Celebrate the beauty of the spring season with a botanical garden in bloom and discover a wide variety of plants sure to enhance your own home garden. The Nature Coast Botanical Garden’s 2024 Annual Spring Plant Sale will occur at 1489 Parker Ave., Spring Hill, April 5–6, on Friday, from 9 a.m.–2 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.–noon.
Many of the garden club plants are grown right here at the Botanical Gardens. They will have knowledgeable Spring Hill Garden Club members to help with questions and selections. All proceeds go to the upkeep of the Botanical Gardens, which helps them to keep the gardens open and free to the public.
The plant sale event forms a vital part of the history and tradition of the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, a true community institution here in Hernando County. Members of the Spring Hill Garden Club founded the gardens in 1994. Spring Hill Garden Club uses a portion of the 4.5 acres as a plant nursery to raise funds for creating and maintaining the Botanical Gardens. These gardens have now been expanded into 21 themed areas, comprising the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens.
“The Nature Coast Botanical Gardens was born with an idea and some very dedicated people back in 1993. The first gardens opened to the public in 2002 and have grown annually. We specialize in plants that we know will grow and stay healthy in our area, many of which are grown and propagated here in the gardens, and those that we bring in unless noted, are tried and true plants. Many gardeners in our community also donate plants that have outgrown their yards,” said Mary Wuest, garden manager. “The nursery held its first plant sale that year at the present location and has been held weekly ever since.”
The spring and fall plant sales, in particular, are large-scale and widely popular events in this area. Their proceeds facilitate the ongoing operation of the gardens, which are open year-round and free of charge to the public. This year, Channel 10 News will broadcast from the botanical gardens on the first day of the plant sale and will conduct 5 o’clock news segments on Wednesday, April 11.
“Because of our sales, especially the big spring sale being held this week, April 5–6, and the fall sale in October, all of the profits go directly back into the gardens for all to enjoy for free,” said Kathy Wolfe, the nursery manager. “There are no paid employees; they are totally all volunteers, which I think is remarkable.”
The botanical gardens are open every day of the year, holidays included. The nursery is open for plant sales every Saturday and Monday throughout the year. The gardens are also a popular site for weddings and parties, with their lovely, peaceful surroundings setting the scene for the perfect celebration. Be sure to visit the website at
www.naturecoastgardens.com for current information and all things going on in the gardens.
