MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Throughout the pandemic, the hobby of gardening has bloomed. For people with new or old green thumbs, the Memphis Botanic Garden's annual Spring Plant Sale is now underway.
Annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and every plant you may think up is lined up inside the nursery of the Memphis Botanic Garden.
“We have tens of thousands of plants," Michael Allen, Memphis Botanic Garden Executive Director, said.
Allen expects that not only flowers will be "blooming" at this year's sale.
"Gardening as a hobby, as an interest, has just gone up exponentially," he said. "There’s no question about that. We’re seeing it in the interest in our plant sale.”
For this year's sale, plant lovers have to reserve a time to shop out of safety precaution to the pandemic.
“Every 15 minutes we have slots for people to sign up for," Allen said.
Due to the growing number of green thumbs, it wasn't an easy feat to get all the plants lined up for sale.
While some on sale are grown at the garden, many others are brought in from wholesalers.
"It has almost been impossible to find the product that we need from wholesalers to bring it in in the quantities that we did," Allen said. We’ve had to look far and wide to make that happen.”
Sales go to benefit the garden and its programs it puts on throughout the year like educational ones.
“This really is an opportunity for people of all levels beginners, intermediate to come and find plants that work for them in their homes and spaces that they have," Allen said.
People can reserve a time to shop on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then again all of next week beginning on Monday before the sale heads online on May 5. Reserve a shopping time here.