The William Paca Garden will hold its annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12, 2019. This is the chance to take home a piece of history and watch it bloom in your garden. You can find shrubs and trees from this historic garden and seedlings grown in the greenhouse. Garden staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and recommend just what you need for your growing conditions.
For the shade garden, there are dwarf and full-sized Oakleaf Hydrangeas, a new Astilbe ‘Aphrodite’ in shades of deep pink, a variety of ferns including a new offering, the tall Dixie Wood Fern, and a flowering annual alternative to Impatiens, the Wishbone Flower. There is a selection of hard-to-find native woodland bloomers like Foamflower, Bloodroot and May Apple.
Bring a rainbow of color to sunny spots with a gorgeous new Buddleia ‘Hot Raspberry’ and a new Coneflower called ‘Green Twister,’ that flaunts lime green and purple petals. St. Johnswort, a durable groundcover, now comes in brilliant chartreuse-yellow foliage. Mexican Sunflower, the Polka Dot Plant and the Easter Egg Plant are annuals that will charm children and you as well. Vines have a lot to offer: sweet-smelling Carolina Jasmine is new this year; Snail Vine, with curious spiral flowers, is another fragrant climber. Hyacinth bean, frequently seen spilling over fences in Annapolis, will garland your garden with purple flowers and bean pods. Morning Glories will brighten your morning and Moon Flower will invite you out to the garden at dusk.
For the conservation-minded, plants such as Eastern Redbud, Summersweet and Virginia Sweetspire contribute to a native habitat. The native Honeysuckle ‘Magnifica’ attracts hummingbirds. Perennial Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Bee Balm, Calamintha and Cardinal Lobelia attract a variety of pollinators and butterflies. The Plant Sale catalog notes special properties of all the plants.
Vegetable starts and herbs will make for delicious salads and side dishes this summer. Eleven varieties of tomatoes, half of them heirloom and one selected especially for patio pots; hot and sweet peppers; three types of eggplant. Your favorite herbs will bring fresh flavor to favorite dishes: dill, chives, Italian basil, lemon balm, Thai basil, lemon grass, and of course parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
All plants are grown by volunteers and the Plant Sale benefits the Historic Annapolis’s William Paca Garden. Plant Sale hours are 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, May 11. Historic Annapolis members may enter at 9:30. Sunday hours are noon to 4 pm, no early entry. Enter at #1 Martin St., Annapolis MD, 21409. Catalog will be available for sale and online (www.annapolis.org) on May 1.
