MARBLEHEAD — In gardens tucked behind stone walls and picket fences across town, members of the Driftwood Garden Club have been preparing for Spring’s unofficial kickoff.
Armed with shovels, gloves, and decades of horticultural knowledge, club members fan out each April to dig, divide, and pot perennials from local gardens — a ritual that culminates in the Driftwood Garden Club’s annual plant sale, set this year on Mother’s Day weekend from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on May 9 at the Masonic Hall in Marblehead, 62 Pleasant St.
People around town volunteer their yards and gardens to the Club. The Club will choose a day to come for a few hours and thin out perennials, to repot and sell at the plant sale.
For Adrienne Sweetser, co-chair of the plant sale, the event is about more than flowers.
“It’s really a community effort,” Sweetser said. “We identify local gardens where homeowners may have plants that need thinning, and we come as a team, divide those plants, and bring them back to be cared for until the sale. It’s a labor of love.”
Founded in 1952, the nonprofit Driftwood Garden Club has roughly 60 members from Marblehead and neighboring North Shore communities. The club’s annual sale has become a spring tradition, drawing gardeners who seek hardy, locally grown plants while supporting civic causes.
Unlike a traditional nursery sale, many of the offerings come directly from Marblehead gardens — peonies, astilbes, hostas, and shade plants that members say are well-suited to local growing conditions. Alongside perennials, annuals, and herbs supplied through a partnership with Marblehead Garden Center will also be available. The sale will also include indoor plants, responding to growing interest from residents with smaller outdoor spaces.
“People look forward to it because these are healthy, unique plants you can’t necessarily find everywhere,” Sweetser said. “And they’ve been grown right here.”
Proceeds from the sale support projects including landscaping at Abbott Public Library and beautification efforts at Farrell Court, continuing a longstanding civic mission.
For longtime member Lauri Boggis, now in her 30th year with the club, the sale’s roots run even deeper.
On a recent sunny morning, Boggis stood in a host’s backyard, surrounded by members potting ferns and dividing perennials in what she described as “the epicenter of the operation.”
“We dig perennials out of local gardens for the sale, and it’s a win for everyone,” Boggis said. “We get lovely, locally grown plants, and it helps homeowners thin their gardens. Many hands make light work.”
On this day, the group set up shop at Cassandra Fedas’ house on Euclid Avenue.
Fedas said the group has come in the past three years, and “they are just fantastic, everyone should be lucky to have them.”
She added, “The gardens always look better because of them.”
Every active member contributes at least 10 plants from her own garden, digs in volunteer host gardens, and then “babysits” the potted plants at home until sale day.
“It’s not just about selling plants,” Boggis said. “It’s social. It’s therapeutic. It’s civic work.”
Boggis said the club’s projects at Abbott Library stretch back more than three decades, and newer work at Farrell Court has brought fresh purpose.
“A lot of the folks there are seniors, and they really appreciate our efforts,” she said. “That’s rewarding.”
Members say the annual dig-and-divide process also reflects a growing awareness of sustainability and pollinator-friendly gardening.
While not every plant sold is native, many are well-adapted to the region and help support birds and pollinators.
“There’s a real focus on healthy plants and responsible gardening,” Sweetser said.
The club itself has evolved, balancing tradition with new members and new ideas. While some gardeners have been involved for decades, newer recruits continue to join.
That mix, Boggis said, keeps the organization vibrant.
“I joined when my daughter was 3 — she’s 33 now,” she said with a laugh. “And we still have new members coming in all the time.”
Preparation for the sale begins months in advance, with planning meetings starting in January and a dedicated committee coordinating everything from recruiting donor gardens to organizing volunteers and marketing.
But the heart of the event remains in those spring mornings spent digging side by side.
On one recent dig, members moved in a rhythm — some lifting clumps of ferns from rich soil, others labeling pots or tallying inventory as the wind rustled through a blooming weeping cherry tree.
For Sweetser, that may be the club’s real harvest.
“Yes, people come for the plants,” she said. “But what they’re really supporting is community.”
And for those searching for a Mother’s Day gift, members have a ready suggestion.
“What could be better than giving a plant?” Sweetser said.
