LSU Hilltop Arboretum hosts PlantFest Oct. 5-6

BATON ROUGE – More than 5,000 plants representing 600 different species will be available for purchase when the LSU Hilltop Arboretum holds its 30th Annual PlantFest event on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. at the arboretum, located at 11855 Highland Road.

This year's edition of the arboretum's annual fall plant sale celebrates three decades of masterfully collecting people and plants and bringing them together in the unique natural space that is Emory Smith's Hilltop. Proceeds from the event go toward supporting ongoing efforts to develop the site and the educational programs and projects of the arboretum.

The horticultural promenade will be led by the delightfully eclectic cadre of volunteers who oversee Hilltop's on-site nursery and are affectionately known as "Hodge-Podge." Their combined understanding and appreciation of Hilltop and all plants in general – native plants, in particular – is laced with a generous dollop of funk, a pinch of pluck and a flair for the unique.

All this and more is folded with finesse into the impressive diversity of plant materials featured at the sale – trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, ferns, fruits, gingers, camellias, edibles, ornamental grasses and more. A full listing of the plant materials offered at the sale will be posted on the Hilltop Arboretum website, www.lsu.edu/hilltop, one week prior to the event.

The singular Hodge-Podge Collection features prized pass-alongs, as well as choice plants grown from cuttings donated by Friends of Hilltop and fans that are coddled throughout the year in anticipation of the fall sale. Additional plants are also imported from 15 diverse nurseries located in Alabama, Texas, Florida and South Carolina, as well as Louisiana.

In addition, the Hilltop Gift Shop will feature specialty plant and craft vendors offering books, garden tools, ironwork, woodcraft and more the needs of gardeners and their gardens.

For more information, or to register for PlantFest and/or the teaser event, contact LSU Hilltop Arboretum at 225-767-6916, visit www.lsu.edu/hilltop or email hilltop@tigers.lsu.edu.