More than 160 types of plants will be available for purchase at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) Heritage Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18. Admission to the plant sale is free.
Organized by the MSV, the Heritage Plant Sale features more than 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 at the Heritage Plant Sale are ready for immediate planting. He notes that many of the plants available are timeless favorites—including peonies, columbine, iris, and black-eyed Susan—while other plants being sold are not commonly found at neighborhood garden centers. Among the unique plants available for purchase are the aromatic aster, a native perennial with violet-blue flowers that bloom in autumn and attract butterflies; the yellow coneflower—the only species of Echinacea with yellow flowers—popular among goldfinches and featuring large drooping petals; and the serviceberry tree, a small, multi-trunked understory tree that produces showy white flowers in the spring and vibrant foliage in the fall.
Mathewes notes that, based on popular demand, most plants offered at the sale will be perennials. Available in one-gallon pots, nearly all of the perennials are priced at $12 each. He adds that shrubs—in three-gallon containers—will sell for $25 to $40, and trees will range in price from $35 for a corkscrew willow to $195 for the American Hop-hornbeam, a native tree ideal for urban gardens.
Throughout the plant 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 may be found in the MSV’s seven-acre Glen Burnie Gardens, including hibiscus (Perennial Garden), strawberries (Vegetable Garden), coral honeysuckle (Pink Pavilion garden), cardinal flower and Virginia sweetspire (Kathie’s Spring Garden), creeping phlox and prairie coneflower (Rose Garden), English lavender (MSV parking lot), 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/plants24.
First access to the Heritage Plant sale is being offered to MSV members from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 16. Along with having the first opportunity to browse and purchase plants, MSV members will receive a 10% discount on Heritage Plant Sale purchases. Those interested in attending the preview and receiving the members’ discount may join the MSV on site or online at www.theMSV.org/join.
Plants will be available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
Heritage Plant Sale attendees interested in touring the MSV gardens and exhibitions may store their purchased plants in a plant holding area. While admission to the plant sale is free to all, admission fees apply for entrance to the formal gardens and exhibitions in the galleries building.
A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes a galleries building that presents 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 and $10 for seniors and youth ages 13 to 18. General admission is free to youth ages 12 and under and to MSV members (a $5 admission fee will apply for ages 5 to 12 during the display of the special outdoor exhibition Gardens of Glass June 8 through October 13, 2024). Additional details are available at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235.