Gardener's Market features dozens of NorCal vendors

Spring is in the air – and so is gardening fever.

To feed that rush to get outdoors, the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club hosts one of our area's most popular pre-spring events: The 20th Annual Gardener’s Market at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. Admission and parking are free.

“We have a great lineup of returning favorites and new vendors bringing in some unusual plants and garden treasures,” say the organizers. “The proceeds of this event help fund the club’s Grants Program, monthly speakers and community gardening projects.”

Set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 8, the Gardener’s Market offers dozens of NorCal garden-oriented vendors in one place. It’s going to be a jungle inside Shepard Center with the wide assortment of plants from small specialty nurseries plus lots of garden art and accessories.

“This annual event is popular with the local gardening community and a great way for smaller, more unusual vendors to reach a new audience,” says the club. “This is not a craft show. Our vendors are regional nurseries, not garden clubs selling plants. We have garden artisans with sculpture, pottery, and paintings. Also, books and other items for the home and garden will be for sale. We’ll have educational booths and other activities planned.”

Patrons also will find food from Pioneer Pie and Pastry and The Wild Brunch. Hourly drawings will be held for items donated by nurseries and vendors. Take advantage of knife sharpening and drilling holes in containers or other potential pots.

Among the educational displays will be “What’s Blooming,” a collection of member-grown perennials in flower. Got questions? Get advice from an expert at the “Ask a Gardener” table.

Among the expected vendors: Alexis Genung Studios, All Things Wild, Arti.fizer Yard Art, BirdfeedersRUs, Cactus and Clay, Carmen’s Nursery, Carye’s Pots, Classy Glass Art by Ali V, Everything Shoe and Hammer, Friends of San Juan de Oriente, Full Moon Metal Design, Geraniaceae, Golden Pond Water Plants LLC, Gourds by Debby Rising, Judy’s Plate Flowers, and Laure’s Gardens.

Also: Light & Breezy Paper, LinWil Designs, Mad Man Bamboo Nursery, Maximum Joy Photography, Morningsun Herb Farm, Out on a Whim, Pam’s Porch, Rock-it-Man Stoneworks, Second Chance Creations, She Sews-He Saws, Shmak Creations, Sin-sational Confections, Star Succulent Nursery, Susan J. Berg–Paintings & Prints, The Emerald City, The Shaman’s Garden and Top of The Bottle.

Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, on the northern edge of McKinley Park.