A huge array of locally grown plants will be on sale at Otago Polytechnic’s annual Giant Plant Sale, to be held at its Central Otago Campus this Labour Weekend.

The main plant sale will be held at the Polytechnic’s Cromwell campus from 9.30am-12pm on Saturday 22 October, but pensioners with a gold card can choose to avoid the masses by attending a special 12pm-2pm timeslot the day before. Otago Polytechnic horticulture staff member Kathryn Sutherland says the sale is a popular fixture for the region’s gardeners. "Everyone loves the range of plants, fantastic bargains, free gardening advice and the chance to support our horticulture students. "All of the plants and vegetables on sale are perfectly suited to our Central Otago climate and have been propagated and grown by our horticulture students. "They’ve done an amazing job. We’re selling a wide array of plants and vegetables, from bedding plants to veges and herbs. We also have a variety of natives, tussocks and trees." Drought-resistant plants are a particular specialty. "Otago Polytechnic has a strong sustainable practice ethos and one of the things we’re big on is saving water. Drought-resident plants don’t require much water so we’re huge advocates of using them to create dry gardens." While the main focus of the day is plants and gardens, the sale is also a great family day out and a good chance to experience what happens on campus. There will be free beer and wine tastings prepared and run by Otago Polytechnic students. There’s also an opportunity to view the stone walls and features built by students of New Zealand’s only full-time stonemasonry course. Entry to the Giant Plant sale is free.

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