Our Most Important Funding Event of the Year
Our Mission is to financially support the Pierce County Master Gardeners through innovative fundraising and sound financial management, now and for the future. The funding for many of the Programs you enjoy comes from our Annual Plant Sale. From free Youth Gardening Classes, to Demonstration Gardens, to Answer Clinics and Speakers Bureau presentations, Community Garden Grants and more. Most of the funds required to offer those programs comes from the proceeds we earn in our Annual Plant Sale, held on the last weekend in April. Thank you for your support of this event.
And… We’re off!
That’s right, the work to pull off the Annual Plant Sale is eight months in the making. You didn’t think all those plants grew themselves, did you? Well, OK, they do grow themselves. BUT, someone needs to select and plant the seeds, divide and pot the perennials, provide soil, light, water, labeling and on and on. Read on to learn some more about the effort that goes into creating a Pop-up Nursery for just one weekend per year.
We begin by growing as many sale plants as we can
Starting thousands of plants from seeds, cuttings and divisions
Right after the Labor Day Weekend, our volunteers labors begin for the next year’s plant sale. We have three teams that swing into action, one after the other. First up is our Propagation Team. They produce about 3,000 plants and are especially known for their wide selection of fuchsias, begonias, fancy geraniums and specialty plants. They are followed by our Donated Plants Team which emphasizes a wide variety of perennials and grasses that perform well in the sun or shade as well as Pacific Northwest natives. And then, of course, comes the Tomato Team with almost 4,000 tomato plants spread over 50 different cultivars.
A Pacific Northwest network of non-profits
Partnering to broaden our offering
Where we cannot grow it, we tap our network to see who can. We provide space for other charitable organizations to sell their plants and to provide their gardening services. So, when you shop at our plant sale, you aren’t just supporting Master Gardeners of Pierce County, you are providing funds to an entire network of environmentally focused organizations across the Puget Sound region.
It all comes together the last full week in April
Popping up and popping back down in just one week!
Once we’ve marshaled all our resources, we start on the Monday of the last week in April training volunteers on all the aspects of running our two day nursery. We want you to have the best possible experience while shopping for the broadest possible array of plants. All at a reasonable price. It is a lot of work, but everyone involved grows from the experience. It is one of the most rewarding ways for us to provide you the plants you want while bringing in the revenues we need in order to fund our programs throughout the year and expand our services across the years. Thank you all for your participation in the Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale.