The annual plant sale is one of the highlights of the calendar year for the staff at Norfolk Botanical Garden, especially for our Horticulture Department.
The planning for this year’s sale began a year ago, the day after last year’s sale ended. At that time we reviewed what sold well, what didn’t, what plants people were asking for, and what can we do to make the next plant sale better. Throughout last summer, we began selecting the plants we wanted to offer.
When making our selections we look for plants that do well for us at the Garden, and that we know our customers will have success with. We also like to offer newer plants, plants that people may not be so familiar with, and, of course, anything with beautiful flowers or handsome foliage.
One of our primary concerns is to make sure that a good number of the plants we offer are not only attractive to people, but may also attract birds, butterflies, bees, and other native pollinators. Many times these plants tend to be some of our best natives, but we also offer plants that are more exotic in origin.
Each year, we create a theme, or select a signature plant(s). When the horticulture team heard that the LanternAsia exhibition was returning this year, we knew we wanted our theme to center around this event. So we decided that 2018 would be the year that East meets West, the best plants of Asia and North America.
Some of our Asian offerings are beautiful peonies (Paeonia cultivars), and we have picked those that are better suited to Southern climates. We will have several bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), which will add color to shaded gardens, and for those with sunnier gardens, we will have a number of panicled hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata). Hostas are another great plant for shaded gardens, and we will have three newer varieties, including ‘Fire Island’ with its golden chartreuse foliage and unusual red stems. ‘Murakumo Nishiki’ Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica ‘Murakumo Nishiki’) will add a tropical look to your garden with its bold foliage, but it is perfectly at home in our temperate climate. We will also have a limited number of elegant Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), some of which are seedlings from our very own trees.
From North America we will have a number of native azalea varieties (Rhododendron species and hybrids), many of them with delightfully fragrant flowers. We will have a selection of our native wisteria (Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’), which will not eat your house, or strangle your trees. We will have two varieties of our own coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). Both are hummingbird magnets, and a much better alternative to the invasive Japanese honeysuckle.
North America is also well represented in our hydrangea department as we will have several varieties of our native oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).
Perhaps our greatest selection of plants will be in the perennial department, where some of our best natives have been selected to thrive in Coastal Virginia gardens.
if you go
Norfolk Botanical Garden Annual Plant Sale
Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(NBG members can begin shopping at 9 a.m.)
Free with garden admission
