(Cass Co.) The Cass County Master Gardeners are excited to announce the return of their annual Spring Plant Sale for 2021. Cancelled last year as the pandemic prohibited public gathering, the 2021 event promises to have a wide variety of spring perennials available for gardeners looking to update their landscape this year.
Kate Olson, County Program Coordinator, said this year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, May 8, at 8:00 a.m. in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds in Atlantic. The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for spring planting, as well as possibly some garden tools and decor.
Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM. Due to the pandemic, several safety measures will be in place for this sale, including recommending the use of masks when interacting with others and completing purchase, spreading out sale items to allow for social distancing, hand sanitizer stations and a one-way traffic flow for shoppers.
Cass County Master Gardeners will be bringing a variety of plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens around the community, for this sale.
Community members are also welcome to donate plants to this event. If you are dividing perennials in your yard this spring and have extra plants to donate, please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.
For more information about these events and about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu. In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening. For anyone interested in learning more about the Master Gardener program and becoming a Master Gardener, the next class will begin in August of 2021, with a mix of online and hands-on learning. Find details and sign up on the Iowa Master Gardener website, or call the Cass County Extension office to learn more!