For many men, the art of gardening primarily is reserved for their better half.
That's not the case with the Men's Garden Club of Pittsburgh, one of more than a dozen participating gardening organizations featured in next weekend's 69th annual May Market, sponsored by Phipps Garden Center. The club consisting of nearly 80 male members traditionally is part of the festival, an annual rite of spring in Shadyside's Mellon Park. Gardeners can buy a variety of plants at the sale.
In the middle of winter -- while some Pittsburgh area guys spent their free time watching football -- the Men's Garden Club had their hands in the dirt, potting and growing some 100 tropical hibiscus starter plants in greenhouse belonging to one of the members to sell next weekend.
Ed Sisenwain, of Highland Park, president of the group, says the plants are a new addition to their "usual outstanding array of annuals, flats and some of the nicest geraniums -- over 400 of them -- that you'll ever see."
"From the time I was a kid coming to May Market, the Men's Garden Club had plants that were very primo," Sisenwain says. "We have a lot of good quality growers."
While some of the exhibitors include food for sale, the Men's Garden Club concentrates strictly on live plants, according to the club's president.
"We do usually bring along a Coleman stove and make omelets, but they're just for us," he says. "We have a good time."
Georgia Moncada, member of the Highland Garden Club, says "it's all my fault" that her garden club will sell servings of jambalaya at May Market. Made with chicken, kielbasa, sausage and a tomato base, and sauteed with vegetables, the Southern dish is a crowd favorite, Moncada says.
Her fellow gardeners also will offer hanging baskets for sale that feature geraniums, double impatiens, Wave petunias and Million Bells.
Whitehall Green Thumbers, an 80-member-strong gardening group with members from South Hills communities, also will participate again this year.
Besides offering a variety of hanging baskets and herb baskets and pots, the club also prepares hotdogs, kielbasa and sauerkraut and barbecue sandwiches, as well as haluski and pasta salad.
Their flower baskets contain passion vine, bougainvillea, dipladenia, alligator ivy and Calibrachoa petunias. They also will offer trellises, ivy wreaths and herb bowls.
"We look for plants that are unusual and you won't find if you go to the local lumber yard or Kmart," says Lois Erdman, spokeswoman for Whitehall Green Thumbers.
The annual May Market will offer extended hours on Sunday this year. Previously a two-day event held on Friday and Saturday, the market has expanded to accommodate Sunday shoppers, says Pam Reddy, spokeswoman for Phipps.
During the weekend, Reddy says visitors can see and purchase thousands of annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs and the latest gardening tools and accessories offered by garden clubs and garden-related vendors. Expert gardeners will be on hand to answer gardening questions, and antiques will be exhibited inside Phipps Garden Center, she says.
Additional Information:
Details
69th annual May MarketWhen: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and May 14; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 15
Admission: Free
Where: Mellon Park, 1059 Shady Ave., Shadyside
Details: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, 412-622-6914; Phipps Garden Center, 412-441-4442; or the Web site
