Online Plant Sale

Celebrating our Colonial Roots

Order Online Apr 17 - 24 | Pick up on May 1

The Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Brunswick County are busy working behind the scene on preparations for our Spring 2026 Online Plant Sale. We are pleased to announce the list of plants which we are planning to offer.

Below is a list of the plants including their botanical (scientific) name and a link to the NC State Plant Toolbox. In the Toolbox, you will be able to learn more about each plant. While in some cases the Toolbox may not have specific information for the nativar or cultivar we are offering, you will be able to learn generally about the growing conditions and other profile information for the native plant.

Most of the plants in our Spring Plant Sale are native to Brunswick County and were growing here during the Colonial period—thriving then as they do now. Chosen for their beauty, resilience, and vital role in supporting pollinators and wildlife, these plants are built for our region. When you plant them, you’re growing living history and helping restore the natural systems that sustain us all.

Grow the Past, Sustain the Future

Behind the Scenes ~ December - January

Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0

In December, we “up-potted” more than 250 plugs into larger containers to encourage stronger root development and support healthy growth. These plants will stay warm and protected as Master Gardeners keep them watered, fertilized, and bug-free in our hoop house. Plants included Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata ‘Blue Moon’), Hot Lips Salvia (Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and Goldenrod ‘Fireworks’ (Solidago rugosa).

In January, we took advantage of a bright, sunny day to get seeds started! Check out this video from our Plant Sale Lead, Jean Klein, for a look at the work happening behind the scenes. We’re growing over 5,000 plants for our spring sale—most started from seed or plugs and grown with expert care by Master Gardeners. Featured plants include Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), True Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and Hot Lips Salvia (Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’).

November Update

Now that our 2026 theme is set and the hoop house has been scrubbed, washed, and refreshed, we’re diving into the next phase: researching plants, selecting vendors, and identifying the seeds and plugs we’ll need for spring. The sale will be bigger this year, with more varieties and a continued emphasis on native and pollinator-friendly plants.

Our Plant Sale Chair, Jean Klein, has already assembled a preliminary list of more than 75 varieties of flowers, herbs, bulbs, vines, grasses, trees, and shrubs. She is also exploring plants indigenous to our region that were encountered by early colonists or brought to America by explorers and by enslaved West African folk—people whose agricultural knowledge was essential to the 17th- and 18th-century rice trade in Brunswick County.

Next month, we’ll finalize the list, begin ordering seeds, and get ready to propagate!

If you’d like to learn alongside us, here are some of the sources guiding our research:

  • Southern Plant Lists, Southern Garden History Project (in collaboration with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation), 2000

  • Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

  • Plants of Colonial Days, Raymond L. Taylor, Colonial Williamsburg, 1952

  • Flowers and Herbs of Early America, Lawrence D. Griffith, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation & Yale University Press, 2008

Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!