On Friday and Saturday, you can not only visit Red Butte Garden you can bring a little bit of it home with you.
It's the annual Red Butte Garden Benefit Plant Sale, with a wide variety of growing things on sale. There will be herbs, specialty annuals, vegetables (including heirlooms), sun and shade perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs, conifers, roses, vines, trees, native plants, drought-tolerant plants and high-altitude plants.
The sale will also feature a variety of organic gardening products fertilizers, sprays, and coco-fiber, that when mixed into your garden or container soil aids water retention.
A number of the plants have been grown from Red Butte Garden cuttings, so that you have a little bit of the garden in your own yard.
Representatives from several local plant societies will be on hand to answer questions Wasatch Rock Garden, Utah Rose Society, Utah Hosta Society, Water Garden Club, Utah Community Forest Council, Tree Utah and Utah State Extension Master Gardeners will all be represented, along with members of the Red Butte Garden staff.
It's a members-only sale on Friday, May 4, 1-8 p.m., but you can buy a Red Butte Garden membership at the gate. One-year memberships are $35 for individuals; $45 for two people; and $65 for a family (2 adults and up to six children) or a "circle of friends" (one adult plus up to three guests per visit).
The sale is open to the public on Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
For more information, call 801-585-0556 or go to redbuttegarden.org/spring_plant_sale.
Red Butte Garden's Annual Benefit Plant Sale
When: Red Butte Garden members-only on Friday, May 4, 1-8 p.m.; open to the public on Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Cottam's Grove, located on the way to the Garden Amphitheater. From the four-way stop sign at Chipeta and Wakara Way, turn left (north) and follow the signs.
What to bring: If you have your own wagon, bring it. There will be a few shopping carts and plenty of cardboard plant trays.
Parking: On Friday, the plant sale coincides with the University of Utah commencement. To ease the inconvenience, staff will operate a passenger shuttle from the sale entrance to overflow lots from 1 p.m. Friday as long as needed. There will also be a loading-only area near the sale entrance/checkout.