The ever popular Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library Biennial Plant Sale returned Saturday, June 6 to the delight of gardeners who couldn’t wait to find new flowers and plants to add to their gardens.

Gardeners moved from table to table to check out the varieties of native plants that included Black Eyed Susan, primrose, wild columbine, cranesbill, goats beard, anemone, echinacea and ranunculus.

"We had about 30 people lined up around the fence waiting before we opened at 9 a.m.," said longtime dedicated gardener and plant sale volunteer Liz Lussier. “We sold 70% of what we had. We went half off around 10:30. We’re moving the remaining plants and flowers to two tables, one for shade and the other for sun, outside the Library (to be) sold by donation.” (As of June 10, most of those plants were sold.)

According to an email from Savannah Fields, BHML's development manager, the plant sale raised just over $2,000, which was more than $600 over the last fundraiser.

Native plants were the focus for the volunteer gardeners and master gardeners. Explained Lussier, “I went to a talk about native and invasive plants at the Botanical Gardens a few years ago and 70% native and 30% cultivar was recommended.”

That talk in 2023, led by Irene Barber, CMBG’s adult education and horticulturaltherapy program manager, focused on the benefits of planting native species in home gardens. Barber covered the value of native plants and their role in erosion control, and contribution to cleaner water and wildlife habitats; the removal of native plants and planting of invasive species disturbs habitat and the ecology within these areas. For more about that talk, see the Boothbay Register article: https://shorturl.at/TornG

Handout materials available on tables included those from the Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative (https://cleandrinkingwater.bbrlt.org/) and Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District (https://www.knox-lincoln.org/)

The gardeners and master gardener volunteers included Anna Apollonio, Sue Mello, Rita Arnold, Bonnie Ginger, B.J. Dobson, Denise Friant and Jamie Morin. Numerous local gardeners also donated to the event.

Lussier noted one of the reasons the plant sale is biennial is the length of time it takes to grow and nurture offerings. “There was a seed share at the Library in February-late March, the time to start plants from seeds. Native plants from seed I planted two years ago and they were ready for this fundraiser, small – but ready!”

"All that in mind, BHML staff and trustees are grateful to the dedicated and knowledgeable gardeners and library lovers who made this fundraiser entirely possible," said Fields. "Their work is admirable, as they spread the joy of planting with our community while supporting their local library."

For more information on the importance of planting native species and the downside of invasive species that rob native blooms, shrubs and trees of sustenance, visit https://cleandrinkingwater.bbrlt.org/ and https://www.knox-lincoln.org/