Garden: Spring has sprung, and so have the upcoming garden events

We are barely a week into the month of May and already I’ve been to every garden center in Greater Columbus, scouting for plants which I need. (Or want, not need, if I am being completely honest!).

If there were a 12-step program for gardeners who buy too many plants, most of us would be in therapy from April through October each year! But there is no such self-help program for those of us with green thumbs, so our search for new and different plants continues!

One of my favorite stops on this never-ending search for new plants is Chadwick Arboretum's annual spring plant sale and auction scheduled for May 9-11 on the OSU campus.

This year will mark the 37th edition of this spectacular array of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, trees and shrubs. Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens is a not-for-profit organization, which operates 60 acres of urban gardens and green reserve on the OSU campus, with more than 2,000 different ornamental plants, including trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, wildflowers, ferns, aquatic plants and ornamental grasses.

Funds raised through the plant sale and fundraiser provide support for student-horticultural organizations, research, educational programming and operations of the arboretum.

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Visiting Chadwick Arboretum is free to the public at all times, although there is a fee for parking on campus while visiting the arboretum.

Plants galore

At the sale, gardeners will find 16,000 new, unusual and proven reliable edible and ornamental plants, as well as a variety of garden planters and a tool-sharpening service.

All plants offered at the sale have been chosen to be of the highest quality with the most successful growth potential for specific growing conditions we experience in Greater Columbus.

The sale will include a diverse selection of flowering perennials and annuals, vegetables, herbs, colorful hanging baskets, shrubs and trees.

This year’s sale will feature an expanded selection of unusual varieties of flowering annual plants and edible plants. Several different native plants will be featured at the sale and both empty and planted hypertufa planters will be available for purchase, along with decorative painted pots created by Chadwick’s horticulture therapy program.

An auction of donated trees, shrubs and gardening supplies will also be held each day of the sale.

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Preview party for members

Members of Chadwick Arboretum will get the first opportunity to purchase discounted plants at the sale at the Friends of Chadwick Preview Party on Thursday, May 9 from 4 to 8 p.m.

The gala will include a silent auction and a reception with gourmet food and entertainment. Memberships can be purchased at the door on the evening of the event.

Learn from experts at the sale

If you are looking for advice about which specific plants are best for your landscape or garden, plenty of plant experts will be on hand at the sale to help you choose the most appropriate plants for your location based on your personal gardening interests.

Plant ambassadors will be stationed throughout the sale grounds to answer questions you may have about specific plants. OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers will also be at the sale to help you select the perfect plants to take home and will offer advice to help you have seasonlong success with the plants you choose.

Free educational resources on many different gardening topics, from growing sunflowers to choosing plants which support pollinators, will be available at the Ask a Master Gardener booth at the sale.

A learning lab at the sale will feature short educational presentations on Friday and Saturday. Plant experts will offer programs on topics such as native plants in an urban setting, success with conifers, extending the lilac-blooming season and others.

For a timed schedule of presentations, go to go.osu.edu/chadwickpresentations.

If you plan to go

The plant sale will be open to the public on Friday, May 10 from 12 to 6 p.m. and onSaturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the northwest corner of Lane Avenue and Fred Taylor Drive, across from the Schottenstein Center on the OSU Campus.

Free parking is available in OSU Gray Lots One and Two.

Food trucks and restroom facilities will be available at the sale and only debit and credit cards will be accepted for purchase at the plant sale.

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Annual membership to Chadwick Arboretum is $40 per year and includes educational events throughout the year, discounts at 10 central-Ohio garden centers and free or discounted entrance at American Horticultural Society Public Gardens throughout the U.S.

Memberships can be purchased at the plant sale, or by visiting chadwickarboretum.osu.edu.

The Chadwick Arboretum Spring Plant Sale and Auction is planned and operated entirely by Chadwick Arboretum volunteers and OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

Last year, volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours to make the sale successful. For more information, visit go.osu.edu/springplantsale.

Mike Hogan is Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources and associate professor with Ohio State University Extension.

hogan.1@osu.edu

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What to know if you go to Chadwick Arboretum's spring plant sale and auction