experience in Greater Columbus.
The sale will include a diverse selection of flowering perennials and annuals, vegetables, herbs, colorful hanging baskets, shrubs and trees.
Several pollinator and native plants will be featured at the sale, and both empty and planted hypertufa planters will be available for purchase, along with decorative painted pots created by Chadwick’s horticultural therapy program.
Live and silent auctions
An exciting live auction of trees and shrubs will be offered on May 8 at 7 pm., on May 9 at 4 p.m. and on May 10 at 10 a.m. At these auctions, you can bid on unique and unusual trees and shrubs from nurseries throughout Ohio.
A silent auction of curated selections of unique tropical plants, gardening books and other items will take place on May 8 and 9.
Preview party for members
Members of Chadwick Arboretum will get the first opportunity to purchase discounted plants at the sale during the Friends of Chadwick Preview on May 8 from 4 to 8 p.m.
The gala will include a live auction and a reception with gourmet food and entertainment. Chadwick Arboretum memberships can be purchased at the sale entrance on the evening of the event.
Learn from plant experts
If you are looking for advice about which specific plants are best for your home landscape or garden, or why your purchases at last year’s sale aren’t thriving, plenty of plant experts will be on hand at the sale.
These experts can help you choose the most appropriate plants for your location based on your personal gardening interests, as well as address plant health issues you may be experiencing in your garden or home landscape.
Plant ambassadors will be stationed throughout the sale grounds to answer questions you may have about specific plants. OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers will also be at the sale to help you select the perfect plants to take home and will offer advice to help you have seasonlong success with the plants you choose.
Free educational resources on many different gardening topics from growing sunflowers to choosing plants which support pollinators will be available at the Ask a Master Gardener booth at the sale.
A learning lab at the sale will feature short educational presentations on May 8 and 9. Plant experts will offer programs on topics such as herb gardening, soil testing, growing pawpaw trees and others.
Support students
In addition to supporting operations of the horticultural gem that is Chadwick Arboretum, shopping at the sale is a great way to support horticulture student groups in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at OSU.
The OSU Crops and Soils Club will have an amazing selection of peppers and tomatoes at the sale. The Entomology and Plant Pathology Graduate Student groups will have a plethora of native plants which are sure to please the pollinators in your garden and home landscape.
Supporting these student groups will help to prepare the next generation of horticulturalists and environmental leaders.
If you plan to go
The sale will be open to the public on May 9 from noon to 6 p.m. and on May 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the northwest corner of Lane Avenue and Fred Taylor Drive, across from the Schottenstein Center on the OSU campus. Free parking is available in OSU Gray lots 1 and 2.
Food trucks featuring breakfast and lunch selections will be available at the sale, which is cashless, with only debit and credit cards accepted for purchase of all items at the sale. Restroom facilities will be available onsite.
Annual membership to Chadwick Arboretum is $40 per year and includes educational events throughout the year, discounts at 11 central Ohio garden centers and free or discounted entrance at American Horticultural Society Public Gardens throughout the U.S. Memberships can be purchased at the plant sale or by visiting chadwickarboretum.osu.edu.
The Chadwick Arboretum Spring Plant Sale and Auction is planned and operated entirely by Chadwick Arboretum volunteers and OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers. Last year, volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours making the sale successful.
For more information, visit go.osu.edu/springplantsale.
Mike Hogan is Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources and associate professor with Ohio State University Extension.
hogan.1@osu.edu
This article originally appeared on Farmers Advance: Dive into greenery at Chadwick Arboretum’s Spring Plant Sale and Auction
Reporting by Mike Hogan / Farmers Advance
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
