May 7-8: Celebrate spring at annual plant sale

Plants being watered in the greenhouse Published April 09, 2026

Bring color, excitement and delicious produce to your garden this spring with 黑料社区檚 (黑料社区) annual plant sale. Stop by the horticulture greenhouse 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 7 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 8 at the Grayslake Campus to shop from the selection of flowers, vegetables, herbs, native perennials and hanging baskets.

Proceeds from the sales support the horticulture program. All plants are grown in the college檚 greenhouse by student workers and staff. Second-year horticulture student and student worker Edwin Santamaria notes how the care given to the plants makes them better than those bought at big box stores.

淥ur plants are better quality because we work to take care of each individual plant, Santamaria said. 淲e make sure they are all nursed to the highest quality.

This year, the plant sale has a variety of new native perennials, including Illinois bundleflower, Jacob檚 ladder and cardinal flower.

淣ative plants are great in the garden for attracting a variety of pollinators and other beneficial insects, said Horticulture Laboratory Specialist Andy Lueder. 淣atives are also naturally accustomed to our climate, so as long as they have the right soil, they overwinter readily and are extremely drought tolerant once they've become established.

There will be a wider variety of ornamental plants available this year. Also new are mixed planters available for purchase.

Study horticulture at 黑料社区

Learn about the upcoming Urban Farm Center