Plants galore: Opportunities abound to purchase native flora

If you’re looking to refresh your landscaping or garden, this is the weekend to stock up.

From native plants at the Toledo Zoo to houseplants, flowers, and vegetable plants at the Toledo Farmers’ Market — the city will be in full bloom and ready to serve thousands of customers.

Wild Toledo, a native plant nursery at the Toledo Zoo, will host the Native Plant Sale event. The nursery offers more than 500 species of native plants, all of which are grown on site either from seeds or cuttings, said Ryan Walsh, director of plant conservation for the zoo.

It’s open to stop in and browse or to pick up pre-orders from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, as well as every Saturday in June. Customers should follow signage from the zoo’s parking lot, 2 Hippo Way, Toledo. Online orders can be made at wildtoledo.org , where plants for sale are running between $7 for a 3 1/4-inch pot of dense blazing star to $20 for a 4-inch pot of wild lupine.

Walsh highlighted the importance of native plants, which are more used to the climate and conditions of the area than non-native species.

IF YOU GO

■ Native Plant Sale at the Toledo Zoo: 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 2 Hippo Way, Toledo

■ Flower Day Weekend at the Toledo Farmers’ Market: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Monday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, 525 Market St., Toledo

“You really can't have native pollinators … without having native plants. Our native pollinators evolved alongside native plants and they can’t necessarily utilize non-natives as much as they can utilize natives,” he said. “So ecologically, it's bringing diversity into your yard. It's helping pollinators. It's helping butterflies.”

The zoo encourages people to use native plants in place of non-native plants that they already incorporate into their landscape.

“Instead of using hibiscus that's not native, you can use one of our swamp mallows,” Walsh suggested. “The biggest thing is encouraging people that they can actually use native plants in their landscape, and they're not just going to look weedy and take over.”

Native plants (though some of them hybridized), along with succulents, outdoor flowers, and other plants will be available from more than 125 vendors during the 35th annual Flower Day Weekend at the Toledo Farmers’ Market.

The three-day event is expected to draw in at least 40,000 customers, said market director Dan Madigan. The growers, hailing from all parts of Ohio and Michigan, will overflow into the parking lot, particularly on Sunday.

The market, located at 525 Market St., is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday of the year. This Saturday is still a market day — with regular produce, baked goods, and other artisans — while Sunday is the true flower day, Madigan said.

“On Sunday, they will expand the amount of flowers, they'll bring in more, and they'll have more of a showcase,” he said. “We have all the vendors remove their vehicles from the parking lot, that way everything's wide open. Everywhere you see, it's flowers.

“Monday is pretty much the day for all those that had to work on the weekend,” he added. “They’re looking for plants, and maybe some things for their [Memorial Day] cookout.”

The market opens at 8 a.m. Saturday through Monday and goes into the afternoon each day.

With the anticipated traffic and limited parking, local Boy Scouts will provide a package pickup service. Musicians will offer live entertainment on the weekend, and fair food vendors will be set up on Market Street.

Devon Shaw, owner of The Soul Patch, a plant and flower nursery based in Swanton, sets up his plants every weekend at the farmers’ market, as well as at other local markets.

“Regular weekends are usually great; it's always a busy market,” he said. “Flower Weekend, for a vendor, it's kind of crazy. Just tons of people, packed to the brim, people looking for plants and flowers.”

The grower said he’ll arrive at the market as early as 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, bringing two truckloads with around 800 plants each — ranging from 3-inch pots of herbs to 12-inch pots of annuals.

His stock this year is primarily perennial flowers, which he said are becoming more popular among buyers.

“People want to plant less annuals. They'd rather spend a little bit more money from year to year on perennials and in 5, 10 years, they don't have to hardly buy plants at all for their flower beds and their yards.”

Shaw said foxglove and lupine are two of his bestselling perennials, and Walsh said swamp milkweed, purple coneflower, and black-eyed Susan are always the most popular native plants.

“I play with the numbers every year,” Shaw said. “If something sold really well last year, then I might grow a little bit more of it the next year. If something didn't sell as well, I'll grow less of it.

“But it's a game to play, too, because it changes and something may be hot next year that you didn't think was going to be.”

Both Shaw and Walsh emphasized the importance of educating customers on how to design the right landscape for them, and recommend that new gardeners come to these sales with knowledge about the conditions of their yards.

“We have a lot of different soil types and different conditions in northwest Ohio. Just because it's native to this area doesn't mean it'll grow in your yard,” Walsh said. “We usually try to work with people, find out what their yard is like, and then suggest plants that they might not have thought of.”