The ever-popular Cairnsmore/Hospice plant sale is on Saturday morning, May 10, beginning at 9 a.m.
Since 2008 the Cairnsmore/Hospice volunteer gardeners have been working hard to maintain the beautiful gardens that surround the buildings. If you’ve only driven by or been to the front entrances of either Cairnsmore Place or Hospice House, you’ve only seen a portion of the gardens.
Back in 2008 the volunteers had to start from scratch developing the gardens around Cairnsmore, each year adding more plants, shrubs and trees. Then in 2020, Hospice House opened along with the Rotary Gardens, made possible through the fundraising efforts of the local Rotary clubs. The volunteer gardeners agreed to look after the maintenance of this important additional space.
Both the gardens surrounding Cairnsmore Place and Hospice House provide therapeutic and holistic spaces for patients, residents and employees. But these spaces wouldn’t exist without the efforts of the volunteer gardeners who work there each Wednesday morning from March through to November.
The popular plant sale is put on each year to raise funds that go towards the purchase of plants, soil, mulch, tools and everything else needed for the gardens. Most of the plants come from the volunteers’ own gardens, so you can often find unique items not found in commercial nurseries.
The plant sale is on Saturday morning, May 10, beginning at 9 a.m. It is held in the large garden at Cairnsmore Place, at the end of Cairnsmore Street. There will be a lot of plants to choose from, but often only a few each of the popular or unique items. There will also be birdhouses for sale, made locally and generously donated to the sale, and master gardeners will be on site to answer gardening questions.
Lastly, more volunteer gardeners are needed to keep the gardens in tip top shape. Several of the gardeners have retired and not everyone is available to come out every Wednesday morning of the season. The group is looking for another half dozen or so volunteers to come out on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. when coffee is provided.
For more information, contact Donna at 250-510-2225 or donnakaiser46@gmail.com.
