Master Gardener plant auction a big success

The Putnam County Master Gardeners had another very successful plant auction on Saturday, May 14 at the Fairgrounds.

Shrubs, trees, flowers, herbs, vegetables, berry bushes, hanging baskets, gardening equipment -- more than 800 items were auctioned off.

Auctioneer Rick Parent donated his skills to the Master Gardeners for the second year in a row. With his typical good humor, he coaxed folks to buy and in spite of the cold, windy weather, it was a happy, fun day.

Parent admitted that he didn't know the plant names, and he mangled pronouncing some of them, but that was part of the fun, too. There was one plant Parent was sure of -- someone had brought in a burdock plant as a joke.

The burdock is a famous weed, the one that produces the prickly burrs that stick to clothes and pets' fur. Somehow, Rick got that burdock plant auctioned off, too.

Many of the plants came from the Master Gardeners who brought in starts from their own gardens.

Greencastle's Walmart also donated more than 400 plants. Many of Walmart's contributions were plants that had been damaged by the hailstorm a week earlier, but every gardener at the auction could see past the torn leaves and petals and knew the plants only needed a little time and some TLC to be beautiful again.

Several local businesses donated auction items, too -- from planters to garden trowels to gift certificates.

The Master Gardeners would like to thank groups and businesses who contributed: Butler's Flowers and Plants, Cloverdale High School Greenhouse, Cloverdale Ag Center, Davidson's Greenhouse, Greendell Landscape Solutions, Headley Hardware, Herriman Farms, Hilltop Orchids, Kroger, Ponderosa Aqua Farm, RTM/Garden Shop, and Sinclair House Greenhouse, Snowy Pines, TSC, Walmart and Yankee Rose.

The purpose of the Master Gardeners' annual plant auction is to raise scholarship money for Putnam County's post-secondary students who are interested in studying in a gardening-related field.

This year's scholarship goes to Lauren Johnston, a North Putnam High School senior. Johnston is going to Purdue Unniersity in the fall, to major in agriculture education.