March in the Park set for Saturday
Garden Club fundraiser at Rotary Park
Looking for that perfect addition to your garden? Maybe an exotic plant or handcrafted art to complete your outdoor decor?
This Saturday, horticulturists can find an abundance of greenery to fawn over and take home as The Garden Club of Cape Coral presents “March in the Park,” its annual plant and garden art sale. This is the 17th edition of the club’s biggest fundraising event of the year which draws vendors from all across Southwest Florida.
“We are really excited, and have so many vendors this year,” said Garden Club of Cape Coral President Donna Schmidt.
This year’s edition of March in the Park will feature nearly 50 vendors, with more than 1,200 plants from which to choose. This sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rotary Park and is to feature plants of all kinds, trees, shrubs, ground cover, native plants, and miniatures, to name a few.
All plants are affordable and disease-free. All are labeled carefully with the name of the plant and their best growing conditions.
Garden Club members will be dressed in bright, yellow shirts with the Garden Club of Cape Coral logo and decorated summer hats so they can be found by customers who have questions.
Garden art will include glass reflections, stepping stones, metal works, fish faces, and various planters. “Thrifty treasures” will also be available from garden club members. The incredible networking ability of the garden club allows for so many different selections to be available at March in the Park.
“We have a wide variety of plants, food vendors, and vendors that sell other garden-related items,” Schmidt said. “We have our Master Gardeners there that can answer questions for attendees to learn from. We will be there in full force and be ready to go on Saturday morning.”
A free kids’ booth, with a face painter, will have activities and take-home projects for all ages. Food trucks, live entertainment and opportunity drawings will be available throughout the day.
Master Gardeners will be onsite to have their brains picked, and many of the vendors are extremely knowledgeable about the plants they sell and often are growers themselves.
“They’re really knowledgeable,” Schmidt said. “And we have other people here that are very knowledgeable as well. There’s a wealth of information here. Our Master Gardeners work closely with other organizations to keep up on things.”
March in the Park is a great event for gardeners that are just getting started, to those with a fully developed green thumb.
“You’d be amazed at what people grow in their own backyards here,” Schmidt said. “We hear lots of stories about what people are growing, and they share tips. We’re also working with a lot of local high schoolers that will be there helping. It’s for all ages, young and old. Our vendors come back and look forward to this every year.”
Opportunity Tickets are sold by all members beginning in January and during March in the Park for six different prizes.
First prize is a rain barrel, decoratively painted by a club member, and second prize is a garden cart loaded with potting soil, garden tools. These prizes are awarded near the end of the event. Admission and parking are free.
March in the Park started as a sale in a church parking lot and then evolved and spread its roots to become a major event at Jaycee Park.
“I really think our community looks forward to events like this,” Schmidt said. “Whether they come to buy plants or come to walk around, get outside, and to see what people create. We like to involve the youth as well. Everybody comes to get out and about and check out what’s available.”
The Garden Club of Cape Coral is a non-profit organization and all proceeds go to club objectives which include: the Marty Ward Merit Awards in horticulture for local high school seniors (awarded each year), civic beautification, Habitat for Humanity Projects, local middle and high school garden projects, and to promote civic awareness of environmental and conservation concerns.
“Our mission is to give back to the community and to educate members,” Schmidt said. “We like to educate in horticulture and especially native plants. So many schools have gardens here, it’s amazing.”
Garden Club of Cape Coral members maintain the Rose Garden at the Cape Coral Museum of History and the Butterfly Garden at the Library in Southwest Cape Coral. The club also makes an annual donation to the Butterfly Garden at Rotary Park in memory of members who have passed.
The Garden Club of Cape Coral was established in 1997 and currently has in excess of 90 members that meet the second Tuesday of the month, September through May, at Epiphany Episcopal Church.
“It’s a great way to meet other people in the community,” Schmidt said. “We have 35 committees and take trips every month. We have guest speakers often as well that give us information on all things environmental.”
Rotary is at 5505 Rose Garden Road.
For more information, visit gardenclubofcapecoral.com.