By Emily Williams
Whether or not you sport a verdant thumb, all levels of gardener can find something to suit their needs at the 50th annual Birmingham Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Sale, on April 12-14.
What began as an annual celebration of plants, dubbed “Fiesta,” has grown to become one of the Friends of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ major fundraisers.
More than 100,000 plants will be available for purchase, along with free advice from the garden’s expert volunteers working at the sale.
One of those experts is vegetable booth co-chair Karen Mitchell of Vestavia Hills, a certified master gardener, president of the Alabama Hydrangea Society and spring sale volunteer since about 2008.
“We love talking to people,” Mitchell said. “I love getting to talk to children. I remember one year there was a boy who wanted to buy a pepper plant, and I told him everything he needed to do and said, ‘You come back next year and tell me how it grows.’”
Outside of her love of hydrangeas, she has an affinity for vegetable gardening and appears for speaking engagements on the subject throughout the year. One of her most in-demand topics is container gardening.
According to Mitchell, the best thing about growing vegetables is the enjoyment of eating the produce after putting in the work to nurture the plant.
“You don’t do this to save money,” Mitchell said. “You may get about five tomatoes off of your plant in one season.”
A common misconception when it comes to vegetable gardening is that it requires a lot of space.
“The most important thing when you are growing anything is sunlight,” she said. “So, you can grow just about anything in a container.”
All of the container-friendly varieties will be marked at the vegetable booth and include plants such as eggplants, certain tomato varieties, peppers and more.
“Jalapeno peppers grow beautifully in a pot,” she said. “They can be overwintered easily … . I had one that I grew for about 4 years and then I stopped, which I later regretted because it took a long time to grow the new pepper plant.”
Mitchell makes a point to provide shoppers with a handout of information on how to get started when growing vegetables in containers.
Vegetables available at the sale will include nine varieties of eggplants, 18 varieties of sweet peppers, 21 varieties of hot peppers and 45 varieties of tomatoes – in different sizes and colors. There also will be 15 miscellaneous varieties, cucumbers and cantaloupes among them.
“I encourage people who have never been to the plant sale to just come by. It’s something that should be on everyone’s bucket list,” Mitchell said. “Even if you’re just walking through, it’s amazing to see how much we have.”
In addition to vegetables, booths will offer natives, perennials, annuals, bedding plants, climbing flowers, herbs, tropicals, trees, shrubs and more.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ educational and outreach initiatives, as well as the gardens’ day-to-day and ongoing garden.
The sale is open to the public and will take place at Brookwood Village in the upper Macy’s parking lot. Sale hours are April 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and April 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For those who want a sneak peek of the sale, a preview party will be held April 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will include food from Taco Mama. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door.
A members-only sale will follow from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit bbgardens.org/springplantsale.