Master Gardeners to host plant sale Saturday
DESHA — The home of Chester and Sharon Clark was teeming with activity recently as several Independence County Master Gardeners gathered to dig plants for their annual plant sale. Plants ranged from small samples of crosomia to larger samples of Louisiana iris and all types and sizes of flora in between.
The Independence County Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale is set for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Batesville National Guard Armory, 1690 White Drive. The public is invited, and there is no admission charge.
Cheryl Sibley of Batesville is chairman of this year’s plant sale.
“This is my third year to serve as chairman,” Sibley said, smiling.
“We hope to have about 2,000 plants this year. We will have everything inside the National Guard Armory. We will have the plants set up on tables so it will be very convenient for our customers,” Sibley said.
“We see the same people come to the sale year after year. That makes it special for us. Last year,
I counted 83 people standing in line long before we opened the door at 8,” she said.
“Our customers know they will find plants … true plants … that will grow well in our area. They know they are getting plants with good root systems because they have come from the yards and gardens of our members,” Sibley said.
“We won’t know exactly what kind of plants we will have until Friday, when people start bringing them to the armory for us to set up the sale,” she said.
“We’ve imposed a ‘no-buy’ rule for us, the Master Gardeners,” Sibley said, laughing. “Otherwise, we might buy all the plants before the sale starts.”
Sue Kibbe of Batesville, president of the local Master Gardeners, said several families do a dig for the group.
“We are here today to pot plants that the Clarks have already dug for us,” Kibbe said. “We are so thankful for the Clarks and others.”
Kibbe said members have been asked to provide at least 10 plants for the sale.
“Individuals store and care for the plants after they are potted,” she said. “We do the digs way ahead of time, so [the plants] have to be maintained before the sale.”
The Clarks are lifetime members of the Master Gardeners, as is Anne Luster of Batesville, who was busy at the recent dig repotting hostas.
“I am a retired teacher,” Luster said. “Being a Master Gardener is fun. I love flowers, and I love being with this group of people. I’ve learned a lot from them.”
Asa Whitaker of Moorefield is one of the newest members of the gardening group. He, too, was busy repotting hostas at the Clarks’ home.
“I’ve been a member for a year,” said Whitaker, who is also retired. “I attended the plant sale last year and joined Master Gardeners because I wanted to learn.”
Tom Johnson of Batesville and his wife, Susan, sat at a table labeling the plants that had been repotted.
“We’ve been members here for four years,” Tom Johnson said, “but we were Master Gardeners in Idaho for more than 20 years.”
Another husband-andwi fe team attended the dig at the Clarks’ home — Mark and Lisa Layton of the Bethesda community.
“Joining Master Gardeners was something we wanted to try to do together,” Lisa Layton said. “We hope to put to use on our own property what we learn from Master Gardeners.”
Kibbe said plants at the sale normally start at $1 and go up. She said proceeds from the sale are used by the Master Gardeners, who are all volunteers, on beautification and education projects.
The Master Gardeners work on several beautification projects in the county, including a community garden in Batesville, a rose garden at the Oaklawn Cemetery, the pocket park on Main Street in Batesville, Newark Park, Row Lake Park in Batesville and schools in Sulphur Rock, Cedar Ridge and Batesville.
Nathan Reinhart, agent for agriculture and staff chair of the Independence County Cooperat ive Extens ion Service, serves as adviser to the Master Gardeners. He said the group now has 39 members, and they contributed 1,584 volunteer hours last year, plus 245 education hours.
“The value of these hours totals $37,319,” Reinhart said.
“The Master Gardeners of Independence County are a very dedicated group of volunteers who go above and beyond to make Independence County a more desirable place to live,” Reinhart said. “This is evident in their passion for the 15 projects they maintain around the county.
“They share their passion for gardening and landscaping any chance they get with the general public or the youth in our school systems.”
Assisting Kibbe in leading the Master Gardeners this year are Charlene Morrison of Newark, first vice president; Gayla Griffin, also of Newark, second vice president; Cathy Shonk of Cord-Charlotte, secretary; and Rita Clark, also of Cord-Charlotte, treasurer.
For more information on the Independence County Master Gardeners or their plant sale, call the Independence County Extension office at (870) 793-8840.