By Taylor Boyd
The Patrick County Master Gardeners’ Association Spring Plant Sale will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 25, at the Rotary Building on Woodland Drive in Stuart.
Ginnie Conaway, chairman of the plant sale, said the event, which has been held for more than 20 years, is the group’s largest fundraiser.
While the group’s native plant sale is held in the fall, Conaway said the spring sale offers a wider variety of items, including vegetable starts, perennial and annual flowers, shrubs, iris, daylilies and more.
“I know one gal’s doing 16 varieties of tomatoes to bring. We’ll have lots of herbs and things that are harder to find in Wal-Mart. We try to grow a lot of the plants that we bring,” she said.
In addition to plants grown and donated by members, Conaway said the Patrick County High School horticulture department also contributes plants to the sale.
Most plants will cost between $2 and $4.
Although the group has never counted attendance, Conaway said people often begin lining up more than an hour before the doors open at 8 a.m.
“It’s like Black Friday at Macy’s, it’s crazy. It’s a madhouse, but in a wonderful way. I mean the energy is amazing. The people are laughing and even though they’re all crowded around the sale tables, they are doing it in a joyful way, and a sense of community is achieved,” she said.
Conaway estimates that about 80 percent of the plants are sold within the first two hours.
“Pickings get real slim towards noon,” she said, adding that while it is “a good problem to have,” she still feels bad when “people are all expecting late in the sale and there’s not much left.”
Proceeds from the sale will be returned to the community through grants.
“Residents of Patrick County can apply for things such as building raised beds, starting vegetable gardens, and food security. We do not keep any of this,” she said.
Conaway also noted that the organization’s 2026 grant application period has closed, but the next cycle will open in January.
Any plants left over from the sale will be sold the following Friday at the Stuart Farmers’ Market at a discounted price.
Conaway said shrubs, peonies, vegetable sets and native perennials are typically the first items to sell out.
An information table will be manned with gardeners available to answer gardening questions.
“We have floaters to answer questions and direct people to specific plants. We have a line wrangler to help” people through the line and to their cars with their purchases.
WHEO also will broadcast live from the sale.
Cash and checks will be accepted; credit cards will not.
For more information, visit the Patrick County Master Gardeners page on Facebook or email pcmgassn@gmail.com.
