Saturday, May 11 is Buy-A-Plant day in HF!

Homewood-Flossmoor gardeners, put aside Saturday, May 11 as your day to pick up flowers and bedding plants for your summer gardens. There are lots of options for gardeners looking for local, organic, or unique garden plants—just in time for Mothers Day, too!

Need help deciding what to plant? Start your day by attending the Green Thumb Saturday presentation on Container Gardens, from 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM in the Homewood Village Hall Council Chambers at 2020 Chestnut Street.

Once you’ve finished learning all about container planting, join us for the opening day of the Homewood farmers market! May 11 is a special sneak preview, with your favorite vendors featuring their early season offerings.  Check out the organic vegetable starter plants from local vendor Bloomberg Gardens, herb pots from yours truly at Homewood Kitchen Gardens, and flower baskets from Chicago Heights nursery, Zeldenrust Farms. The market is located in the parking lot behind Homewood Village Hall and runs from 8 AM to 1 PM.

Then head off to the Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center at 20000 Western Avenue, Olympia Fields (corner of Western and Vollmer), where the annual native plant sale runs from 9 AM to noon. Native perennials are low maintenance, ideally suited to Illinois’s volatile climate, and help sustain threatened indigenous bee and butterfly populations.

Members of the Iron Oaks Foundation receive a coupon for a free native perennial at Saturday’s sale, and will be entered into a draw for a rain barrel. If you haven’t joined the Foundation yet, now’s the time! For more information, visit www.ironsoaks.com/eve_seas.html.

Also from the Irons Oaks Foundation, you can purchase vouchers for a variety of flower selections from Big John’s Farm Market and Greenhouses at 1754 E. Joe Orr Road, Chicago Heights. Vouchers range in price from $3 for a 4½” pot to $25 for a premium 12” hanging basket and can be purchased at the Irons Oaks office.  See www.ironsoaks.com/fou_fund.html for details.

And finally, you can win great garden-related prizes, including a 10” Salad Bowl planter from Sunnycrest Greenhouses, a free Garden Consultation from Prairie Godmothers, or a gift basket of Homewood Kitchen Gardens herbal body care products—and support the American Stroke Association at the same time! Buy raffle tickets ($1 each or six for $5) at the Ingalls Stroke Awareness fair, which will be held outdoors from 10 AM to noon at the Ingalls Family Care Center, 19550 Governors Highway in Flossmoor.  For more information visit http://www.IngallsHealthSystem.org or call 708-917-CARE (2273).

Happy spring planting!

Please visit Kate at the Homewood Kitchen Gardens stall at the Homewood Farmers Market, every Saturday from 8 AM to 1 PM in the Village Hall parking lot. Email us or find us on Facebook