Fall is the perfect time to shop for certain ornamentals and herbs and the Fabulous Fall Plant Sale at the University of Tennessee Gardens is the perfect venue to shop.

The UT Gardens, Knoxville, will hold its annual fall sale on September 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The inventory for this sale has been selected for ornamental appeal, plant hardiness and environmental adaptability, and many selections are new to the market or not easily found.

The UT Gardens' Fall Plant Sale is Saturday, September 21. Three rosemary workshops will be offered in conjunction with the sale, along with a craft fair. Image courtesy of UT Gardens

The autumn season is the perfect time to plant select trees and shrubs that offer ornamental appeal in your landscape for every season of the year. To help shoppers select for seasonal show, sale plants will be organized into groups for spring flower, fall foliage, showy fruit and winter interest. Native and pollinator-friendly plants will also be easily identified. Professional horticulture staff and Tennessee Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions and provide plant and design advice. The sale will feature an array of edibles, perennial flowers, trees and shrubs.

“We're very excited to be offering choice selections of the evergreen shrub camellia this year,” says Sue Hamilton, director of the UT Gardens. “Camellias come in a variety of sizes, varying bloom colors, and different seasons of bloom. Shoppers will find selections that flower either in the fall, winter, or spring. How cool is it to have a shrub flowering in your landscape in the dead of winter?” she asks.

Also featured will be the beautiful deciduous native shrub itea, commonly known as Virginia Sweet Spire. Itea is one of the best shrubs for showy fall foliage with multi-colors of red, yellow, orange and purple. It is also fragrant, sun- or shade-tolerant, has showy white bottle-brush flowers in the spring, and is deer resistant. ‘Scentlandia’ and ‘Little Henry’ are the two choice selections that will be on sale. The sale will also have an abundant supply of one of the most fragrant spring flowering shrubs you can have in the landscape — Koreanspice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii). This deciduous viburnum has great fall foliage and showy red flower buds that open to pink (fading to white) blooms in the spring. The fragrance of this viburnum is what makes this plant deserve a spot in everyone’s garden. The sale will include Spice Baby™ and Spice Girl™.

Now is the time to harvest rosemary, and attendees can also learn how to use it! The sale will feature local craft vendors and three unique workshops focusing on rosemary. Workshop fees range from $15 to $25, and pre-registration is required. Pre-registration and payment can be completed online at tiny.utk.edu/RosemaryJubilee.

A preview sale will be held on Friday, September 20, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. for all UT Gardens’ members, Gardens’ volunteers and UT employees. Garden members receive a ten percent discount on all purchases. Memberships can be purchased at the preview sale on Friday with immediate plant discounts.

The plant sale and craft fair is free and open to the public, with all proceeds benefiting the UT Gardens, the official State Botanical Garden of Tennessee. A full inventory of plants to be sold is available online at tiny.utk.edu/FallPlantSale. Visit the website utgardens.tennessee.edu for more information.

Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. ag.tennessee.edu.