Volume 12, Number 3, 2004
Every April since 1993, hundreds of backyard gardeners and other community residents come to the University to stock up on perennial plants.
The sale, which most recently attracted an estimated 1,000 shoppers, is organized by University of Delaware Botanic Gardens coordinator John Frett, volunteers from the College and the group, UDBG Friends. The primary goal of the annual fund-raiser is to support undergraduate internships at the gardens. What the students learn during these hands-on internships dovetails nicely with what they learn in their horticulture classes, Frett says. It's a win-win situation for all parties, he adds, because the UDBG benefits from all the hard work the interns perform, including curator tasks, general maintenance and labeling projects.
Proceeds from the event have increased each year, from the first sale's less than $10,000 to last April's total of more than $40,000.
"Monies raised from the first few sales funded two UD undergraduates in summer internships," Frett says. "The sale has become so successful--reaching more people every year--that now we also can support another summer intern and one 12-month internship, which is available to horticulture graduates nationwide and around the world. Our 2003-04 intern is from France."
He adds that, by offering unusual and difficult-to-find plants, the sale helps educate the public about new varieties.
"Our hope is that as consumers learn about outstanding species and varieties, nurseries will develop propagating stock, ensuring these plants become part of the local plant palette," Frett says.