Preparations are in full swing as the Marshall County Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale approaches. The sale serves as the organization’s primary fundraiser, as well as an educational outreach opportunity for the community.
The Marshall County Master Gardeners have been hosting a plant sale for 10 years. The sale keeps the organization running while also funding scholarships for agriculture students, funding community projects, and allowing members of the group to continue their education.
Nikki Peyton serves as the organization’s coordinator through her role as agriculture and natural resources agent at the University of Kentucky Agriculture Extension Office in Marshall County. Peyton said the preparations for the sale begin early, with members of the group planting a number of items from seeds, while others are propagated from members’ gardens.
“We are out digging up plants, and researching information for the educational cards that go with the plants,” said Peyton. “We are constantly propagating and digging and transplanting things for the sale. A lot of what’s in it comes from our own gardens, and we divide a lot of the plants. Some of it we grow from seeds. It just depends what it is, but there is a lot of backbreaking, sweaty prep work.”
While a wide variety of plants will be available at the sale, the organization’s members also aim to provide information about each plant through their educational cards. Peyton sees it as an opportunity to inspire and encourage people to garden.
“The goal is not just to sell plants and make money,” said Peyton. “If we wanted to make money, we’d put a lot bigger price tag on what we’re selling. That’s why we keep things affordable. We want to inspire people to start gardening, to try new things, to grow new plants, and we want to give them the information to be successful.”
This year will also see a new addition: a class on transplanting.
“This year we’re offering a class during the sale too,” said Peyton. “We’ve never done that before. So, at 10 a.m., we’re going to have a Transplanting 101 class during the sale. So, if somebody’s new to gardening and they think, ‘What on earth do I do with these plants when I get home?’ ‘How do I take care of these?’ in a easy, practical, kind of suggestions. Take in some of those. That’s what we’re going to be doing.”
The event serves as a way to offer that information to a number of people, as the event often sees around 300 community members in attendance.
“Last year we broke, I think 300 people,” said Peyton. “It’s a four hour sale, and in four hours — so, we do months of work, and in four hours we pretty much sell it all, thousands of individual plants.”
The event is held annually on the Saturday after Mother’s Day, setting the 2026 event for 8 a.m. until noon on May 16 at the Marshall County Extension Office.
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