The Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County kicked off its annual Mother’s Day weekend sale on Saturday morning, and sunny skies brought an army of gardeners to the 78th Street Heritage Farm in Hazel Dell.
“It’s been incredible. The county has come out in droves,” said volunteer Nancy Funk, who serves on the foundation’s board of directors.
There was no official count yet as of Saturday afternoon, but multiple volunteers staffing the event said the morning crowd appeared to be record-breaking. The temperature was predicted to rise to almost 90 degrees in the afternoon, which they said likely pushed more visitors to make the trip earlier in the day.
“The first year we were here, it was rainy – and the weather has a huge effect on who turns out,” said vendor Eve Hanlin. People began arriving at 7 a.m., she said, two hours before the event was scheduled to begin. Multiple volunteers described a line that stretched through the entire length of the site and beyond for the first hour.
If You Go
•Who: Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County.
• What: Mother’s Day Weekend Plant Sale.
• When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
• Where: 78th Street Heritage Farm, 1919 N.E. 78th St., Vancouver.
• Cost: Entry and parking are free.
Many of the buyers said they came with specific lists of plants to buy, but ended up filling their carts and wagons with several other finds, as well. Vancouver resident Laurie Smith said she was looking for perennials, and wanted to find a colorful array of plants.
“I moved into a new home and I’ve got all kinds of things to plant,” she said.
The two-day sale is held each year as a fundraiser for the Washington State University Master Gardener Program, with proceeds going to program projects and horticulture education, as well as foundation grants for Clark County’s health food growing program as well as a variety of smaller garden projects.
As usual, this year’s sale offered a wide-ranging selection sure to spark the imagination of any gardener, with items including perennials and annuals, vegetables and herbs, trees and shrubs plus houseplants, hanging baskets and mixed flower pots.
“I had no idea it was this big,” said Ann McClintock, who said she came looking for container plants, perennials and supplies for a garden for her daughter.
The heritage farm includes a dozen greenhouses, and they’ve been busy for the past few months growing plants for the event. Every greenhouse started out the day lined with tables each completely covered with rows of plants, and more plants in boxes underneath — plus additional pallets of plants arranged in grids in the spaces between the greenhouses.
“A lot of this, they grow here (at the Heritage Farm),” Funk said. “Everything that we’re selling, we’ve grown.”
But even with so many plants on hand, the morning rush quickly put a dent in the supply. In the tomato section, volunteer Julie Bruning said her team started the morning with approximately 5,000 tomato plants in their tent, and were down to around 900 by the early afternoon.
This year, the volunteers encouraged buyers to check out grafted tomatoes, according to volunteer Sharon Kenoski. The specialized plants are hybrids with roots from one kind of tomato and a plant from another, which have been joined together at the base of the stem to create a new plant that’s both more resistant to disease and more resilient in the face of harsh weather.
“It’s really intensive work, but it’s worth it,” she said.
Volunteers weren’t expecting the same crowd level on Sunday morning, Funk said, so the remaining plant supplies will likely last through the end of the sale at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
