Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale blooming in Shelburne Falls

SHELBURNE FALLS — Visitors will find a variety of annuals and perennials at Saturday’s Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale, to be held at the corner or Main and Water streets from 9 a.m. to noon.

For a second year, the event will also include a tag sale featuring garden-related items, according to an event press release. Proceeds from the tag sale will go to the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club’s scholarship fund. A bake sale will offer muffins, quick breads and cookies.

Three master gardeners from the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will test attendees’ soil samples for free.

After the sale, attendees can continue to support the Bridge of Flowers by becoming a Friend or a member of the Blossom Brigade, a coterie of volunteers who work with Head Gardener Carol DeLorenzo and Assistant Gardener Elliston Bingham, this season joined by Julie Petty. Blossom Brigade volunteers maintain the bridge throughout the season through gardening and raking.

“We always need new people,” Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale organizer Lynda Leitner said in the release.

Those who are interested in volunteering can use the “Contact Us” form on the Bridge of Flowers website, bridgeofflowersmass.org, or email bridgeofflowersmass@gmail.com.

“We weed, plant, dig, deadhead, all to enjoy the gardens we have,” longtime volunteer Nancy Fischlein said in the release. “I have a sign hanging in my garden shed that says, ‘When the world weakens and wearies, there is always the garden.’ I like this little verse because although gardens require steady upkeep, the process of that upkeep contains the good feeling of accomplishment and giving, while languishing in the loveliness of it all.”

Fischlein, who has volunteered on and off over the years, said she has made friends and acquaintances while working on the bridge with others who are there for the same reasons she is.

“It’s casual, outdoors and relaxing,” she said in the release. “I learn a lot, too. It’s the casual way that we can chat for a minute, share questions or knowledge, then move on to another plant or bush to work on. I like the sense of giving for a worthy cause that benefits me as well as the admiring tourists traveling through.”