Garden Club plant sale on the Common in the late 1950s.(Courtesy photo)

This year’s annual Garden Club plant sale, its 56th, will be held Saturday, May 14, 9 a.m. to noon on the Harvard Common, rain or shine.

The Garden Club of Harvard was founded in 1927 by Mary P. Abbot. The idea of holding a plant sale was first mentioned at a board meeting in 1947. The Feb. 16, 1955, board minutes read, “Plans for raising money were discussed and it was decided to have a plant sale in May during apple blossom time, with Mrs. Grace Cummings in charge.”

There were 40 Garden Club members that year. A small selection of plants, mostly geraniums, was offered on the Harvard Common. There are no records from the 1955 sale; however, the 1957 sale brought in $78.25, and profits soared to $197.70 in 1959.

For years the Garden Club called everyone in town to see who wanted to place a geranium order; there were many faithful followers. The plant sale grew steadily over the years, with members donating perennials from their gardens, and by 1970 slightly less than half the proceeds came from the sale of geraniums. Now, there are a few geraniums the day of the sale, but offerings also include everything from rare specialty plants like trillium, Japanese iris and named epimedium, to longtime favorites like Shasta daisies, phlox, lady’s mantle, ferns and asters. Vegetable and herb plants are also available.