Pollinator-friendly plants to be featured at Baltimore Woods Native Plant Sale
The first weekend in June, Baltimore Woods Nature Center, located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road in Marcellus, will kick off the summer season with a native plant sale and garden festival. For the past 27 years, Baltimore Woods has held a plant and herb sale to help local gardeners start their spring planting. Over the last five years, this event has expanded to include a garden cafe, vendor booths featuring nature- and garden-inspired merchandise, local foods, and more. This year’s sale runs Friday, June 2 from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday, June 3 from 9 to 3 p.m.and Sunday, June 4 from 10 to 2 p.m. This event takes place rain or shine with no admission or parking fees, and the proceeds from the sale support Baltimore Woods in its mission of environmental education.
With a theme of Birds, Bees, and Blooms, the plant sale, is focused on native plants that attract and provide habitats for birds, bees, and butterflies. Committee chair Jacqueline Orzell says, “Our goal is twofold: to raise funds for Baltimore Woods and, at the same time, to educate gardeners on the importance of having pollinator-friendly plants in their yards.”
To help plant sale customers learn more about pollinators, the committee has planned to have several special features woven into the weekend activities.
On Saturday, heirloom tomato expert and master gardener Pat Jokajtys of Baldwinsville will teach visitors about the best companion plants for growing heirloom tomatoes. Also, from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday morning, Baltimore Woods’ staff will hold a container gardening workshop on the back deck of the Interpretive Center. Participants can make and take home their own live “salad bowl” garden. Pre-registration for that particular workshop is available online at baltimorewoods.org.
Trees, shrubs, annuals, herbs, vegetables, hanging baskets, and a wide variety of perennials will be available for purchase throughout the weekend. This year’s plant selections will come from four local growers: Phoenix Flower Farm, Amanda’s Garden, Hillside Gardens, and Maple Hill Nursery. Baltimore Woods’ own staff and core garden volunteers will be available to help with plant selection and master gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Onondaga County will be on site to answer questions and offer gardening advice.
In addition to plant expertise, customers can browse the vendor tables for nature-inspired gifts including bee hives, mason bee houses, maple syrup, honey, Better Brittle, grass-fed meat, pottery, wood carvings, notecards, handcrafted jewelry, Vermicompost (made by worms), recycled birdhouses, stone mushrooms, and more. Sale goers will also be able to peruse the silent auction table, enter a raffle, and purchase gently-used garden tools and accessories. Picnic plates will be served up by the garden café for $7.
The plant sale will wrap up on Sunday with a “plants-only” sale day, allowing customers to focus all their attention on finding beautiful, healthy plants for their gardens.
