September Houseplant Sale to Benefit The Well Pella

More than 150 houseplants will be available September 18 and 19 on a back patio in Pella, IA at 808 Big Rock Park Road, home to plant-hobbyist Carol Van Klompenburg.  It will feature lots of young houseplants and also some more mature ones. Available plants include turtle plants, prayer plants, peace lilies, mother of thousands, bromeliads, aloe vera — and several varieties of airplane plants, philodendron, pothos, wandering dudes, and succulents.

Also available at the sale are air plants, in a wide variety of settings, including driftwood, sea shells, and miniature figurines —  each a one-of-a kind creation. Many of the settings were designed by award-winning Pella floral designer Janna Boyd. For people not familiar with care of air plants, which grow without soil, written plant-care instructions will be provided.

The event also includes a raffle for each of two silk arrangements, a fall arrangement donated by SunnySide Greenhouse and Gift shop and an all-season arrangement created by Janna Boyd.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Well, a Pella nonprofit where Van Klompenburg volunteers and also donates plants. “The Well serves local residents facing difficult circumstances in life,” she said. “I wanted to support their cause in a new way. Because I enjoy growing plants, I decided to grow enough of them for a stand-alone sale.

Her plant sale has become a team effort. Soon some friends and acquaintances donated plants for her to nurture and propagate. Others provided decorative pots they no longer needed. The Well also provided unsold mugs as additional plant containers.

Van Klompenburg emphasized that the sale is a patio sale, not a garage sale where shoppers seek bottom-dollar bargains. “The prices are fair, but because purchases benefit a charity,  items are not priced super-low,” she said.

The benefit plant sale is open Friday, September 18, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, September 19 from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be no early sales. In case of wind or rain, the sale will move indoors into the garage.