Where Gardens Grow and Childhoods Bloom

On Saturday, November 22, from 9:00 to 3:00, Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island invites the Marco Island community to gather at the Marco Lutheran Church parking lot for one of the most anticipated events of the season—the Annual Plant and Floral Design Sale. This year, the event has blossomed into more than a plant and floral design sale – it will be a celebration of nature, creativity, and community spirit because the club invites families with children to experience the beauty of plants while cultivating memories together at the newly added Family Fall Festival.   

The Family Fall Festival: Activities and Learning Opportunities 

The Family Fall Festival will provide fun for the whole family. Chairman of the Fall Festival, Diane Chestnut, has planned a rotating list of fun games with prizes for children, temporary tattoos, gardening education, hands-on learning opportunities, and more, all for reasonable prices. Some of the fun gardening activities include creating a terrarium, seed bomb, or leaf rubbing. And shopping for the home or mom – a Garden Market Table will present floral and garden items, from the perfect hostess gift to specialty items that make a unique accent for a lanai plant display or garden. In addition, Collier County Master Gardeners will be available with answers to any questions or problems with landscape plants. Hot dogs, chips, and drinks will be for sale, along with the fall must-have: popcorn. 

The Sale: A Kaleidoscope of Colors and Scents Focusing on Butterflies 

As in the past four years, the huge number of beautiful, healthy, gardener-grown plants forms the backbone of the Fall Plant and Floral Design Sale. The educational focus of the plant section in 2025 is butterfly host plants. This year’s Plant and Floral Design Sale Chairman, Rhonda Gloodt, is a well-known “butterfly whisperer.” The sale will offer vibrant and colorful host and nectar plants for butterflies and other pollinators. But the club’s members will also be presenting ever-popular bromeliads in all shapes and sizes, staghorn ferns, succulents, and other Florida-friendly plants for landscapes, lanais, and living rooms. And orchid grower Charlette Roman will once again offer her multiple species of orchids for sale. 

Fresh flower arrangements will also be a highlight of the November 22 sale. The fresh floral designs of all shapes, colors, and sizes are always the fastest items to sell out. Their beautiful colors and imaginative shapes and containers always attract attention. Calusa Garden Club floral designers plan vivid fall fresh floral designs to brighten your interiors and bring a little fall color inside.   

Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island is an IRC Section 501(c)3 organization.  The proceeds raised from the Plant and Floral Design Sale and Fall Festival will support the club’s community beautification activities and its college scholarships.  For more information, go to the website calusa.org or visit the Facebook page Calusa Garden Club.