Pleasantville Gardening Club’s Plant Sale Blooms With Community Spirit
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Chloe Kohl
It wasn’t even 8 a.m. on Saturday, yet Pleasantville’s Memorial Plaza was already buzzing with excitement. Crowds lined up with wagons of vegetables and flowers, eager to purchase plants at the stroke of 8, when the annual plant sale officially began. By 9 a.m., only about half of the hanging plants remained.
Welcome to the Pleasantville Gardening Club’s Annual Plant Sale.
The club has been beautifying Pleasantville and surrounding areas since 1975 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. With more than 120 members, the club has grown considerably over the past few decades, expanding its volunteer work as well. In addition to beautification projects, the club hosts monthly meetings with guest speakers, maintains gardens throughout Pleasantville, and sponsors educational programs to teach the community about pollinators and native species. Their annual plant sale – always held on Mother’s Day weekend – makes all this vital work possible.
With more than 6,000 plants available, the sale offers something for every plant lover. Options range from traditional vegetables to dinner plate dahlias, bleeding hearts and bee balms. A favorite event activity includes “plant matchmaking,” where club members personalize the plant search for the customer they are helping.
Helping customers find the right plants is a big part of what makes the sale special. Organizers say the event is not just about selling plants, but about building connections and sharing knowledge with gardeners of all experience levels.
The sale is a way to “connect with the community and teach both new and experienced gardeners what we are learning,” observed Carolyn Ramsey, an organizer alongside Josephine DiCostanzo.
Ramsey emphasized the importance of affordable prices, noting that the sale is unique in its mission to make plants accessible to homeowners and families looking to brighten their homes and gardens.
Despite the hard work, many members said the plant sale is their favorite part of the gardening club experience. In the weeks leading up to the event, members dig into their own backyards – as well as gardens maintained by the club – to hand-pick perennials, or plants that regrow each spring.
One particularly special plant is the hellebore, which begins to bloom in winter.
Gardener and club member Christine Alvis shared that it looked beautiful in her snow-covered garden this February. Alvis emphasized the importance of the sale, explaining that “it is the culmination of what we do.”
Both club members and customers shared in the delight of the day, a four-hour event.
It’s a great way, one customer said, to “catch up with people in the community and learn about new ways to help the environment.”
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.