The West Vancouver Garden Club holds a Plant Sale every two years, the last very successful one was held in April, 2017 and raised $2,295.25. The club has many expenses ranging from paying insurance, honoraria for speakers, paying the rental for the church hall as well as providing scholarships and bursaries for horticulture students at Kwantlen. We also issue a monthly newsletter and mount two social events each year. The Plant Sale is the only large-scale fund raising event in our calendar. It is a major undertaking, pulling together the efforts of many club members in a wide range of tasks.

The process begins in September when the subject is raised in an executive meeting. The decision is taken, then comes the job of finding a couple of volunteers to coordinate the planning, once this has been achieved the real work begins. An announcement is made at each meeting through the fall to “divide and pot up your perennials, collect and wash your pots, prepare to volunteer! The hope is that each member contributes at least 10 plants. Doing the potting in fall ensures that the plants are a good size and well established by the time of the sale in May. Plants should be well labeled with name, bloom time, colour, height and any other pertinent information. March sees the delivery of potting soil, usually at the gardens of two members willing and able to accommodate a mountain of soil and host “potting groups? from time to time.

Clean washed pots are also available. Sign up sheets are available at the March meeting for volunteers to indicate the tasks they are willing to undertake, these range from helping with potting, sorting plants, setting up the tables, arranging plants, taking cash, helping customers, helping with putting up advertising signs, clearing up afterwards etc. There is a task for everyone! The more people that help to make the sale successful, the easier and more fun it is for everyone!