UNIVERSITY PLACE – Spring is in the air (despite all the cold weather) when you attend the University Place Spring Flower Show & Plant Sale. This annual event is held at Homestead Park in University Place. It starts on Saturday April 30 from 9 AM to 5 PM through Sunday May 1 from 10 AM to 2 PM. It includes a free rhododendron exhibit, a plant market and an Envirofair with information booths and demonstrations on sustainable gardening techniques.
A unique feature of the event is the eighth annual Rhododendron Truss Exhibit. Your floral fantasies will blossom as you view hundreds of freshly blooming rhododendron trusses, each one more beautiful than the other. It is located in the University Place Community Room , and has grown to be one of the largest rhododendron displays on the West Coast.
The public is welcome to participate in the exhibit by bringing samples of their best rhododendron and azalea blooms for display. Truss entries and sprays will be accepted from 1 PM to 6 PM on Friday April 29th and from 8 AM to noon on Saturday April 30th. Visitors to the exhibit will judge the entries. First. second, and third place ribbons, “Best of Class” and “Best of Show” winners will be announced on Sunday morning. Tips on how to select and groom a truss for exhibit are available on the Homestead Park web site at www.friendsofhomesteadpark.org.
The plant market is located on the Homestead Park patio. It includes a wide variety of local Puget Sound plant venders and specialty nurseries. Rhododendron experts and a master gardener will be available to discuss plant varieties and answer your gardening questions.
“It is our biggest plant sale yet! We have some fabulous and hard to get rhododendrons, fuchsias, hardy ferns, dahlias, roses and other perennials, that you won’t find at the garden center. All are available at bargain prices” said Dr. Gary Becker, of the Peninsula Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, and member of The Friends of Homestead Park.
The Envirofair is a new addition to the show. It features information booths and demonstrations on natural yard care, composting, rain gardens, mason bee shelters, native plants, green cleaning demonstrations, recycling, energy efficiency and sustainable gardening techniques.
All this gardening flower power is sponsored by the Friends of Homestead Park and the Peninsula Chapter of American Rhododendron Society. Their partnership began with the design, donation and planting of over 400 rhododendrons in the newly developed Homestead Park in 2000. Since the first planting, they have expanded the garden to include over 1000 rhododendrons, 50 varieties of hardy ferns, fuchsias, camellias, hydrangeas, and thousands of daffodils. It contains the largest collection of native North American rhododendrons on the West Coast. The spectacular Homestead Park Rhododendron Garden has grown to be a stunning spring horticultural display as it fully develops and matures.
Find out more about Homestead Park Rhododendron Garden and our event: at www.friendsofhomesteadpark.org.