PAXTON — Members of the Paxton Garden Club are buzzing about like busy bees getting ready for the group’s second annual plant sale, coming up on June 3.
This is the second plant sale organized by the relatively new club, which goes by the acronym PMAGC. They sold out of perennials within three hours at the first sale, held in June last year.
“It was great to see people in person who we had previously only recently chatted with on Facebook,” said club president Sara Root-Simone. “Folks came from everywhere in our community and dropped off interesting and varied plant donations that morning. We just didn’t know what to expect in that regard, so that was a welcome outcome. It was also a key success, in that it allowed us to become an established club and marks our club’s charter date.”
The longtime town resident said that “what started as a simple gathering of likeminded folks in Paxton” on a group page that she created during the early months of the COVID pandemic “has since evolved into a nonprofit and member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.”
“Folks were eager to be out and playing with plants,” she said of the challenging and uncertain times that brought them together.
Root-Simone serves on the club’s executive board along with fellow townspeople Pam Haman, Kathy Lucey, and Robin Tasca. They currently have just under 80 club members and welcome anyone interested in gardening, plants and planting, and such.
“It’s rewarding to be involved in town events with thoughtful, knowledgeable and creative folks,” Root-Simone said. “We have a broad knowledge and skill base, and every single member brings energy to the group, so it’s great fun to be around that.”
This year’s plant sale will take place on the town common from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with free parking nearby. Root-Simone said this year’s sale “will again be a mix of donated material from members and local residents and some from other professional gardeners and growers.” They also have eight vendors lined up, including local artists, authors, and garden-related services and businesses.
When asked what she enjoys about being part of the club and events through it such as the plant sale, Root-Simone said they are proud that the garden club “has created a space for like-minded folks to share ideas and create community around growing, indoors and outdoors.”
“We’ve had some excellent workshops, lectures, and community and civic projects, and we plan to continue offering that and more now that we are connected with the Garden Federation,” she said. “I and other members have also enjoyed other perks of membership, like the guest passes to local botanical gardens. I’m a huge native plant nerd, so I love visiting the Native Plant Trust Garden in the Woods in Framingham.”
She said club members are looking forward to their annual meeting at The Farm at SummitWynds in Jefferson, another local beekeeping visit, walks at Moore State Park in Paxton, and a bus trip planned for next September to Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum in Bristol, Rhode Island. In addition, they will be utilizing their green thumbs and caring for the perennial beds on the town common through the summer.
For more information, visit paxtongardenclub. com and follow Paxton MA 01612 Garden Club on Facebook, facebook.com/groups/ paxtonmagardenclub.
