Spring is almost here, and it will soon be time to plant your yard.  If you want to buy plants to enhance your garden this spring, visit the UT Arboretum Society’s Annual Spring Plant Sale which will be held online with catalog sales from March 18 through April 1^st. Plant pickup is on Friday, April 8 and vendors will have some plants available for in person shopping that day at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.  Our plant sales are some of our biggest fundraisers of the year and help support the UT Arboretum’s community education, trail improvements such as our Nature Book Trail, and children’s programs.

For two weeks online you can browse the selection of perennials, trees, and shrubs available from our vendors Tennessee Naturescapes, Riverdale Nursery and East Fork Nursery of Sevierville. The three vendors offer a wonderful selection of plants including unique conifers, both evergreen and native azaleas, hydrangeas, beautyberry, and a wide variety of native pollinator plants to name just a few.  Beginning March 18^th at 10 am, log on to https://utas-plant-sale.square.site/ to shop and make payment. Online sales will end on April 1st at 5 pm.  Payments must be made by credit card online in advance for online purchases.  There will be limited sales on site on pickup day but for best selection shop the online sale and then go to visit our vendors to shop onsite after you pick up your order on April 8. 

For online orders, you will be provided a link to choose a pick-up time between 9 am and 6 pm on Friday, April 8^th at the UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. You must schedule a pick-up time Friday April 8. We are not able to hold orders for other pickup dates. Arboretum Society members will have your plant orders ready for pick-up. This is a no contact pick-up system. When you arrive at your scheduled time, you be directed to designated pick up spots and your order will be brought to your car.  If you want to check out the onsite sale you will be able to go up to that location after you pick up your order. This is an amazing opportunity which allows the public to shop from your own home. 

Though many of our normal day-to-day activities were curtailed for the past two years, one consistent activity has been working in our yards and enjoying the healing qualities of nature. The UT Arboretum Society is grateful to our vendors for making this opportunity possible.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the plant sale, contact mcampani@utk.edu.