LUCKY YOU if you have already grabbed a ticket, since many of the special classes my neighbors and I organized for May 11–part of the bigger goings-on during my May 11, 2019 Garden Conservancy Open Day–are sold out or nearly so! We wanted to make sure you know about “extras” not to be missed to round out your day, if you can join us, like box lunch pre-orders, and plants to pre-order, too, or organically grown unusual seedlings (vegetable and flowers, too) to shop for in person. And of course there is always room in the garden for you to visit (no ticket required). The lineup:

classes still with a few seats open

• Easy mushroom growing, indoors and out, With John Michelloti
• Harnessing the power of fresh herbs, with Justin Chappele
• Gardening for the birds, with Margaret Roach

open garden details

Visit Margaret Roach’s garden, Copake Falls NY (& shop Broken Arrow garden plant sale; see more on that below) from 10-4, no reservations needed. Directions.

lunch pre-orders

Box lunch from our favorite local chefs at CrossRoads Food Shop and Copake General Store will make your day run smoothly. Picnic in Margaret Roach’s garden or one of our parks. Get the menu and order.

broken arrow garden plant pre-orders (5/9 cutoff)

Does your garden crave something extra-special? Adam Wheeler and Broken Arrow Nursery at your service! Call ahead for help/garden advice, (203) 288-1026. They’ll put your purchase on the truck for pickup at Margaret’s garden if you order by May 9. Browse their website. Those are a few of Adam’s favorite things of the moment above to consider: left to right, Acer palmatum ‘Geisha Gone Wild,’ Uvularia sessilifolia ‘Blizzard,’ and Cornus alternifolia ‘Golden Shadows.’

giant organic seedling sale:

veggies, unusual annuals, dahlias

Organically grown vegetable seedlings from Mx Morningstar Farm, plus favorite annual flowers and select dahlia varieties from Tiny Hearts, at their shop, 2643 Route 23, Hillsdale, and next door at HGS Home Chef, 10 AM to 5 PM. (Above, the dahlias when they got their start in April.)

p.s. — nearby berkshire botanical garden sale may 11, too!

And there’s even more! Our friends at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA, are having their giant spring plant sale May 10-11! It’s a scenic 30-minute drive away … so many plants, so little time. : )