Mother’s Day plant sale draws those who nurture gardens

The 79-acre Heritage Farm, the one-time county poor farm, is home to 84 plots for gardeners who pay $60 for their 20-by-20 foot piece of land; 7 acres tilled by the Clark County Food Bank and its supporters; 3 acres the Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County uses to grow certified organic vegetables; and nine greenhouses, where the tending of plants goes on year-round. The foundation also grows heritage seedlings for the Fort Vancouver garden. Varieties were all grown back in 1840 at the fort. In addition, the WSU Cooperative Extension-Clark County will move its offices into the big white house later this month.

The Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County supports many activities, including:

Master Gardener program, with about 350 trained volunteers who provide advice.

School garden programs at Hazel Dell and Harney elementary schools.

4-H gardening programs that provide fresh produce for the North County Food Bank.

A Clark College scholarship to a student in horticulture or a related field.

The Fort Vancouver Period Garden.

Clark County Fair floral exhibit.

Clark County Fair children’s corner.

Plants for women and children in the YWCA safe housing program.

Trees donated to Clark County Parks and Recreation Department.

Victory gardens.

Master Gardener Foundation

Heritage Farm

HAZEL DELL — With a wagonload of plants, Bessie Schubert of Felida looked pleased on Mother’s Day at the Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County sale.

“We’ve got some purple asters and candytuft,” she said, cradling 11-month-old Jack in her arms. Dan, her husband, was there, too, along with 2 1/2 -year-old Leona.

“We got some basil because we make a lot of Italian food,” Schubert continued. “We have some butternut squash and some zucchini. I’m in charge of the garden this year.”

Asked how she knew of the big sale at the Heritage Farm on Hazel Dell’s 78th Street, Schubert said, “My mother-in-law and her girlfriend told us about it. It’s awesome.”

So awesome, in fact, that the sale did $22,500 of business Saturday, and the take was expected to hit $30,000 for the weekend sale.

Rain and mud puddles did not dampen the spirits of the gardeners.

“Plant people are hardy people,” said Karen Palmer of the Master Gardener Foundation, which boasts about 150 volunteers.

Plant sale coordinator Nancy Funk looked at a shelf of tomatoes at 1:30 p.m. and said, “This is what’s left of 4,107 tomato plants. (It is) maybe 100 (plants).”

The foundation works year-round to grow thousands of plants and support foundation activities. It has eight greenhouses full of plants at the farm. When summer comes, it will open a ninth.

Foundation members plant 19,000 seeds as early as January. Besides the thousands of tomato plants, the sale offered 1,000 pepper plants, 600 cucumber plants, several thousand annuals and more than 2,000 perennials.

Saturday, you’ll find foundation members planting flowers in the Interstate 5 “Welcome to Washington” sign near Fourth Plain Boulevard. This year’s theme is a Washington apple, and it will take 2,300 plants, Funk said. The arrangement will have white petunias, bronze leaf begonias (red), red salvia, white alyssum, parsley and thyme. The Washington State Department of Transportation will pay for the flowers, but the volunteers charge nothing for their artistic effort.

Funk said avid gardeners like the foundation sale because prices are about half of what you’d find at big-box and garden stores.

“Every year, the sale gets bigger,” said foundation member Marie Ogier.

She estimated more than 2,000 people came over the weekend and the grassy parking area had turned to mud Sunday afternoon.

“I like this sale. People are laid-back,” said vendor Craig Merlo of St. Helens, Ore., who was selling wood trellises, benches and other wood products.

Jessica Ramberg of Vancouver was there with her 4-year-old daughter, Rainy, who said she also goes by Daphne.

“We’re going to make a hanging tomato basket for my mom,” Jessica said. Her tomato variety bears the name “Tumbling Toms.”

The foundation sale is more than 16 yearsold, said volunteer Wayne Chandler, a past president of the foundation. And the offerings ranged from marigold starts to trees, both fruit and ornamental.