Fall Plant Sale

– Natasha Granoff, Betty Young, Lynnette Bower

The 2025 plant sale dawned foggy and wet, but soon cleared for a lovely day. Early shoppers for the members only hour were not as numerous as past member-only sales. Overall, a slower, smoother day with a significant drop in customers, but early reports from Square suggest similar revenue as in 2024. As of this writing, Lynnette is still selling plants, so we will have final numbers for the December newsletter. Go Lynnette! Our challenge this year was the relocation of our tables to the north end of the nursery, further from parking and plant pick up. We navigated the change pretty well, but it’s a work in progress!

A new addition this year was from Betty Young, who researched the pollinators and birds associated with the plants we had for sale. She printed beautiful photos of butterflies, moths, and birds that use the plants for food, habitat, or as a larval host for their young. It made for great reading, and people were really absorbed. These cards expand the education and importance of the habitat approach to gardening with our invaluable native plants.

Laguna Foundation did not participate in the sale this year, and most likely will not participate in the fall sale in the future. They will continue with gallery shows in Heron Hall and garden tours that attract many new and returning people, introducing them to both our organization’s missions.

A big thank you to the Laguna team: Elias Lopez for setting up the parking signs, Brent Reed for keeping the parking volunteers organized the day of the sale, Maggie Hart for being a wonderful plant sale organizing and promotion partner, Chloe Winsemius and Sofia Chavez parking volunteers, and Ayla Mills and the Laguna Foundation for their continued support of our annual plant sale.

A big thanks to Betty Young and Lynnette Bower for sharing the plant sale chair duties while also managing volunteer recruitment and management of the nursery.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this year’s plant sale happen, whether throughout the year propagating and tending plants, or on the day of the sale:

Alynn Kjeldsen, April Owens, Betsy Livingston, Bridget Sheils, Bryan Sesser, Catherine Lipson, Cindy Tancreto, Denise Kelly, Elliott Foss, Eric Nelson, Erika Erzberger, Gary Morgret, Heidi Herrmann, Jane Rehm, Jane Valerius, John Dean, Judith Rousseau, June Stephens, Kathi Dowdakin, Karen Thompson, Leia Giambastiani, Liz Parsons, Louise Riedel, Lynn Houser, Marcia Johnson, Mark Ayton, Merlin Schlumberger, Michelle Karle, Nick Bower, Nicole Schlumberger, Pat Sesser, Penny Dalton, Sandy Martensen, Steve Smit, Susan Dean, Susan Bishop, Terry Loveton, Trish Tatarian, Virginia Hotz-Steenhoven, Wendy Smit and Wendy Krupnick who donated delicious grapes from her farm, Chiatri de Laguna.

Save the date for our next Plant Sale: October 10th, 2026!