If you’re a discerning gardener who won’t settle on just any tomato plant for your garden, you may well have to go to church to find them. That’s where Amy Powell, tomato-grower extraordinaire will be selling her heirloom tomato plants when Covington’s Trinity Episcopal Church hosts its annual Garden Mart on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13.
Powell, who has participated in the Garden Mart for 17 years, credits her mother and grandmother with instilling the passion and talent for gardening. Today, she and her husband live on the farm that she spent so many summers on with her maternal grandparents.
“We’ve been growing heirlooms my whole life, but 27 years with my husband,” says Powell. “We grow tomatoes for flavor and vigorous adaptation to this area. “
Many of the plants you’ll find at the Trinity Episcopal Church Garden Mart are grown by local gardeners.
Traditionally scheduled during Mother’s Day weekend, the event has long been a trusted resource for beautiful blooms and foliage for gifts, as well as a reliable venue for healthy plants for gardeners.
Visitors to the Garden Mart will find a selection of greenhouse-started annuals, perennials, herbs, and Powell’s heirloom tomatoes as well as a wide variety of hanging baskets and containers of blooms ready for Mother’s Day. Pass-along plants — plants which have been successfully grown locally from talented gardeners, and are a staple of the event — will be available. Trinity’s master gardeners and knowledgeable volunteers will also be on hand for consultations.
“The quality of plants offered at the sale is why it does so well,” says Powell. “Knowledge of plants by the volunteers like Gay [Smith], are also so important. Community support, variety and all for a good cause make it an outstanding sale. We love being there. We have customers that have bought from us since it started.”
In addition to plants and flowers, the Garden Mart features dozens of local vendors selling pottery, and jewelry, and this year will provide a bit of entertainment and libations. “Sprouts and Stouts” takes place Friday, May 12, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., featuring musical guests Devon Johnson and the Midnight Travelers, and The Turkeys, and beer from Braxton Brewery and other local craft beer.
The event raises funds that support the public gardens of Trinity Episcopal Church and the various community outreach ministries of the Episcopal Church Women (ECW). The church is located at 326 Madison Avenue in Covington.
