Waynesboro loves plants. We’re actually borderline obsessed and have plenty of plant based (I’m pretty pleased with myself for that one) events, like the Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Master Gardener, or someone who struggles to keep a snake plant alive (raises hand, I’m on my second one), Waynesboro has a plant event for every skill level.
Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium – March 13, 8:00 am at the Wayne Theatre
The Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium is the unofficial annual kick off to the spring, aka PLANT SEASON. This full-day event on Friday, March 13, features four fantastic speakers covering four engaging topics like Covering Ground with Native Plants (ohhh, that’s a good one!), and Climate Resilient Gardening. You can find a full agenda and list of speakers here. Your registration fee includes a boxed lunch from Panera and coffee and light refreshments (hurry, the last day to register is March 9). Another bonus, the symposium is held at the historic Wayne Theatre so when you’re done you can stroll around to visit the shops, galleries, museums, and restaurants Downtown Waynesboro has to offer.
Appreciating and Promoting Native Bees in Local Landscapes – March 17, 7:00 pm at the Wayne Theatre
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our friends, the bees, in this plant blog. Plant adjacent, wild bee species pollinate the bulk of native plants in Virginia’s wild areas, are the most frequent pollinators of home gardens, and often dominate pollination on small farms. On Tuesday, March 17, you can join speaker T’ai H. Roulston, a UVA Research Associate, at the historic Wayne Theatre for a free science talk, Appreciating and Promoting Native Bees in Local Landscapes. Love science? Love free talks? The South River Watershed Coalition and the Virginia Museum of Natural History host science talks at the Wayne most months! Check the Wayne Theatre’s schedule for the next one!
Seed Starting Class – March 14, 11am at Waynesboro Landscape and Garden Center
Learn how to grow your own cold weather crops from seed before spring has sprung! Sam and Izzy will be sharing their expert tips to help you start the garden of your dreams and keep it going! Just buy a seed starting kit, which includes a Jiffy Self-Watering Greenhouse Kit with 34 peat pellets, a water-wicking mat, and the following seeds: cherry tomato, cucumber, bean, pepper, basil, and marigold. Be sure to register soon, this workshop is limited to 20!
Waynesboro Farmers Market – Saturdays, May 9 to October 31, 9 am–1 pm at Constitution Park
This is where plant people (and those pretending to be) thrive. Need fresh veggies? Plants? Herbs? Handmade cheese? An excuse to talk to strangers about composting? The Farmers Market has all that, and I have it on pretty good authority they’re going to be expanding some of their family friendly programming this year. Plus, they usually have local tunes every week! The Waynesboro Farmers Market has it all, and will leave you feeling pretty inwardly smug since you’re being an excellent human by supporting local farmers and small businesses.
The Waynesboro Public Library’s Seed Library
Look, checking out library books is great and all, but have you tried checking out seeds?? The Waynesboro Public Library doesn’t just fuel your brain, it fuels your garden too (and tons of other stuff, Waynesboro’s library has so much awesome programming for all ages, that is always free and open to the public. Seriously, public libraries are the best). Pick up some seeds at their revamped seed library, plant them, and then come back to donate some seeds from your new plants. Visit the library (that’s at 600 S Wayne Avenue, if you’re unfamiliar) for more info!
There you have it, plant people of Waynesboro! Hit the Farmers Market, learn how not to kill flowers, hoard seeds… whatever you decide to do, go forth and plant!
