Plant sales aplenty in Brevard

April will hopefully bring much-needed rain to Brevard yards, but whether the month delivers on the precipitation, it will definitely be raining plant sales, so start penciling in the following events to find specimens perfect for your Florida yard.

In the Botanical Garden

The Brevard Botanical Garden remains a work in progress, but the end is near, thanks to the infusion of funds from fundraisers such as its Spring Plant Sale, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 at the UF/IFAS Extension Office greenhouse at 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa.

Gardeners should have much success with the wide variety of plants and trees available at the sale, because — for one thing — they have been raised in the area, so they’re acclimated to the growing vagaries of the Space Coast. They’ve also been raised with love by local Botanical Garden volunteers, so that has to account for something.

“The plants in our nursery are mostly grown at the nursery from cuttings or seeds,” said Marina Bass, chairwoman of the Nursery Operations Committee at the Botanical Garden.

Volunteers put in nursery time to help the little plants to thrive. Additionally, Brevard master gardeners also donate plants to the sale.

“You are going to find plants you are not going to find in any nursery in the area,” said Joyce Forino, the master gardener who is organizing the speakers and vendor village at the event.

Among the thousands of plants available will be herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs, natives, bulbs, bog plants, succulents, cactuses, palms and bamboo, all selling very reasonably at $4 for 1-gallon containers, $7 for the 3-gallon size and $10 for the 5-gallon pots.

“We also have 4-inch pots that will sell for $2 or three for $5,” Bass said.

“There will be other plants that don’t fall into one of these sizes and will be individually priced. We also have annuals in 1-gallon pots for $3.”

Beyond the plants, the sale is a garden event, with speakers and a vendor village. Brevard Extension Office agent Sally Scalera will discuss propagating plants in Brevard and “My Brevard Backyard.” Rockledge Gardens will present a program on butterfly gardening. Linda Gombert will discuss color in the garden. Additional presentations include the benefits of bats in the garden and growing tropical fruit in Brevard.

The event is also an opportunity to check out the progress of the Botanical Garden, which will when finished include a children’s sensory garden, a bromeliad garden, a hummingbird garden and other attractions.

Formed in 2010 by University of Florida/IFAS Extension Brevard agents and local garden enthusiasts, the garden is planned as a research-based botanical garden for demonstrations, collections and displays.

For more information on the Brevard Botanical Garden Spring Plant Sale, call 321-633-1702, ext. 0, or visit brevardbotanicalgarden.org.

Going native

Native plant nurseries from across the state will convene at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee on April 10 and 11 for the Central Florida Native Plant Sale, sponsored by the Central Florida chapters of the Florida Native Plant Society.

Native Plant Appreciation Week is April 6 to 12, so the sale is well-timed.

“The native plant sale will provide with a great selection of Florida native plants to transform yards to ‘smart yards,’ which in turn will support the future of biodiversity,” said Sharon Dolan of Maple Street Natives in West Melbourne.

A smart yard is Florida landscape as it was meant to be, a space that requires little water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Dolan will bring plenty of varieties of milkweed, beloved to monarch butterflies and other flutterers.

Four Central Florida chapters of FNPS, including the Conradina chapter from Brevard, are participating in the event. Selections will be available to tackle any planting conditions. Native trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennial bedding plants, vines and wildflowers will be offered for sale.

Three fee presentations on April 11 will also help gardeners hone their skills. At 9 a.m., Jenny Welch will present “Saving our Monarch Butterflies using Native Milkweed Plants.” At 10 a.m., Mark Johnson will discuss “Making Natives Work: Designing for Aesthetics and Biodiversity.” The series of presentations ends with Loret Thatcher’s program about “Embrace Your Bugs: The Benefits of Some Insects May Surprise You!” at 11 a.m.

The sale takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. April 10 in the Exhibition Hall and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside of the KVLS Building. Osceola Heritage Park is at 1901 Chief Osceola Trail, on U.S. 192, Kissimmee.

Native plants give gardeners more time to enjoy the landscape, since they require less coaxing to grow. The Central Florida Native Plant Sale is the perfect place to get acquainted with these laid-back natives, but come early for best selection, because plants sell out quickly.

For more information, visit CentralFloridaNativePlantSale.com, where you can see a photo sampling of the plants that will be available.

Up a tree

Brevard Tropical Fruit Club encompasses a genial bunch of fruit tree lovers who are eager to share the bounty of their backyards. They have spent years, often lifetimes, learning about getting fruit-bearing trees to grow in Central Florida and love to promote cold-hardy and sub-tropical edible landscaping.

Brevard is just above the subtropic zone, so growing some tropical fruits can present challenges, but it is definitely doable, as Tropical Fruit Club members will assure.

Originally the Brevard Rare Fruit Council, the club boasts more than 300 active members from across the United States and as far away as California, Indiana and New York. Membership in the club has increased at a rate of 10 percent to 15 percent per year, because it is such a good deal.

A $15 individual or $25 family annual membership entitles club members to monthly meetings featuring expert speakers. At these meetings, members usually exchange tree seeds, cuttings, grafts, fruits and young trees, because there is a bit of the Johnny Appleseed in most of them. Many are experts in specific varieties of fruit trees and are eager to impart their knowledge to others.

Once a year, club members also organize the tree sale to end all tree sales, with about 3,000 different specimens, all geared to do well in Brevard.

The sale takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 25 at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd., but folks familiar with the sales know that the early bird catches the best trees, so plan to arrive early for best selection.

For more information, visit brevardrarefruitcouncil.org.

Lemon inmages:

Istockphoto/

thinkstock Brevard County

is just above the subtropic zone,

so growing some tropical fruits can present challenges, but it is doable.

Sharon Dolan

of Maple Street Natives

A monarch butterfly flits about a milkweed.