To frustrated gardeners who may have lost plants during the 2021 February freeze or the 2022 summer drought, mark your calendars because help is on the way! On Saturday, March 25, Brazos County Master Garden Association, or BCMGA, will host its annual Spring Plant Sale. The sale will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Brazos County Extension Office parking lot, located at 4153 County Park Court in Bryan.
The plant sale is one of the most popular events in the Brazos gardening community — people come early pulling carts and wagons to stock up on a wide assortment of plants. All plants sold are selected by sale organizers and are deemed just right for the challenging Brazos County growing conditions. There are a variety of plants set to be sold including perennials, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, some annuals and succulents, shrubs, and a few hard-to-find trees.
During the sale, Master Gardeners (Texas AgriLife Extension Service volunteers who have received special training in Horticulture) will be on hand to answer any and all gardening questions. Plant shoppers will have a wide variety of plants to choose from to meet landscaping and gardening needs and wants. Plant choices will include those that prefer to grow in sunny areas — roses, Texas sages, Golden Showers Thryallis, Lantana — to those that are happier in some shade — Texas Gold Columbine, American Beauty berry. There will be plants that like it somewhat moist — Coral Honeysuckle, Texas Star Hibiscus — and those that would rather stay dry — Rosemary, False Red Yucca. Texas Superstar® plants will also be available to include Turk’s Cap, a hummingbird favorite; Mystic Spires Blue Salvia with its masses of true-blue flowers during the entire growing season; Laura Bush Petunia with its medium-size violet blooms from spring until frost; and the lovely Belinda’s Dream Rose with its classic hybrid tea style pink blossoms and distinctive fragrance. Every plant earning the Texas Superstar® label undergoes several years of extensive field trials by Texas AgriLife Extension and must show superior performance under the tough Texas’ growing conditions.
In addition to a wide range of commercially grown plants, Master Gardeners will offer their favorite “Pass-A-Long” plants that were homegrown by Master Gardeners, and are often hard to find. In some cases, these plants have been passed along for generations from one gardener to another. In this section of the plant sale, guests will also find spring and fall blooming bulbs, which are an inexpensive and easy way to boost landscapes with amazing color throughout the growing season. In fact, many Master Gardeners feel all landscapes should have some as once you plant them, you can almost forget about them.
If your goal is to bring pollinators to your garden, you will not be disappointed. There will be a very large selection of plants that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. These include Aster, Lantanas, Almond Verbena, Shrimp plant, Verbena, Yarrow, and, of course, plenty of milkweed for our migrating monarch butterflies. Each plant being sold will have a large sign with icons that clearly identify it as a good plant for pollinators.
In the tomato and peppers section, you will find a wide assortment of high producers. There will be large, sturdy tomato plants, some which may have blooms on them already including “Slicers” Early Girl and Celebrity, “Cherry” Sun Sugar, “Grape” Juliet, and the much-loved “Slicer” type heirloom, Cherokee Purple. Peppers are always popular in spring gardens and thrive in our hot summers; you may find Big Bertha (ideal for stuffing), Orange Blaze (sweet), Cajun Belle (mildly spicy but still sweet), and a large Jalapeño called Mucho Nacho (not too hot).
In addition, there will be a large, covered area with a broad variety of herbs manned by Master Gardeners with years of experience in the art and science of growing herbs with great advice for how to grow and use these special plants. Those interested in getting into herbs can expect to see several a wide selection including Sweet Genovese basil, sweet basil, mojito mint, hilltop oregano, and bar-b-que rosemary to name a few.
As the date of the sale approaches, a finalized list of plants to be sold will be posted at www. brazosmg.com or on the BCMGA Facebook page. All proceeds from the sale support the Brazos County Master Garden Association’s gardening educational programs.
About Master Gardeners
Master Gardeners are volunteers, trained by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in research-based horticulture including soils, water conservation, composting, entomology, plant pathology and related subjects. As Brazos County Extension Service volunteers, they give to the community by extending research-based knowledge and providing solutions in one-to-one problem solving, in a demonstration garden, educational programs and both in-print and social media.
