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They brought wagons, boxes, bins and even the odd wheelbarrow to haul away all their plant-based treasures collected at the 25th Annual Paul Martin Perennial Plant comes out on Saturday at the Lanspeary Park Greenhouses.
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Volunteers from Windsor parks and recreation department were on hand to assist crowds of gardeners of varying degrees of expertise with more than 100 different types of perennials offered for sale, as well as herbs and grasses, trees and shrubs.
“We were extremely busy the first couple of hours and then it’s been steady since,” said Wanda Letourneau, the city’s horticulture manager.
Letourneau said the first person in line waiting for the gates to open was a woman who arrived at 5:45 am to make sure she didn’t leave disappointed. The woman wound up coming back twice more since she was unable to carry everything in one load.
People were thrilled to have the plant sale return after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Letouneau said. “Everyone is in good spirits and so glad we’re back.”
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Proceeds from the sale help fund the Paul Martin Garden at Willistead Park. Any leftover herbs and vegetables were to be used in the city’s community gardens or donated to the Unemployed Help Center.
This was the last plant sale at Lanspeary Park since Letourneau and her staff are moving into a spacious new greenhouse facility at Jackson Park later this summer.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” said Letourneau, who has worked in the city’s horticulture department for 35 years.
The eight greenhouses at Lanspeary will eventually be torn down and the park space repurposed. At 22,000 square feet, the new greenhouse at Jackson Park will offer twice the amount of growing space.
When health restrictions prevented the popular sale the previous two years, Letourneau said the extra stock was used to add more variety and color to city parks.
