Today: Fairfax County’s Annual Native Seedling Sale

Northern Virginia is home to an astonishing variety of native species of trees and shrubs, and now you have an opportunity to grow your own.

Fairfax County’s annual Native Seedling Sale will be taking place today, Friday April 5, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and tomorrow, Saturday April 6, from 9 a.m.-noon. The event will be held at the Sleepy Hollow Bath and Racquet Club, at 3516 Sleepy Hollow Road in the Falls Church area.

Note that the pre-sale period has ended, so there’s no guarantee that the plant you want will be available — or even that any plants will. However, the county website states that “We often do have extra packages or individual seedlings for sale on the pickup days (April 5 and 6).”

This annual sale helps local residents beautify their gardens with indigenous plant species that “help cleanse water, prevent soil erosion, provide habitat, cool our climate and clean our air.”

This year’s theme is “Incredible Edibles,” so be prepared for plants that delight the tongue as well as the eye.

The plants include seedlings of pawpaw (Asimina triloba), a tree native to a wide swatch of the greater Appalachian region. It bears a delicious fruit which was recently highlighted by National Public Radio’s The Salt as “the hipster banana”.

Other selections include the American wild plum, the American elderberry, the black chokeberry, the American Hazelnut, and the flowering dogwood (Virginia’s state tree).

The packages cost only $12.50 or $17.50, depending on contents, and are easily transportable in a car — though the organizers recommend you bring a small bucket, basket, or doubled-up paper bag.

Map via Google Maps