Fauquier Master Gardeners to give away seeds and plants on Oct. 3 in Marshall

The Fauquier County Master Gardeners (FCMG) are holding a “Share Our Abundance” Plant Give-away on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 pm at the FCMG demonstration gardens at historic Schoolhouse #18 in Marshall.

In late summer, the Master Gardeners have been busy putting their gardens to bed for the 2015 season.  As part of this work, they have been gathering seeds and thinning and dividing their most productive plants. 

For the first time, the Master Gardeners are making these plants and seeds available to the public for free and invite the community to visit the garden and select plants and seeds that they can take home and plant in their own home gardens.

“It has been a very productive year in the demonstration gardens,” said Sharon Holmes, a Master Gardener from Warrenton who is spearheading the Plant Give-away and is the keeper of the Mixed Border perennial bed. 

“This year, we have had an abundance of flowering plants, herbs, and cutting flowers and we’d like to share our bounty with the local community.  It’s a win-win for everyone.  We get to thin our gardens to make way for new and different plants for 2016, and the community gets to take home some of our best producers.”

A variety of plants will be available, including: Lambs Ear, Phlox, Irises, Cone Flowers, Brown- and Black-eyed Susan’s, Hosta, Day Lilies, Bee Balm, and much more.  Flower seeds from the Cutting Garden will also be available.

The half-acre FCMG demonstration gardens occupy the property surrounding the historic Schoolhouse #18, a 19th Century one-room schoolhouse that operated until 1963.  More than 20 master gardeners volunteer to maintain the gardens, which feature 17 garden beds that showcase various gardening techniques and best practices, including growing herbs, perennials, vegetables, cutting flowers, grasses and native plants, shade and water gardens, rock gardens, as well as shrubs and trees.

The plant give-away is free to the community.  All plants and seeds will be packaged for easy carry and marked with information on the species as well as planting and growing information. 

In addition, hand-outs on thinning, dividing and re-planting plants will be available, as well as refreshments.
The Schoolhouse gardens are located at 7592 East Main Street, Marshall (East of Marshall on Route 55, next to the Recycle Center). 

For more information, contact the Fauquier County Master Gardener Help Desk at 540-341-7950, Ext. 1 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  In the case of inclement weather, please check the website (http://www.fc-mg.org) for possible rescheduled dates.

Master Gardeners are volunteers for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, who are dedicated to working with the community to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices.  Please visit our website for information on the Master Gardener program and upcoming events: http://www.fc-mg.org