Plant Sale
“God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And God saw that it was good.”
A plant sale is a sacred place. It is a convergence of care that cultivates plant life in a particular place. It is an intersection of community activation, education, and commerce—all to connect people more deeply with plants and place.
The Denver Master Gardner Plant Sale is an initiative of the Colorado Master Gardener program, a unique intersection between Colorado State University horticulture expertise and volunteers from the community who are invested in educating others locally. There are 135 Master Gardeners active in Denver. Together, they contribute approximately 5,000 volunteer hours annually. The Denver Master Gardener Program is through Colorado State University Extension, focusing on gardening in the unique context of urban Denver conditions. They maintain three demonstration gardens in Harvard Gulch Park for research, education, and outreach. A passion for plant life in the city animates those in the Denver Master Gardener program. It is a rooted way of loving their neighbors by generously sharing their horticultural knowledge.
Each spring, the Master Gardner Plant Sale extends the education and outreach of the program to hundreds of people over two days. Over 8,000 plants grown in the greenhouses at Harvard Gulch, along with annuals and perennials, are available. The plants have been carefully cultivated to adapt to Colorado’s high altitude climate, drought conditions, and short growing season. Heirloom tomatoes, chilies, and herbs, along with extensive varietals of many vegetables, can be purchased at the plant sale, beginning at only $7. The quality of plants is only exceeded by the quantity of knowledge of the Master Gardeners who host the plant sale.
A transplant to Denver in the last decade, Jennifer Coggins, attended the Master Gardener Plant Sale for the first time in 2025. “We are from North Carolina. It is a lot easier to be a gardener in North Carolina than it is to be a gardener in Colorado.” Jennifer shares in honesty and humility. But her delight was in the harvest from the tomatoes she purchased at the plant sale. “I’ll say we only tried a few, but last year was our best year yet! We did a lot from two small beds.” Jennifer confesses joyfully, “We probably bought too many plants. But I feel like those are the right things to overbuy, right?” Her joyful optimism is obvious: “Gardening is an act of hope.” The plant sale is an annual gathering of those, like Jennifer, who believe and cultivate that growing food in your backyard is a better way to live.
Unlike God, who first spoke plant life into existence, our seeds and plants always come from someone or somewhere beyond ourselves. A local plant sale hosted by citizens with a deep commitment to horticultural cultivation and care is an ideal place to source seeds and plants. A plant sale is where we are invited to join God in the good work of cultivating and caring for Creation. A plant sale is a sacred place.
Thank you to Jennifer Coggins for her conversation and contribution to this article.
