Rare Plant Finds at UC Botanical Garden's Annual Sale

From the UC Botanical Garden:

The UC Botanical Garden’s 38th annual Spring Plant Sale is coming up Friday, April 26 (for members-only) and Saturday, April 27 (a public sale).

The event has developed such a following — a line that is known to go all the way from the garden up Strawberry Canyon to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

is offering some pretty rare plants at its Members' Sale Silent Auction, as well as a wide variety of plants and unusual and vintage edible herbs — choice selections from its collection that are rarely offered commercially.

For example, at the Silent Auction, there will be selections such as the Welwitschia mirabilis, a rare plant native to Namibia and Angola that is known as the longest living plant because it can thrive for thousands of years. 

Specialty items will include beautiful flowering vines, temperate and tropical carnivorous plants, exotic cacti and succulents, hardy palms and cycads, and rare houseplants.  There also will be a wide selection of area-appropriate ferns, and choice subtropical plants.

The Silent Auction is a members sale event but anyone can become a member to attend and attend the public sale for free the following day, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Plant Sale page has more info on some of the Silent Auction plants under the silent auction tab. The Silent Auction page is updated on the website and Facebook regularly.

The garden will have free parking in its lot and a shuttle that goes back and forth from the Garden to overflow parking at the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Visitors also can come early and carpool or catch a cab, which costs about $10 from Downtown Berkeley. The Public Sale is free and the Members Sale is a free members-only event.

There's a plant hold and pick up system the day of the sales that is outlined under the "tips" tab of the Plant Sale page. And here’s a handy map link.

For more information about membership, click here.