Southport Magazine

Spring is coming, and many of us are itching to get things planted. Whether you’re looking for something ornamental to beautify your green space or if fresh herbs for cooking are more your style, the Southport Oak-Island Kiwanis Club Plant Sale is a great opportunity to help your garden grow and nourish the community as well.

The plant sale started in 2002, said Larry Trainor, member of the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis. Trainor has been in charge of the group’s plant sale since 2016. The sale is normally part of Southport Spring Festival, but since the festival was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kiwanis are moving forward with the plant sale in a different location this year. 

The sale will just be one day, from 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday, April 17, in the rear parking lot of the St. James Community Center (4136 Southport-Supply Road).

The sale will feature the signature twice-blooming encore azaleas, other flowering plants such as gardenias and roses, a few varieties of tomato plants and lettuces, and lots of herbs, including basil, mint, cilantro, and even parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  

With the uncertainty of whether the plant sale would happen this year, the group got a late start in ordering plants. Trainor said they normally begin ordering the azaleas from a nursery in Alabama after Thanksgiving, but didn’t order until January this year. Other plants come from Wilmington and Little River, and the herbs come from Shelton Herb Farm in Leland. 

“It’s always a good to get idea to get plants grown locally because they will thrive in this environment,” Trainor said. 

Pre-ordering with delivery is also an option. Anyone interested in ordering ahead of time can email Trainor at ltrainor13@yahoo.com for a list of available plants and prices. 

The idea of selling plants for a fundraiser got its roots in St. James in 2002, when resident Tom Pezanowski started selling encore azaleas, Trainor explained. Pezanowski started putting flyers in mailboxes; the flowering shrubs were delivered to, and sold from, his driveway. Trainor said 280 azaleas were sold that first year. Pezanowski became a Kiwanis member shortly thereafter, and the sale became an annual fundraising event. 

A Master Gardener, Pexanowski also grows plants such as elephant ears and amaryllis, and sells them himself to supplement the fundraiser. Trainor said that effort has raised almost $300 so far this year. 

Profits from the sale help support the Kiwanis’ many youth programs in Brunswick County – Key Club, Teen & Peer courts, Terrific Kids, Royal Readers and Listening Post – as well as provide $20,000 (annually) in scholarships for deserving high school seniors and to Brunswick Community College students, according to a release from the club. During these difficult times, they say the need is even greater. 

Trainor joined the Kiwanis in 2015, and got involved in the plants sale the next year. He said he was approached about taking a leadership position, and had a choice between the golf tournament and the plant sale. “My wife and I both love gardening. I thought that it would be something fun and a good way to be involved,” he said. 

Community service is what it’s all about, and the plant sale is just one way the Kiwanis fund the many programs the group provides for Brunswick County children. “It’s very good for the students. You can tell they’re very appreciative, and that goes a long way” Trainor said. 

For more about the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis, visit https://www.southport-oakisland-kiwanis.org