Plants sales pop up all over North End

As the days get warmer, a more common sight is beginning to show up around the North End — gardeners weeding, planting, trimming and generally preparing for the burst of beauty the spring and summer months will bring. In an effort to capture those gardeners and offer the best prices, different groups in the area are featuring plant sales to coincide with the season’s change.

As the days get warmer, a more common sight is beginning to show up around the North End — gardeners weeding, planting, trimming and generally preparing for the burst of beauty the spring and summer months will bring. In an effort to capture those gardeners and offer the best prices, different groups in the area are featuring plant sales to coincide with the season’s change.

• Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 4 at the Tribal Center kitchen on Little Boston Road.

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Foundation decided to try a plant sale as it aims to raise money for the tribal scholarship program, in addition to the funds given by the tribal council, said tribal associate director Laurie Mattson.

“We received $30,000 from the council, and that’s still not enough,” she said. “Different people are donating different things, and we have nurseries that donated some plants. We were talking about ways for the foundation to raise money, and this seemed like a really good idea.”

The foundation also hosts an art auction every year, and the two together could benefit a lot of students with the goal of higher education. Next year, Mattson said foundation members will probably try to expand the event. In the meantime, they are gathering plenty of flowers, some bushes and other items gardeners may find appealing.

“Garden sales tend to be a good buy,” she said. “People around here really love gardening.”

• Kingston Garden Club, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 5 at the Kingston Community Center.

The Kingston Garden Club has been hosting its own plant sale for more than a decade and is digging in to find the best plants for residents and visitors Saturday. Currently, members are preparing by thinning their own gardens to supply plenty of possibilities for shoppers.

“Well, we’ll have all kinds of plants,” said garden club member Nancy Martin. “We’re digging up our own gardens so we’ll have a nice selection of perennials and other plants.”

Proceeds from the sale will be added to the Aloha Wright Grant and Scholarship Fund the group manages, named after a longtime club member.

The sale will also feature a raffle KGC members were selling tickets for during EcoFest April 21. Winners will be drawn for the three baskets toward the end of the sale, Martin said.

The Kingston Revitalization Association will be outside the Kingston Community Center, along with some of the bigger bushes that won’t fit inside the building, selling handmade terra cotta pots for residents who need something for their newest greenery.

“Come early for the best selection,” Martin said. “At about 2 p.m. we’ll reduce prices, though there may not be a lot of selection left at that point.”

• Eglon Community Sale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 5 at the Eglon Schoolhouse on Eglon Road.

Eglon residents are preparing their best and brightest for their own plant sale that will also feature the community’s legendary bake sale and other local vendors.

Cottage Garden Bouquet owner Bonnie Bryant is downsizing her gardens and donating plants to the sale, which will raise money for maintenance of the Eglon schoolhouse, where the community holds its functions and meetings.

“From the bake sale, the whole percentage goes to the schoolhouse,” she said. The vendors and the plant sale keep part of the sales, and give the rest to the maintenance account. “I’m not sure if there are going to be a lot of vegetable starters there, there have been a lot of flowers in the past.”

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