For gardeners, families, and friends, Teatown PlantFest has become an annual “Rite of Spring.”
Held on the Teatown grounds Friday May 10 (3-7pm) and Saturday May 11 (9-2pm), this 2-day outdoor celebration offers something for everyone.
“First Pick” ticketholders know that when the gate opens at 3pm on Friday, May 10, they will enter a farmers’ market atmosphere of beautiful, big white tents filled with an abundance of unique and unusual plants—carefully selected natives, vigorous perennials and shrubs, colorful annuals and hanging baskets, as well as organic herbs and vegetables. All of these plants are sourced from the highest quality providers in the Northeast: McCue Natives, Plant Group, Beds and Borders, Gilbertie’s Herbs and Vegetables, Hardscrabble Nursery, Broken Arrow Nursery, Yorktown’s own Flowerhouse, and Cricket Hill Nursery. Tickets for “First Pick” admission are available online ($25 for Teatown members, $30 for non-members) or $30 at the gate.
Friday’s “First Pick” ticketholders will also enjoy live bluegrass music from Rip and the Sleepy Hollow Boys along with food, wine, craft beer from Captain Lawrence, and Thompson’s Hard Cider to sample while shopping. Adding to the farmers’ market ambience is “Market at PlantFest,” a dozen specialty vendors offering artisanal products from textiles and ceramics to birdhouses and infused oils. Back by popular demand: knife and garden tool sharpening will be available on both days during shopping hours, so don’t forget to bring your tools to be sharpened while you shop.
Vendors include:
That Irrigation Guy
Seeds of Design
BeeHive Collective
Dancing Spirits
Feed the Birds
Native Arts Jewelry
Kerry Goldberg Pottery
Cooper’s Daughter Spirits
Thompson’s Hard Ciders
Jack Knife Sharpening
Plant Powered Metro New York
Sharper Services
For those who may miss the first day (or want to return for a second round of shopping), the gates reopen on Saturday May 11 from 9am-2pm with free admission. Coffee and breakfast pastries will be available for the early-birds and Hudson Valley food trucks will provide delicious lunch options for hungry shoppers.
Pre-sale
Teatown PlantFest eStore: https://www.Teatown.org/plantfest-estore/
PlantFest is again offering curated specialty items in the Teatown online eStore which is open through Friday, May 3. In addition to unusual natives, perennials and annuals, and specialty peonies, trees, and shrubs, these three new “instant garden” Native Collections will make gardening a snap: Fern Forest, Towering Natives, and Eye Candy. Sourced from North Creek Nurseries, the pioneer in native plant propagation from deep-rooted landscape plugs, these collections will provide years of natural landscaping pleasure and biodiversity.
New this year at PlantFest:
“The Healing Powers of Gardening at Sing Sing”
PlantFest is proud to partner with the Sing Sing Prison Museum for a special donation to the Sing Sing Garden Project. Sing Sing has a storied history around the therapeutic use of gardening, beginning more than 100 years ago when Charles Chapin, an inmate in 1919, requested to oversee the care of a portion of the prison lawn. Chapin vowed that he would “grow roses in that sand pit” and that’s exactly what he did. Chapin, along with a team of about 30 other men, transformed the prison yard from a dusty plot to lush gardens. The garden project received donations of rose bushes, irises, fertilizer, peonies, tulips, lilacs, and more from nearby nurseries, and Charles Chapin quickly became known as “The Rose Man” of Sing Sing.
The gardens within the prison walls are still utilized and maintained today. The original site of the rose garden serves as a therapy garden for men who benefit from the prison’s Office of Mental Health. The gardens are a collective group effort to maintain, and anyone who walks by will benefit from the comforting aroma of lavender, echinacea, and fragrant herbs that were selected specifically as soothing plants for the garden.
To learn more, visit www.singsingprisonmuseum.org
Shoppers may make their Sing Sing Garden donations on the eStore website or while shopping at PlantFest. Teatown knows there are many health benefits to gardening and is proud to sponsor this special donation to the Sing Sing Garden Project.
PlantFest Is Rain or Shine
Parking Space Limited – Carpool If Possible
Please bring your own wagon or garden carts to easily transport your plants.
Teatown Lake Reservation
1600 Spring Valley Road
Ossining, NY 10562
info@Teatown.org
914-762-2912
