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Gardener's Notebook: Get garden-ready at Yorkton plant sale

The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their annual Spring Plant and Bulb Sale on Friday, June 2 starting at 9:30 at the Parkland Mall.
spring_plants_-2023
Plant and bulb sale upcoming in Yorkton.

YORKTON - Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their annual Spring Plant and Bulb Sale on Friday, June 2 starting at 9:30 at the Parkland Mall, Yorkton!  There will be a good variety of plants and bulbs, and eager gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions.  We look forward to seeing you there!  We have many gardening friends who are there waiting when the sale begins at 9:30; they know that if you have a particular plant you are looking for, best to be there when the sale starts!  The sale is scheduled to go till 4:00 PM but is actually while plants last.  If we run out earlier, the sale is done!  Another good reason to come early!

By now you have probably taken a thorough tour of your garden and might see places here and there where some plants need replenishing or replacing.  That is the nature of the garden, that not every plant survives from year to year.  So the hort plant sale is coming at a great time!

When you come to visit us at the plant sale, keep in mind the growing conditions of these spots that need some extra TLC this year; that will be a big help in choosing the right plant for the right place.

It is always a gardening dilemma: we get a new perennial, happily take it home, but when we plant it, it looks so small.  Maybe we should add another, and maybe even another after that!  Whoa, Nellie!  Rein in that garden panic and take a breath.  Most perennials take a few years to reach their full garden potential.  And even if they look small right now in that gaping spot in the garden, it is important to do research and find out exactly what the height and spread of that mature plant will be.  It may be only a few inches across now, but at maturity it could be a robust clump eighteen inches across!

Overcrowding perennials is almost as bad for them as choosing the wrong location, such as too sunny, too shady, or too dry.  But luckily, there are lovely choices for all those locations.

So remember the conditions of where you want to put your new plant, and also remember how much space is actually available in that spot.  You might have a certain perennial in mind but perhaps there could be one that might do so much better!  So when you’re at the sale, talk to the gardeners there:  gardeners LOVE to talk gardening: the success, the disappointments, and everything in between!

Remember, too, that you can create a beautiful ‘garden’ no matter what size of plot is actually available to you.  Just look up a topic like “small space gardening” online for an abundance of inspiration.  I saw pictures of small “gardens” that had only a handful of perennials; but they were the right perennials for the space, and I think that gardener would get immense enjoyment, sitting there at the end of the day with a cup of tea!  Gardens can happen anywhere!

Thank you to our friends at YTW for their great work every week.  Gardeners, visit us at www.yorktonhort and have a lovely week!