By Julia Snipes

The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Symposium and Plant Sale will be held Friday, May 2nd, at the Plains Community Courtyard located between Main and Clark Street in Plains. The symposium, a ticketed event, is a sold out. However, the Native Plant Sale will be open to the public from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Friday.

Five plant vendors will be selling hundreds of host and nectar plants that will encourage butterflies and other pollinators to visit your garden. The Coastal Plain Native Plant Society will be selling native plants specific to our area. Lazy K Nursery will have the Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter Native Azaleas as well as others native azaleas. The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail will have some small container gardens, perennials and annuals to add color to your garden and provide habitat for pollinators. Growing Old Nursery will have a large selection of garden plants as well as native milkweed. Sumter Middle School’s FFA chapter will be selling plants they have grown in their greenhouse as well as local honey.

Additionally, we will have book signings with two of our speakers, Dr. Jaap de Roode of Emory University, and Dr. Allan Armitage, Emeritus Professor of UGA. Both authors will be selling their books and signing them. Dr. de Roode is well known for his research on Monarch butterflies at Emory University and can answer your questions about Monarchs, their habitat and how to help increase their chances for a healthy life cycle. Dr. Armitage is well known internationally for his expertise in gardens, plants for the right spot and building a beautiful garden for you as well as pollinators. He has authored 14 books.

You are invited to come to the Plant Sale and meet the authors for the book signings starting at 10:00. For additional information call 229-824-4567.