The Plant Sale

Today I volunteered at the Botanical Garden Plant Sale.  It's a twice a year event that I avoided for years and years because it seemed too crowded.  But now I know better.  WhenI step inside the gate at the Garden, a sense of peace flows over and through me, that draws me in and makes me very happy.  That's why I love volunteering in the propagation section.  I call it my "playing in the dirt" time.  It's a great group of Bay Area lively gardeners.  Some days, we wander the garden to take cuttings from Salvias and other plants growing in the Meso-America section.  Then we prepare them to go into the mist house in perlite filled pots where they stay until they've grown sturdy roots.   We then transplant them into 4 inch pots and nurture them with plenty of TLC and water until the Plant Sale.  There are many other sections that do the same thing.  All our cuttings are of plants you can't buy from nurseries.   Many are rare and endangered.  I love being at the Plant Sale.  Everybody is happy.  There are plenty red wagons filled with plants and folks with their arms filled with plants.  People stop by to chat and to admire and learn about our babies.  To select a plant to buy is an act of vigorous imagination and verdant hope.  It's a win-win event:  all the proceeds go directly to support the Garden's activities.  The good-will of the many many volunteers that come together to make the event work so smoothly warms my heart.  So much hope.  So much love.  So many beautiful plants.   Imagine the gardens!