One of my favorite plant sales of the year is almost here, the Long Beach City College Horticulture Department Spring Open House and Plant Sale.  This year is they are celebrating their 41st Open House.  I look forward to this plant sale every year, more than any other garden event.  Although it is not near as big as some of the other Southern California plant shows, tours, and sales, like the Fullerton Arboretum Green Scene or the Spring Garden Show at the South Coast Plaza, it is always fun to the see the annual changes to the LBCC horticulture Dept. grounds made by the newer students and what new things they propagated.  Every year it is a little bit different than the year before.

 

The prices are always reasonable, generally much better than home improvement stores, and the proceeds go to supporting the club and department. There are usually thousands of common and unusual plants, propagated by the students, staff, alumni, and club members.  The horticulture department has an extensive selection of indoor and green house plants, as well as display gardens.  Last year, they had a really cute fairy garden display and they had recently expanded their chicken yard.   In past years, the plant choices included dozens of tomato and pepper varieties, culinary herbs, cacti, succulents, native shrubs, house plants, bedding flowers, roses, and more.   Also, students and staff are usually happy to answer garden related questions.  But a word of advice, bring your own wagon or garden cart and try to go one of the first days of the sale, the earlier the better.  When there is only a flat or two of something new or unusual, they often sell out of it in the first hour of the first day.  Plan for time to check out, the line for the registers are pretty long that first hour of the first day of the plant sale.

 

LBCC Spring Open House and Plant Sale
The dates this year:  March 26th-30th, 2013

9AM to 6PM

LBCC Pacific Coast Campus Horticulture Gardens

1305 E. Pacific Coast Hwy. Long Beach, CA 90806