Favorites: William Paca House Plant Sale

The William Paca House and Garden is a landmark in Annapolis.  It was built by William Paca between 1763 and 1765 and was one of the first five-part Georgian homes in Annapolis.  After Paca sold the house in 1780, it changed hands several times until it was acquired by William A. Larned and restyled as a hotel in 1901.  The hotel, known as "Carvel Hall", was in operation until the 1960's. 

 

 

In 1965, there were plans to demolish Carvel Hall, but the Historic Annapolis Foundation purchased it and restored the house and garden to their original colonial-era state.  The William Paca House and Garden was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

 

The William Paca House and Garden is a great resource in Annapolis.  It is open for tours daily and there are concerts, summer camps, art classes and more hosted on the grounds.  It is even possible to use the house and garden for weddings or other special occasions.

 

It is probably no surprise that my favorite event at the Paca House is their plant sale, which is held on Mother's Day weekend every year.


This plant sale is crazy.  Even thought it opens at 10:00am, people start lining up at 9:00am.  Certain plants have very limited numbers, and as soon as the gates open, people charge through the garden to get them first.  All of the plants are grown locally by Paca Garden volunteers.  Most plants are native, heirloom, or hold some historical interest (for instance - cuttings of William Paca Holly or Washington's Buckeye).

A list of plants available for sale this weekend is available online at www.pacagarden.org.

I've had very good luck with the plants I've gotten at this sale in previous years.  The prices are also quite good - from what I can remember, the plants are usually between $3 and $6.  The only problem I've ever had with the sale is that the shrubs and trees they offer are a bit on the small side.  Again, though, if you're paying $5 for an oakleaf hydrangea, you can't expect it to be in a gallon pot.

Although I'm not supposed to buy any plants until July, I am willing to make an exception for the sake of tradition.  I've looked through the plant catalogue and will try to get a couple of of the following:

• Asarum canadense - Wild Ginger
• Chelone lyonii - Turtlehead
• Sanguinaira canadensis - Bloodroot
• Sedum sp. - Creeping sedum
• Sedum ternatum 'Larineum Park'
• Stylophorum diphyllum - Celandine or Wood Poppy

If you're going to attend the plant sale this weekend, I recommend getting there early.  

1 Martin Street
Annapolis, MD

 

Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm - 4:00pm