FREEHOLD, NJ – The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Monmouth County will hold its annual Spring Garden Sale, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 19 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 in front of the Monmouth County Agriculture Building at 4000 Kozloski Road.

Items for sale include annuals, perennials, vegetables (many heirloom), herbs, hanging baskets, and small fruits. Customers may purchase items by check or cash.

“The annual Spring Garden Sale is a great event for residents who want the tools to start or improve their garden or may be seeking unique garden plants,” said Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry. “The Master Gardeners are knowledgeable and eager to help create healthy and flourishing gardens in our communities. Gardening is not a hobby for them, rather it is a sense of duty to impart the expertise and skills they have acquired and pass it along to new gardeners as well as those who may have been gardening for years.”

During the Spring Garden Sale, a series of free discussions by Master Gardeners will provide expert advice on such topics as container gardening, strawbale gardening, best ways to deadhead and prune plants, bulbs for year round color, and attracting pollinators to the garden.

The Master Gardeners will also be present to answer gardening questions and provide information about the Vegetable, Rain, Herb and Children’s gardens both days.

The Rutgers’ Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Helpline will be open at the Spring Garden Sale to answer gardening questions and help trouble-shoot home garden, lawn, tree and shrub problems. It is best to bring a sample of the problem plant to demonstrate its condition and to receive accurate and timely advice.

A helpline is also available year-round weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 732-303-7614, or by visiting the Master Gardener office in the Monmouth County Agriculture Building at 4000 Kozloski Road in Freehold.

In conjunction with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the Monmouth County Master Gardener program seeks to educate everyone in horticultural matters, help answer questions regarding gardening problems around the home, support community gardens for towns and schools, and provide a speaker’s bureau to bring Master Gardener led discussions to local gardening clubs and other interested community groups around the County.

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