6/15 Green Plant Sale

The Plant Sale is coming. Details below--hope to see you there!

Calling all garden members--Volunteers needed

We can definitely use your help making the Plant Sale both fun and profitable for the garden.

The following message is from Jessica regarding the garden plant sale.  Please reach out to her if you have any questions (bklyn.nighthawk@gmail.com) or sign up directly in the spot below.  

As you know, the Plant Sale is one of the major fund-raising events for the garden.  But, it's also really a lot of fun for everyone who helps out.  You'll get to talk with friends and neighbors who are visiting the garden, get to play with lots of cool plants and get to feel really good about helping raise some moooolah to cover garden expenses.

The Plant Sale will be on two weekends:

Saturday, May 7th & Sunday May 8th (Mother's Day)  from 11-3

Saturday, May 14th (during the Spring Festival) & Sunday May 15th from 11-3

We really need some help during each of those days and during setup and breakdown time.

Here's a link to a Google chart with all the time slots for the Sale Days:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZkifmHaDMn0zWS2eMetI5rc6QaFyaiB68EQZzsuHFF8/edit#gid=0

You should be able to enter your info right into the chart.

Please consider lending a hand, even if it's only for an hour or so (well, you know that the more time you can spare, the better, though).  We need several folks to pitch in for each time shift.

We really need YOU to make this a great success!

Thanks, everyone!

Spring Festival and Plant Sale

It's that time of year again--and one of the best times of year in the garden.  It's the annual plant sale and spring festival.  Mother's Day Weekend.  Hope to see you all there!  

Getting Ready for the Plant Sale

It was a beautiful day at the garden on Sunday and a perfect day to start preparing for the upcoming plant sale.  I found Ramona working hard potting plants and snapped a few pictures for the blog (including one with a very special guest--my daughter Diora!).  The team already has several great plants ready to go!  Thanks for the hard work.

Cherry Blossoms

I stopped by the garden recently and our cherry tree was in full bloom--it was an absolutely perfect day for the tree.  Good thing I took this photo--when I was at the garden on Sunday, all the blossoms were already gone.  Just a reminder of how beautiful--and fast--spring tends to be.  

Garden Fundraiser

Would you like to buy flowers for the garden and help the garden at the same time?  Garden members Valerie DiClerico and Jeanne Lurvey set up a fundraising website that makes it easy to buy great flowers for the garden and 50% of all money goes directly to benefit the garden.  I interviewed Valerie to learn more about the fundraiser and what inspired her to do this to support our wonderful garden.  Check out: http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=22800 and the other links below—and make sure you share it with everyone you know who is looking for great flowers.

Q: What inspired you to start the Flower Power Fundraiser?  Who is involved in this project?

A: This is the second time we've run the Flower Power Fundraiser. The former fundraising co-coordinator and I launched the first campaign in 2014 on the recommendation of a member. Sheila suggested we try it again. Jeanne Lurvey and I are coordinating the fundraiser this year.

Q: How does the fundraiser work and how does it benefit the garden?

A: It's very simple! We have our own 6/15 Green Flower Power campaign website. Anyone can order directly from the page, and can share with friends and family. Your order will be shipped directly to you. The garden doesn't have to invest any money upfront or hold any inventory, but we get 50% of the profits from all sales. The more we share and spread the word, the more the garden with benefit! 

Q: What kinds of flowers are available?

A: There are about 40 different types of flowers available, along with some edible plants, like sprouts and berries. Some of my favorites are the crocosmia lucifer (very intense red), the bleeding heart (beautiful, unusual shape), and the sunflower collection.

Q: How long does the fundraiser last? What are your goals for the fundraiser? (anything beyond just raising money?)

A: The fundraiser runs through May 1st. Our goal is to raise $1000 (maybe a little ambitious)! :) More than the money, I'd personally like to see more people get involved and spread the word. Over the past few years, I've seen a decline in garden member participation in fundraising activities. It would be nice to know the work we do isn't in vain.

Q: If people order from the site, what should they expect? How long does it take to receive your flowers?

A: It's just like ordering from any website - you enter your own payment and shipping details at checkout. If sending as a gift, you can ship directly to the recipient. I'm not sure of the exact ship time. I'm still waiting for my order. Last time, I believe it was a week or two.

Q: How long have you been a member of the garden?  What's one of your most favorite memories of the garden?

A: I've been a member since 2011. One of my favorite memories was from that summer. We had a meeting in the garden, followed by a potluck. A bunch of us stayed in the garden for hours after, chatting and sipping wine. It was such a great feeling of community!

Q: Anything else you'd like to add about the fundraiser or the garden?

A: We can't reach our fundraising goal without member participation! It's super easy to participate just by sharing our 6/15 Green Flower Power campaign website through email and social media.

Circle of Life

Thanks to Anahit Gaskill for sending these amazing photos of the garden--the first one taken in December and the second one taken last weekend.  It's it amazing to see the changes in the garden throughout the seasons!  

Rainy day open hours

Well I didn't pick such a good day for my first open hours this year. But I will say this. It's my first rainy open hours sine the greenhouse was moved to the front of the garden and it makes a very cozy--and dry!--place to shelter. I remember a couple rough rainy open hours getting soaked under the willow tree so I'm very happy to be able to stay dry an still keep the garden open.