I was sitting here a few days ago…mid April and the warmest day so far in 2018 thinking, yes, maybe it is finally time to think seriously about gardening and upcoming plant sales. Unless, of course, Mother Nature yanks her big bungee cord to snap us back into snowy and freezing weather again.
A little over a year ago I had picked up a flyer at one of our local garden centers extolling the virtues of the Chagrin Valley Herbal Society (CVHS). I love gardening and can tolerate most people, hmmm… I thought, why don’t I drop by the Bainbridge Library Garden and see how it feels to work in a community garden with ladies I had yet to meet.There they were; ladies wearing garden gloves, baseball caps and straw hats, digging in the beds, yanking out weeds and dead heading spent blooms. From the first glance at the entrance I could see that these gardens were clearly well-tended and charming.
I thought to myself, “How fortunate are folks who visit the library in this community to have this particular garden to entice them in on a sunny day, for contemplation or to sit and begin reading that new book that they just checked out?” Look! There are benches in a tea house over there in the shade!
Needless to say, I was warmly welcomed that day in the garden and I resolved that this “Herbal Society” was for me.
I came to understand that the annual plant sale was the big event for the year. It was 29 years ago that members of the CVHS were selling a few herbs from the trunks of their cars in the Bainbridge library parking lot in hopes of raising enough money to make an herb garden on library grounds. This lovely garden is a reality and the plant sale has become a community “must” to attend. Last year was my first to help out at the annual CVHS herb and plant sale. There were people waiting in line to get in as I arrived before 9 a.m. Tray after tray of herbs were for sale at very reasonable prices. And, not just the common herbs.There were varieties of basils, sages etc., not just the basics. Also there were plants that Society members split and dug up from their own gardens to be sold at the sale. Chances are these homegrown gems will know what to do in your garden too. We were very busy and almost everything sold out.
This year the annual CVHS Plant Sale will be held on Sat., May 19, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. inside the library.
If you can’t come to the plant sale consider stopping by the gardens some time. Just to look around, or sit a spell…or, come to a meeting! Check your community paper for dates and times. Have a cup of tea with us and see what we are all about. Join us if you’re free.
Dear reader, please check out the CVHS website. Or, even better…much better, come to our annual plant sale.
Nancy is currently reading Watercolor Painting with Passion by Alvaro Castagnet.
