Spring is undeniably here, which means Centre County residents are breaking out their green thumbs again. If you’re looking for ways to spruce up your garden this season, look no further than these local plant sales just around the corner:
Central Pennsylvania Native Plant Festival
The 2024 Central Pennsylvania Native Plant Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, at the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, located at 548 Puddintown Road, State College. It is free to attend.
The festival will have a plant sale going all day, with more than 350 varieties of plants native to the state and experts to help advise guests.
In addition to the all-day plant sale, there will be native plant vendors from all over the state, presentations in Millbrook Marsh’s indoor classroom, local food trucks and concessions, live music and more. At 11 a.m. there will be a presentation on “Easy Steps to Native Gardening” by Pam and Doug Ford of Penn State’s Master Gardeners. At 1 p.m. there will be a presentation on “Appreciating Common Insects in Your Garden” by Michael Skvarla, associate professor of arthropod identification and head of the Insect Identification lab at Penn State.
The event, hosted by the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society.
The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, a nonprofit organization, started around 1979 through initiatives by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the state legislature. The movement was formed to recognize the rare and endangered plants of Pennsylvania and to create a list of such plants with the implementation of legislation to study and protect them.
29th Annual Plant Celebration and Garden Sale at the Centre Furnace Mansion
The 29th Annual Plant Celebration and Garden Sale at the Centre Furnace Mansion will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, at 1001 E. College Ave., State College.
The event will feature plants that are both native and non-native to Pennsylvania from local and regional growers as well as selections from the Centre Furnace Mansion gardens.
In addition to the plant sale, there will be tours of the Centre Furnace Mansion throughout the day, a photography exhibit and live music.
The Centre Furnace Mansion gardens are managed through the Centre Furnace Garden Committee. The plantings at the garden have been chosen to reflect what would have been available to 19th-century gardeners. The gardens also benefit from volunteers, local organizations and a couple of departments at Penn State.
Centre County Master Gardeners Plant Sale
The Master Gardeners of Centre County’s 26th annual plant sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Ag Progress Day venue (Entrance K), located at 2710 W. Pine Grove Road, Pennsylvania Furnace.
More than 5,000 plants will be available, as well as vegetables, herbs, flowers, woody ornamentals, native plants and house plants. The sale will also offer garden-related supplies and a silent auction. There will also be “pollinator kits” which include several different species of pollinators that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Additionally, there will be activities for kids, educational talks and advice from the master gardeners.
Guests can also visit the Pasto Agricultural Museum during the plant sale. The museum has about 1,200 rare and unusual farm items and artifacts.
The Master Gardeners of Centre County is a nonprofit made up of volunteers who support Penn State Extension’s educational program. It was adopted by Penn State Extension in 1982, with more than 3,500 current volunteers across 67 Pennsylvania counties.
As the weather continues to warm up, planting opportunities will be plentiful across the county. Agriculture is an important industry in Centre County, which is reflected in the region’s more than 1,000 farms. Be on the look out this season for more plant sales to hit the area.
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