By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great local journalism.
Annual sale grows in popularity
gardeners WEB 1
Leslie Anderson, left, purchases a handful of items from Stephanie Mills during the Master Gardeners’ annual spring plant sale. - photo by Autumn Vetter
Elaine Kelley felt a welcoming atmosphere from the moment she entered the Forsyth County Master Gardeners’ annual spring plant sale.“It’s been wonderful,” said Kelley, owner of the Potting Shed Nursery. “Plant people are happy people.”The big red barn at the Cumming Fairgrounds buzzed with excitement in the sale’s first year at the venue.Also a first, the gardeners group expanded the sale from one day to two and welcomed vendors to join in.Member Helen Benson said the sale attracted a large, steady flow of people on both Friday and Saturday.Aside from “a huge variety” of plants for sale, the event also featured hourly classes and a booth to ask a Master Gardener a question or sign up for a yard visit, Benson said.Proceeds from the annual event fund group projects throughout the year, including public gardens and educational opportunities for children and adults, gardener Jackie Grote said.“Everybody found something [at the sale],” Grote said, “whether it was a tomato plant or a 6-foot tall weeping willow.”Browsing through canned jellies and more, Virginia Dean said she had her eye on a Japanese maple.“I just love to be around plants,” she said.Kelley said she’d sold many perennials and shrubs on the opening day Friday, which she added was one of the busiest she’s seen at a plant show.A Hall County Master Gardener, Kelley was excited at the chance for vendors to participate in the Forsyth sale.“I already knew the quality of the work they do,” she said.