4 reasons to buy plants from Master Gardeners

If the beginning of spring has you thinking about planting vegetables, filling pots with flowers and greenery, setting out herbs and wondering if this will be the year that you get serious about the yard, here’s a bit of good news.

On Saturday, April 25, the Richland County Master Gardeners Association will hold its annual plant sale. There are a lot of places around town to purchase plants; here are four reasons why you should get yours from the Master Gardeners.

▪ The plants you buy will be super healthy. After all, they’ve been cared for by people who know almost everything there is to know about plants

▪  You won’t be purchasing your plants in a vacuum. Master gardeners will be on hand to tell you where it will thrive, how to care for it and what to do if it gets sick.

▪  Since many of the plants for sale are grown from heirloom seeds saved from last year or were propagated from old-fashioned varietals growing in non-commercial gardens, you’ll be able to purchase plants that aren’t available anywhere else. Expect to find heirloom tomatoes, rare iris, Shasta daisies (classic with, yellow-button middles), ginger and cannas, which have big, bright flowers that resemble lilies atop tall stalks.

▪  You’ll be supporting the Richland County Master Gardeners, who provide programs including Ask-a-Master Gardener, Carolina Children’s Garden and Clemson Fall Festival.

The plant sale will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Clemson Extension Research and Education Center, 900 Clemson Road, Columbia. In addition to plants, books, garden tools and yard art will be for sale. For more information, visit richlandmastergardeners.com.

Katie McElveen, Special to The State

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "4 reasons to buy plants from Master Gardeners."