Watch what you buy at your local plant sale, writes Jane Powers
Plant sales, if properly organised, are a good way to raise money for good causes. They are also an excellent place to witness the better side of the human character. There are the people who every year propagate dozens (or often hundreds) of extra plants to support their favourite charity or local garden society. There are those who give up many hours to help out on the day of the sale: selling, lifting, ferrying and cleaning up at the end (not to mention, at some events, those who beaver away in the background, making and serving tea). There are those who organise the plant sale, collecting donated plants and wrangling helpers and publicity in the weeks before the big day. And there are those, on the other side of the counter, who buy a plant for 4, hand over a fiver and say, "Put the change in the pot," giving another valuable euro to the cause.
These are all righteous folks: the good. To be seen at a plant sale near you. Not too far away, I hate to say, are the bad and the ugly. These are the people who donate any old rubbish, such as rampant plants they're dead keen to get out of their gardens (and into some other poor eejit's). These are the people who are too mean to pot up their plants in proper compost, so they throw them into some rank old soil from the north border where the cat has been doing its business for years (which, strangely, hasn't deterred the bindweed from growing there, nor the vine weevil from laying its eggs - so you can have those for free).
These are the people who think this is a handy way to get rid of their old house plants: the overwatered, stem-rotted begonia studded with scale insect and the gangly grapefruit seedling that wee Liam grew from a pip three years ago but lost interest in when the leaves fell off after a red spider mite infestation. If I were a plant-sale policeman, I'd arrest them for illegal dumping.
And, while I'm at it, I'd also like to arrest some other suspicious characters - for loitering with intent and exhibiting unseemly greed. These are the shadowy figures who hang around on the edge of the plant stall while it's being set up and who, the minute it opens, grab all the best plants for themselves. That, fellow gardeners, is plain ugly.
Carmel Duignan, who has organised and helped out at countless plant sales, says there will always be a few such rapacious types. Sometimes they may even be those who are helping out in some capacity. Accordingly, she recommends a quota rule, where helpers may buy only one plant before the public is admitted. As for gardeners donating shoddy plants, she points out: "You know how the charity shops say, 'Don't bring in your dirty old clothes'? Well, it's the same with plant sales. We don't want rubbish."
So what do plant-sale organisers (and the buyers) want to see in a donated plant? "The better they're presented," says Duignan, "the better they will sell. And anything that's in flower will walk."
Good labelling is essential. A plant sporting its full name will sell more readily than an anonymous one. And a line of information, such as "Tall, red flowers, perennial, moist soil", will make sure that nobody confuses your stately Lobelia cardinalis with the little blue bedding lads.
While we're on the subject of labels, if you're of a recycling disposition you can fashion them from old yogurt cartons, or other white plastic containers, cut into strips. But make them big enough so that the inscription is legible. For goodness' sake, don't be mean with the old yogurt cartons.
I don't wish to end on a hectoring note, so I'd like to say that the vast majority of plant donors are extremely generous and that there would be no plant sales without them.
These are the people who, when they get a nice plant, immediately propagate it: one in case of disaster, one for a friend and one for the plant sale.
So, if you're a potential buyer at a local plant sale, go early, as good plants, like good people, are in great demand.
HOW TO ORGANISE A PLANT SALE
* IN THE MONTHS AND WEEKS BEFOREHAND
Get public-liability insurance, if you need it.
Remind fellow gardeners you're relying on them for plants (which you should gather a few days in advance).
Print and distribute flyers, put notices on community notice boards and contact local newspapers.
Organise a roster of helpers. Remember that you'll need people to help set up the stall, sell plants, carry heavy loads and clean up at the end of the day.
Collect cardboard boxes from supermarkets (tomato boxes are ideal); amass polythene bags and heavy paper bags.
* ON THE DAY
(or the evening before, if you have access to the venue)
Set out the tables for the plants, covering any vulnerable surfaces with newspaper.
Arrange the plants by category: herbaceous perennials, alpines, trees and shrubs, bulbs, annuals, vegetables, grasses, house plants and so on. Put choice plants in a "rare and unusual" section.
Check all are labelled correctly, in good health, and free of weeds, slugs, snails and aphids.
Price the plants individually or by their position, such as: "All plants on this table: €3."
Put boxes and bags in a central position, where helpers can access them easily. If the place is secure you can also have one or more containers for money (but keep harvesting the large notes as they come in).
Nominate an area for a "plant creche", where people can leave their purchases (if the sale is part of a larger event, such as a parish fete or horticultural show).
Finish setting up in good time, so that helpers can have a rest before the sale opens to the public.
Make sure each helper gets a break during the sale.
Half an hour before the end of the sale (or earlier, if you're running out of plants), knock everything down to half-price to boost another bout of buying.
Clean up, distributing leftover plants among the helpers.
* CHECKLIST FOR THE DAY OF THE SALE
* Newspapers * Plant labels * Scissors, pens, pencils, pencil sharpener * Calculator * Price stickers * Sign-making materials * Bags and boxes * Change * Containers for money * Plant encyclopaedia, to show photographs of plants to buyers * Refreshments for those who are manning the stand
DIARY DATE
Garden open day, in aid of the St Vincent's University Hospital liver-transplant unit, at Linda Donald's garden, Raheenwood House, Fenagh, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, on Sunday, May 22nd, 2-6pm.
Plants will be for sale, and tea will be available. Call 059-9727142