Organised by the Friends of Dunedin Botanic Garden (DBG) as a fundraising sale for supporting future projects at the garden, the sale will be held from 9am-noon at the garden propagation facility in Lovelock Ave.
Friends of DBG president Jocelyn Livesey said the plants, which would include native trees and shrubs, bedding plants and indoor plants, had come from a variety of sources.
The majority had been raised by propagation nursery volunteers, and commercial nurseries across the region had also supplied plants for the sale, including Blue Mountain Nursery, Blueskin Nursery, Ribbonwood Nursery, and Wakelin Robin Nursery.
“We have a fantastic selection of plants available at the sale for bargain prices, including native trees and shrubs.
“The result is we have a fantastic selection of plants available at the sale for bargain prices, and some of them are quite unusual,” Ms Livesey said.
Dunedin Botanic Garden propagation services officer Alice Lloyd-Fitt said some plants had been sourced from within the garden’s collections, and had been raised from seed and cuttings. Others had been brought in from volunteers’ own gardens.
Ms Livesey said the Friends of Dunedin Botanic Garden had organised two plant sales each year, in spring and autumn, for several decades.
The funds were used to provide scholarships to garden staff and apprentices to assist them with attending conferences and accessing educational opportunities.
“In the past year, we have been able to support six apprentices and six others to engage in further education, which we are very pleased with,” she said.
Funds raised in previous years had also gone towards special projects in the garden, including contributing to the new playground, building a platform at the duck pond, and the installation of a wheelchair-friendly picnic table near the playground.
Ms Livesey said the group worked closely with Dunedin Botanic Garden management to support a broad range of projects. They also provided a roster of volunteers to staff the information centre and gift shop in the lower garden.
The Friends of Dunedin Botanic Garden group will mark its 40th anniversary later this year and plans for a celebration are under way.
