Garden club event sees strong turnout

Daily News Staff Writer

Brooke Austin and son Garry Sheldon of Scottville pick out some plants during the Mason County Garden Club's Spring Plant Exchange Saturday at Leveaux Park.

The Mason County Garden Club just keeps getting bigger, as anyone passing Leveaux Park Saturday morning could see.

Saturday was the club's annual Spring Plant Exchange, and despite being scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., most of the plants were gone by noon after a flood of eager gardeners hit the exchange as soon as it started.

The Spring Plant Exchange was launched years ago as a members-only event, but now it's turned into a community draw, according to Mason County Garden Club secretary and past-president Dawn Rollenhagen.

"The plant exchange started mostly for club members to be able to bring their plants and exchange them with other club members," she said.

Rollenhagen said when she first joined the club about 10 years ago, she pointed out that people who have just moved to the area might not have plants to exchange, so she suggested opening the event up to people who made donations.

"So then we added that, and it's gotten bigger since," she said.

Rollenhagen said each year, more and more community members learn about the event and decide to stop by.

Participants were able to add to the plant pool to swap items, pick out plants in exchange for small donations, and go through the gardening items sold during the exchange.

"So … it used to be all garden club members, and now it's members from the community that actually bring in plants and exchange them," Rollenhagen said.

The plant exchange is a nice way to get some plants without having to spend a lot of money, according to Rollenhagen.

It's also a way to spread the message about what the club does, including providing scholarships to area students who are interested in horticulture, presenting the Mason County Garden of the Month during the summer, and hosting meetings, programs and events.

With 77 local members, the club welcomes new additions, as well as anyone who's just interested in learning more about the club, what it does, and how it works.

"We just keep growing," Rollenhagen said.

For information about how to join, as well as details about upcoming events, visit the Mason County Garden Club's website at www.masoncountygardenclub.org, or find the group on Facebook.

Saturday's plant exchange is one of the club's main annual events held during the spring and summer seasons. Next up is the garden club's flower show on July 21 and 22 at the Ludington Senior Center, followed by the Fall Plant Sale fundraiser on Sept. 9.

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Daily News Staff Writer

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