Master Gardeners to host annual plant sale

Spring has come once again, and that means getting outside and going green.

For the Shoals Master Gardeners, spring means hosting the group’s annual plant sale.

According to Linda Brewer with the master gardeners, the sale is held once a year at the Florence-Lauderdale Farmers Market and has been going on for about eight years now.

This year’s event will be Friday, April 26, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, April 27, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The farmers market is located at 451 Fairground Road in Florence near the intersection of Cox Creek Parkway and Chisolm Road.

“We will have a large variety of plants like perennials, annuals, vegetables and more,” Brewer said. “Most of the plants have been ‘rescued’ from master gardener backyards or friends of ours.”

On top of the plant sale, this year the Shoals Master Gardeners are hosting a series of seminars called Garden Talks on Saturday.

These will cover a range of topics all related to gardening.

At 9:30 a.m. will be oakleaf hydrangea, 10 a.m. growing blueberries, 11 a.m. house plant propagation, at noon seed starting and at 12:30 p.m. raised beds.

There will also be a raffle for a 4-foot by 8-foot raised bed as well as tool sharpening available for customers.

“We use the funds we raise during the sale to do projects around the community,” Brewer said. “In Colbert County, we have helped with pruning and mulching at the Muscle Shoals library and pruning at the courthouse. We also provide some scholarships to UNA, Northwest Shoals and Auburn to students going into outdoor-related fields.”

The master gardeners program is in conjunction with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. For more information, visit the Shoals Master Gardeners Facebook page.