From staff reports
The Franklin Gardeners Association has been hard at work planning for this year’s May Garden Mart in downtown Franklin. The area’s premier gardening event will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8, in Franklin’s Fountain Park.
The event will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 8.
Fifty vendors from the region will showcase their specialties to help people create the garden of their dreams by offering perennials, annuals, trees, bushes, and planters as well as garden décor, vegetable plants, and more.
A children’s activity tent will help engage younger visitors through make-and-take projects. Garden-related items provided by FGA will be raffled off and items donated by each vendor will be offered for auction.
The group has several projects throughout the area. In cooperation with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, FGA plants and maintains the flower beds near the Franklin Fire Station as well as the perennial bed immediately beside the station. Additional projects are the Johnny Appleseed Park on Franklin Avenue, planters at the bike trail, the West Park garden, the butterfly waystation at the Saltbox, gardens near the 8th Street Bridge, the “Welcome to Franklin” sign at the bottom of 15th Street Hill, and the Outdoor Learning Center adjacent to Central Elementary.
The FGA project, Beautify with Blossoms, can be seen all along Liberty Street. Participating businesses sponsor planters placed near their entrance which give pops of color along the sidewalk.
FGA also sponsors a 4-H Youth Scholarship each year.
May Garden Mart is FGA’s primary source of revenue that fund these ongoing projects.
