The Montreat Landcare Committee is sponsoring the sixth annual Montreat Native Plant Sale and Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, April 28th. The event takes place from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Moore Center Park.
The Native Plant Sale is a unique opportunity to shop for indoor and outdoor plants, with native and unique plants being featured. At the same time, visitors can learn about native plants and trees, as well as gardening in general, from a variety of experts. Activities and programs for children are also planned.
Five Western North Carolina nurseries will be offering a wide variety of native and other plants for home and garden. They include Appalachian Creek Nursery of Swannanoa, Carolina Native Nursery of Burnsville, Field Venture Farms from Marion, High Country Nursery of Fairview and In-Site Out Design of Black Mountain. Other participating local vendors include Professional Landscape Solutions of Black Mountain and Ten Thousand Villages.
Gardening and plant experts will provide a wealth of information concerning gardening and native plants and trees. The Extension Master Gardeners of Buncombe County will be on hand to answer questions and give advice on gardening. The Hemlock Restoration Initiative will explain the work that is being done to stop the Hemlock decline. Montreat College students will be on hand to teach about the structure and function of trees by facilitating a craft activity for children to “Become a Tree”. The Montreat Landcare Committee will share information both on preferred native plants and on invasive plant species to avoid. The North Carolina Forest Service will be distributing information on its Firewise initiative. The Montreat Tree Board will provide brochures and flyers for best practice tree maintenance. The American Chestnut Foundation will provide information on its activities to restore the American Chestnut Tree.
Informative programs are planned throughout the day. At 9 a.m. Mayor Tim Helms will read an Arbor Day proclamation, and Montreat will again be honored as a “Tree City USA.” At 10 a.m. Lucy Cohn-Still, Urban Forestry Expert with the North Carolina Forest Service, will present a program on promoting the health of your trees, including tree pruning. At 11 a.m. Doug Gillis, President of the Carolinas chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation, will describe the efforts and advances taking place to restore the American Chestnut Tree. At noon the Town of Montreat Tree Board will demonstrate new equipment the Town has purchased for tree pruning. And at 1 p.m. Jonathan Marchal, Youth Education Manager of The North Carolina Arboretum, will present a program on the new eco-Explore outdoor science program for children.
Ample parking for the event will be available in the Anderson Auditorium parking lot. Breakfast and lunch food and refreshments will be offered by Something Fun Catering and Events.
The Montreat Landcare Committee is a cooperative effort of the Montreat Conference Center, the Town of Montreat, Montreat College, Montreat Cottagers Association, the Montreat Trail Club, the Montreat Wildlife Habitat Program, and Montreat Presbyterian Church Earth Ministry Team. For more information on the Montreat Landcare Committee, go online to MontreatLandcare.org.