More than 160 varieties of plants available for purchase. Admission to Plant Sale is free.
More than 160 types of plants will be available for purchase at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) Heritage Plant Sale taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17. Admission to the plant sale is free.
Organized by the MSV, the Heritage Plant Sale will feature approximately 4,000 plants, all selected by the Museum’s horticultural experts for their ability to thrive in Shenandoah Valley gardens. The sale will include perennials, shrubs, trees, annuals, vines, and vegetables.
According to MSV Director of Gardens Perry Mathewes, the plants offered are ready for immediate planting. He notes that many of the plants available are timeless favorites—such as peonies, columbine, iris, and purple coneflower—while others are not commonly found at neighborhood garden centers. Among the unique offerings are calico aster, a native perennial with white flowers that bloom in autumn and attract butterflies; ironweed, a rugged, drought-tolerant native that produces purple flowers in late summer; and a deer-resistant southern honeysuckle shrub native to the Appalachian region, known for its excellent foliage color.
Mathewes adds that, in response to popular demand, the majority of plants available will be perennials. Most perennials will be sold in one-gallon pots and priced at $14 each. Shrubs, available in three-gallon containers, will be priced between $30 and $40, while trees will range in price from $30 for a native fringe tree to $125 for the Okame cherry, a classic spring variety.
Throughout the sale, MSV horticultural staff will be available to answer questions about the planting, care, and maintenance of the plants available for purchase.
Many of the plants available for purchase can also be seen in the MSV landscape, including spotted bee balm (wildflower meadow at MSV entrance), hibiscus (Perennial Garden), strawberries (Vegetable Garden), coral honeysuckle (Pink Pavilion garden), Joe-Pye weed and Virginia sweetspire (Kathie’s Spring Garden), creeping phlox and prairie coneflower (Rose Garden), English lavender (MSV parking lot), globe thistle (beds in front of galleries building), Japanese Cedar (South Lawn), and Siberian bugloss (Water Garden). Proceeds from the Heritage Plant Sale will support the care and maintenance of the MSV gardens. A detailed listing of plants available for purchase is available at www.theMSV.org/plants25.
MSV members will have first access to the sale during a preview event from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. In addition to early access, members will receive a 10% discount on purchases. Those interested in attending the preview and receiving the discount may join the MSV onsite or online at www.theMSV.org/join.
Plants will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
Attendees wishing to explore the MSV gardens or exhibitions may store their purchased plants in a designated holding area. While admission to the plant sale is free, standard admission fees apply for entry to the formal gardens and museum galleries.
A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes a galleries building with permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Glen Burnie House, seven acres of formal gardens, and The Trails at the MSV, a free-admission art park open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. The galleries are open year-round Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. January through March). The house and gardens are open April through December. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and youth ages 13 to 18, and $5 for ages 5–12 during the display of the special outdoor exhibition Scraposaurs (now–October 19, 2025). General admission is free to MSV members and ages 4 and under. Additional details are available at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235.