Sequim Prairie Garden Club members look to build on their success at last year’s Plant Sale by bringing it back this weekend to Pioneer Memorial Park, “one of the best kept secrets in Sequim,” club leaders say.
The sale opens 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the park, 387 E. Washington St., with hundreds of plants for sale.
Club president Vina Winters said members — and some non-members — work throughout the year to grow and ready plants and make items for the sale, including tomatoes, house plants and various annuals and perennials.
Funding partially helps the club cover overhead costs for the park such as maintenance of the grounds under the terms of its 99-year lease with the City of Sequim.
In 2020, club members held a GoFundMe online fundraiser raising more than $20,000, said club treasurer Joan Whiting, to make up for lost rentals during the pandemic.
“It was amazing the donations we got,” Winters said.
Building from that, last year’s plant sale was their largest ever, organizers said.
From what they’ve seen and heard about the sale, “the community is very excited,” Winters said.
Interest in the historical park continues to grow too, club members said.
Winters, a retired nurse from Oregon, said one of the reasons she enjoys working in the park is the positive feedback they receive from the community.
“Working here is amazing,” she said. “I love sharing knowledge with people. A lot of people who move here may not know anything about gardening particularly on the peninsula because it’s very different from Arizona or Virginia.”
Winters grew up on a dairy farm between Sequim and Port Angeles and said she always gardened even when she lived in rental homes.
She said she finds there are many nurses who have an interest in gardening, too.
“As a nurse you nurture people,” Winters said. “It’s what you do with plants; getting them to look and feel their best.”
Whiting said she joined to meet people with a similar interest in gardening and at her second club meeting she was recruited to handle the clubhouse’s rentals before segueing to bookkeeping, which she loves.
Men and women can join and help garden, participate in meetings and hear speakers, adopt a park bed, help with fundraisers and more.
Garden club members meet the first Monday of the month at 10 a.m., and tend to the park twice a week.
For more about the Sequim Prairie Garden Club, call 360-808-3434 or visit sequimprairiegardenclub.org.
Submitted photo Sequim Prairie Garden Club’s Plant Sale opens 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in Pioneer Memorial Park. Last year’s sale, seen here, was their largest ever, organizers said.
