Spring Affair plant sale is April 27

Spring Affair, the Midwest’s largest gardening event, is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 27 at the Lancaster Event Center. More than 500 different varieties of plants will be offered at the daylong plant sale. The event also includes educational talks.

The event theme, “For This Place,” reflects the need for regionally appropriate planting, said Kim Todd, UNL Extension horticulture specialist.

“After a summer like 2012, gardeners are taking a second look at their landscapes and making more careful decisions about plant selection,” Todd said.

Plants are selected for regional suitability, uniqueness, and demand. They are provided by Bluebird Nursery of Clarkson.

Gardeners will find perennials, herbs, native plants, temperennials, vines and a variety of trees and shrubs.

Admission to the sale is free. The plant sale, plant talks and vendors of garden art, sculptures, furniture and other items are in Pavilion I, on the northeast edge of the Lancaster Event Center. Parking is available north of the building.

Plant talks include: “Design: Starting from Scratch,” presented by Mark Canney, Lincoln Parks and Recreation park planner, 10:30 a.m.; “What’s Eating My Landscape? Pollinators and Predators,” David Lott, UNL Extension educator, noon; and “Grazing Your Garden,” Elizabeth Killinger, UNL Extension educator, 1:30 p.m.

Throughout the day, “Talk-about” speakers will walk through the plant sale discussing color combinations, plant texture, plants for drought and other topics.

The Spring Affair Preview Party is April 26. For more information, go to http://arboretum.unl.edu/tickets.

Spring Affair is sponsored by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in partnership with the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL Extension and Extension Master Gardeners.

The annual event is an educational tool and a fundraising event for the ongoing growth of the Arboretum’s programs and affiliate gardens.

For more information, go to http://springaffair.unl.edu/ or call 402-472-2971.