NPA Spring Plant Sale

The 2010 NPA Spring Plant Sale will be held Sunday, April 18, from 10 am to 3 pm, at a wonderful indoor location, North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way N, Seattle. Shop thousands of plants from specialty nurseries, along with a selection from our famous NPA Border and members’ gardens. Discover new plant introductions, the rare and unusual, as well as established favorites. Click here for a list of Vendors.

You’ll find free, convenient parking in the visitor parking lots off College Way North, between 95th & 97th, along the west side of the campus. (Do avoid the east side of the campus, which is under construction!) Get driving directions.

Please donate plants from your garden!

Are there plants in your garden that you would like to donate? We welcome all kinds of plants: divisions, seedlings, treasures, favorites and everyday plants. Please include the plant name (Latin and/or common) on a white plant label. For questions, or to find out where to drop off your plants, contact Gayle Richardson email Gayle.

Volunteer for the sale

Unload plants, set up tables, price plants, set up displays, cashier—there are dozens of volunteer jobs to do at the Spring Plant Sale. Many NPA members volunteer so that they can get into the sale early and scope out the choice plants before the hordes of shoppers hit. Everyone has fun and it’s a great way to meet other NPA members. To volunteer, sign up here.

Look for the special green tags

This year we’ll be encouraging people to buy a plant for the Border when they shop our sale, and help us finish planting the beautiful new NPA Border at Bellevue Botanical Garden. Noted garden designers Glenn Withey and Charles Price are going to preview the plants as the vendors unload the trucks, marking their favorites with special green “Buy me for the Border” tags. Since new plants going into the Border represent today’s best choices for Northwest gardens, you'll probably want to pick up one plant for the Border and one for your own garden as well.

The Plant Sale Story

In 1984, the NPA Plant Sale began in the driveways and garages of members’ homes. Attendees brought plant donations and their lunches, shopping for a few hours and then enjoying the companionship of fellow plant lovers.

As the sale size grew, in 1988 it moved to a schoolyard in North Seattle—a friendly site, except when it rained. Along with the member-donated plants, there was choice stock from the NPA Borders at the Bellevue Botanical Garden and from local vendors. With continued growth, the sale moved to Magnuson Park in 2000 to gain more space and a covered area, first using the old fire station for several years, then moving to a maintenance building.

In 2007, the sale was held in a hangar so large, it could hold all of our members shopping at the same time—but it was cold and the restrooms were terrible! In 2008 we moved the sale to the comfort and convenience of North Seattle Community College.