Flowering Buddha Belly plants for sale at the master gardeners spring plant sale | Robert Meyerowitz, LkldNow
2-minute read

“This one is unusual, I’ve never seen it in a Lowe’s,” Alice Skipper said Thursday as she stood in front of pots of Blue Butterfly Pea bushes.

Skipper is the plant sale chair for the Polk County Master Gardeners. She was previewing the organization’s semi-annual plant sale, which is this Saturday, April 26.

The Blue Butterfly pea flowers are delicate and stunning.

Like almost all the plants at the sale, which have been cultivates by the master gardeners, they’re $6 per pot.

When: Saturday, April 26, 8-11:30 a.m.

Where: The City of Lakeland Nursery, 4532 U.S. Hwy 98 S.

Admission: Free

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In addition to providing a rich array of flowering and edible plants, which are all Florida natives or Florida-friendly, the master gardeners have another motive: to educate Lakelanders and others about what can be grown in Florida.

Many of the master gardeners will be on hand Saturday to answer questions.

As a few bees and butterflies hovered, Skipper, who is also a beekeeper, said she had yet another agenda.

She wanted to to tell people about how ecologically good these plants are.

“We’re really pushing the pollinators on the public,” she said.

Plants being prepared Thursday for the master gardeners spring plant sale | Robert Meyerowitz, LkldNow

There will be about 3,000 pots of plants for sale Saturday.

They include shade-loving plants in a separate area.

There are also some delicious plants in edible aisles such as the small, sweet Everglades tomatoes, dill, fennel, basil, and Thai hot pepper plants, which area feast for the eyes.

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Robert Meyerowitz has been a reporter, editor and foreign correspondent. He covered Central America and the Middle East, he was the cofounder and editor of the Anchorage Press in Alaska, and he taught journalism at the University of Alaska. He comes to Lakeland from Park City, Utah, where he edited The Park Record.

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