BATON ROUGE, La. – The East Baton Rouge Parish Master Gardeners are preparing for their annual spring plant sale that will be at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 11.

Master Gardeners have been working since October to provide over 7,000 plants and 250 varieties to choose from, said Donna Montgomery, publicity chair for the sale.

“Now is the time to evaluate your garden and plan for spring plantings,” Montgomery said. “And Master Gardeners will be available to help with your selections and give advice on planting.”

This year’s sale will include many of the LSU AgCenter Super Plants, such as Senorita Rosalita cleome, Baby Wing begonias, Bandana lantanas, Butterfly pentas, Mesa gaillardia, Flutterby Petite Tutti Fruitti Pink buddleia (butterfly bush) and rabbiteye blueberries to name a few.

“These reliable and beautiful plants are selected for their superior performance under Louisiana growing conditions,” she said.

Also available at the sale will be many hard-to-find perennials and other plants to make gardens lively.

“2015 has been designated as ‘The Year of the Coleus,’ and we will have a Coleus Corner for you to shop for these terrific plants,” Montgomery said. “Look for other specialties, such as succulent pots, hanging baskets and herb pots for the cook in the family.”

Photos of available plants are online at www.mgplantsale.com.

In addition to the large variety of plants and expert assistance from Master Gardeners, visitors also can bring a specimen of any sickly plants to the plant health clinic where experts will be available to help with problems.

The Treasure Booth will have a “garage sale” of gardening items. And the butterfly display will show how to attract butterflies to the garden.

“An additional treat will be StoryTime for children in the rose garden with readings every 30 minutes beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 10:30 a.m.,” Montgomery said. “Afterward, children can visit the children’s booth and pot a plant to take home.”

Money derived from the sale is shared with Botanic Gardens and for educational activities for the community, such as plant health clinics, school gardens, educational classes at local libraries and children’s programs.

The AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden is located on Essen Lane at I-10 in Baton Rouge.

For more information, contact Bob Souvestre, LSU AgCenter horticulture agent, at 763-3990 or bsouvestre@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Johnny Morgan