The Fayette County Master Gardener Association, made up of master gardener Extension volunteers with the University of Georgia Extension Service, will conduct the annual plant sale and garden tour Saturday, May 4. Hundreds of plants for flower and vegetable gardening as well as landscaping will be available. The plant sale will offer flowers, shrubs, herbs, vegetables, and trees, many of which are native plants, for purchase.
The sale will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be centered around the gazebo at the Fayette County Stonewall Government Complex in Fayetteville. In the event of rain, the sale plants will be placed under the covered walkway of the complex.
Master gardeners will be available to help in selecting plants, providing growing instructions and other gardening information, and giving gardening demonstrations.
Displays and demonstrations will include gardening in raised beds and containers, hydroponics and aeroponics, gardening with succulents, and using rain barrels for water conservation. Shoppers will be provided with lists of the plants designated as Georgia Gold Medal plants for outstanding performance in our region. Soil testing information and guidance will be available to help gardeners determine readiness of the soil for planting.
Proceeds from the plant sale and tickets for the garden tour are used to provide 4-H scholarships, and to fund the Junior Master Gardener program, educational classes and activities for the general public, continued education for Extension volunteers, and the Plant a Row for the Hungry garden.
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In photo above right, the homeowners at this Carnellian Lane home in Peachtree City are both master rosarians and horticulture judges with the American Rose Society. Their more than 200 rose plants are regular winners in rose show competitions. Roses include hybrid tea, climber, shrub, floribunda, old garden, mini, and miniflora classifications. In addition to roses, the entire landscape includes numerous types of shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and herbs. The woodland and partial shade parts of the garden include camellias, hellebores, hollies, azaleas, and other plantings. The front yard is well-landscaped with azaleas, hollies, boxwoods, pieris, nandinas, and bulbs. Irises are in both the front and back gardens and the home also features a rain barrel. Photo/Special.
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The Plant a Row garden, operated by master gardeners, provided approximately 20,000 pounds of produce in 2012 that was distributed to the Real Life Center, Fayette Samaritans, and several other food pantries and organizations, such as domestic violence and youth protection centers, and other groups that provide food for low income or jobless families, and for those whose lives are in transition.
The garden tour will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Six outstanding gardens will be featured including the education garden at the Fayette County Stonewall Government Complex, a project operated by the Extension Service Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. The remaining five gardens are in Peachtree City.
Tickets purchased in advance are $15, or are available at any one of the gardens on the day of the tour for $20. Advance tickets are available at Wild Birds Unlimited in Peachtree City; Andy’s Nursery, Town Square Jewelers, and at the plant sale in Fayetteville; or from master gardeners.
A list of the gardens on the tour is printed on the tickets.
For more information, call 770-305-5153 or email [email protected].
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In photos below, this beautiful garden in Peachtree City’s Shirewood Park is also on the garden tour this year. The homeowner has developed an eclectic garden featuring plantings well-suited to the sloping landscape in the front, and use of rocks. Several rooms, or seating areas, in the back garden are surrounded by a wide variety of plantings. Included in the design are perennials, bulbs, and shrubs, accenting whimsical sculptures, old style enamled metal chairs, benches and other esating, and bird houses. Walkways lead through the garden to the individual rooms. One seating area is beside a golf cart path, and walkers along the path often stop to enjoy the inviting garden setting on one side, and view of a lovely neighborhood pond on the other. Another of the rooms is hardscaped and centered with a colorful fire pit beside a water feature. Japanese maples, a large spreading Yoshino cherry, camellias,and other shrubs enhance the landscape. Of particularly interest is a red twig dogwood with a striking red trunk and branches year-round. Photos/Special.
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