You know it’s time to get serious about your garden when the annual Garden Club Plant Sale comes around.

The plant sale is the Garden Club’s big and only fundraiser — last year, it netted $13,000 dollars, helping to fund club operations and programs including rent, insurance, fees for monthly speakers, the club’s website, and more. A lot of the income goes directly back into the Vashon community, too.

Through the Helen Puz Horticulture Grants, the Garden Club supports the robust agriculture and horticulture programs within Vashon’s public and private schools by contributing to structures, planting supplies and educational materials — solicitingproposals from local elementary, middle and high school teachers and staff for gardening related educational projects. In recognition of her many years of tremendous dedication to the Garden Club, these awards are given in the name of Helen Puz.

The Garden Club awards three Kay White scholarships — named for the generous namesake of the beautiful performance hall in Vashon Center for the Arts VCA and a great contributor to the Garden Club and Vashon gardens — to graduating Vashon High School students, based on the student’s commitment to the study of horticulture, botany, environmental science, landscape architecture or forestry.

Funds for the Kay White scholarship are awarded through the Vashon Community Scholarship Foundation. Garden Club members are encouraged to attend the scholarship awards ceremony as it means so much to the recipients.

Here’s what one recipient said in a thank you letter: “I have been gardening since I was little, digging in the garden with my Grandpa Jack. The money kindly awarded will help me pursue a career in environmental science and conservation, where I will try my hardest to preserve our beautiful earth.”

The Garden Club also helped Vashon Island Grower’s Association last year with a $1000 donation.

Where do the plants we sell come from? The dedicated greenhouse crew, led by Karen Dale, starts working in one of the Matsuda greenhouses — thank you, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust! — in mid-February, sowing vegetable and annual flower seeds. A work party of Garden Club members meets weekly to continue sowing, transplanting and babying the little, all organically-grown plants, hoping for no freezes or heatwaves. A set of Garden Club water-witches waters the plants daily.

The dig and divide crew, led by Jessica Scruggs, sources plants from beautiful island gardens, such as Whit and Mary Carhart’s. A Garden Club crew then meets weekly at Matsuda and pots up these plants into 4-to-5 inch gallon pots, waters them as needed, weeds and primps them so that they look enticing to the customer.

Then there are the Dirty Dozen. Each Garden Club member is supposed to bring 12 plants from their garden to the plant sale. The Garden Club has currently 140 members, so that’s a whole lot of plants.

The most commonly asked question at the plant sale is: “What will the deer not eat?”

We are happy to lead customers to deer resistant plants. But let’s be clear, we live in Bambi Land, and the only true deer barrier is a fence. But we can lead you to deer resistant plants, shade plants, trees, vegetables, tomatoes galore, plants you have never heard of and must have — each and all grown with love and sold at incredibly reasonable prices.

For the second year in a row, we are holding a Friday night preview party with wine, goodies and live music. For $20 at the door, you’ll also get a $5 coupon to use at the Saturday sale. You’ll be able to browse, schmooze, drink and set aside three plants to buy at the sale. It was a ton of fun last year, and this year will be even bigger and better.

We are incredibly thankful to Island Lumber for letting us use their parking lot and for providing their tents and tables, again all free of charge. Their nursery is holding a sale during our Plant Sale: 20% off on amazing Beringer Farm fruit trees, colorful ceramic pottery as well as bagged soil. When you are done shopping the plant sale, please go inside Island Lumber and support the store. We could not do it without their help.

Trudy Rosemarin and Mem Rippey are Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club plant sale co-chairs.

2025 Garden Club Plant Sale

9 a.m.-12 p.m., Saturday April 26

Island Lumber Parking Lot

(Sneak Peak: 5-6:30 p.m., Friday, April 24)

Plant Sale shoppers enjoy the Garden Club event at a previous plant sale. (Courtesy photo)

Plants from the Matsuda greenhouse in 2025. (Courtesy photo)

Dig and Divide 2025. (Courtesy photo)