Save the Date! Spring Plant Sale is April 28, 2019

The Penn State Extension Philadelphia Master Gardeners will hold their 6th annual Garden Day and Plant Sale on Sunday, April 28 2019 from 10am - 2pm at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park!

 
We will be selling a wide variety of affordable seedlings and house plants, as well as herbs, vegetables and more than 25 varieties of tomatoes.

This event is more than just a plant sale. Penn State Extension Philadelphia Master Gardeners will host workshops and demonstrations throughout the day. There’s something for the entire family!

Scheduled workshops and demos include: 

Science in the Garden (ongoing; 10:00 am - 2:00 pm): Science in the Garden features hands-on activities related to climate change, science and the superpowers of plants.


ColorWheels Make & Take (10:00 am - 1:00 pm): Get on the ColorWheels bus! Children of all ages will enjoy this arts and crafts activity that connects the world of the garden to artistic expression.



Edible and Useful Flowers (10:15 am - 10:45 am): Join the Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) for a talk on the culinary and medicinal uses of the plants grown in their orchard. Take a guided tour at 11:00 am or 11:30 am, sample teas made from the fruit trees, and then check out the POP plant sale table.


Shake Up Your Salad! (sessions at 10:30 am and 11:15 am): Penn State Extension’s Nutrition Links Coordinator will demonstrate how easy it is to make a healthy, tasty and inexpensive salad. Taste the results yourself, and then visit the plant sale tables for ingredients to make your own.

Bugging Out! Know the Insects in Your Vegetable Garden (11:30 am - 12:15 pm): From pill bugs to mantids and butterflies to cabbage worms--share your insect pest management strategies and learn from others’ experiences too.


Indoor Plants: Beautiful, Beneficial, Sustainable (12:30 pm - 1:15 pm): Learn about the value of indoor houseplants! Have a plant you want more of? Bring it to the workshop—or purchase one at the plant sale—and learn how easy it is to propagate plants. We’ll provide the pots and soil.


Master Gardeners will also be available to answer all your gardening questions, and don’t forget to check out our Edible Landscape Garden and our Certified Pollinator Habitat Garden for inspiration when planning and designing your own home garden.

We hope to see you there! 


This event will be held rain or shine! For more information about the Penn State Extension Philadelphia Master Gardeners’ Garden Day & Plant Sale, visit https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/philadelphia/mggardendayplantsale2019

For directions and information about the Horticulture Center, visit https://myphillypark.org/explore/parks/fairmount-park-horticulture-center/

Philadelphia Master Gardener Pollinator Garden………..The most beautiful garden in the park

Michele K Koskinen


Fairmount park and photography go hand in hand if you know where to go.
The Pollinator Garden in the spring and summer along with the Japanese Tea House are favorites. The fall has it's own pleasures as the trees are turning, the squirrels are scrambling for acorns, the bees and other insects are preparing for the cooler weather, and everything is quieting down.

On one morning recently I saw a woman and her dog walking toward the garden and she looked as if she had visited before. I was curious to hear what she liked about the garden.

Hi "Could you tell me about this garden?"

She replied "It is the most beautiful and my favorite garden in the park to visit in the summer, really all year."

Her name is Vanessa A. Hunter and she is the President of the National Association of Professional Women King of Prussia Chapter. I introduced myself as a Master gardener and part of the organization that provides the public with the two gardens here at the Horticulture Center. We chatted a bit and I found that she visits on a regular basis and loves to come and have quiet time, watch the butterflies and walk around the park.









We also talked about the Food Forest and she was excited about the fig and fruit trees that were installed. Originally from New Orleans she said she had grown up with a fig tree in her back yard.
We talked about how she would pick the ripe ones before the birds ate them and then her family making jam and how she missed it.
I replied " it's a food forest maybe she could learn to make jam here in her new home".

The garden is a success and the team of Master Gardeners should be applauded.