NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Dillon Nature Center's Lesser Known Lovelies plant sale is this weekend.
"We've gone beyond what we've normally done before COVID," said John Gallagher with Dillon Nature Center. "We are having our in person sale again, to the relief of many plant growers in this area."
They also had an online sale that has already ended, but the in person sale started with efforts from Betty Taylor to allow locals to plant the things they can already see work well at the Dillon Nature Center.
"I discovered that if someone came to the Dillon Nature Center, saw some plants in the gardens out there, really liked them, wanted to incorporate some of them with their marigolds and vincas and other things, they were not locally available," Taylor said. "My husband starts mainly all the plants from seed and he would order seed from various companies."
So, what's being sold Friday and Saturday is those already started, but not necessarily blooming yet, plants, that have been grown in a greenhouse to get them ready to go.
"We put little stickers on the sides of the pack to identify the plants," Taylor said. "They're not in bloom, most of them won't be in bloom and give you a sheet that tells you their name, their growing, whether they want sun or shade, how far apart to plant them, how tall they'll get, what color the flower will be and we'll have pictures up in the meeting room of the flowers that will be produced by these plants later."
The event is for members only on Friday night from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Then, the public will have an opportunity from 8 a.m. Saturday until the plants are gone at 3002 E. 30th Avenue in Hutchinson.