Homes and Gardens

Powell Gardens Annual Auction

Posted at June 30, 2006 13:37

Only once in a blue moon do plant collectors find botanical treasures such as entire collections for a themed garden, new cultivars ready for a name of the buyer’s choosing, and never-before public offerings from growers and botanical gardens across the country in one place. But they can at the Under a Blue Moon Garden Party and Rare Plant Auction on June 17 at Powell Gardens. Not available in local nurseries, many offerings are rare and available only inside certain circles of plant enthusiasts. For example, gardeners will be able to bid on a cocoa tree, a new black tulip magnolia tree that has dark red-black flowers, and a Katsura Japanese maple, a unique variety with coral pink leaves.

The evening begins with cocktails and a silent auction of nearly two hundred botanical treasures, including elaborately planted pots and urns, rare specimens, and entire garden collections. Other items include landscape design consultations, dinners in private gardens, trips to major garden destinations, and exclusive tours with experts.

An extreme garden makeover package is new on the Powell Gardens auction block this year. The makeover will include a complete custom design, including plant palette, hardscape design, and installation of a key garden focal point, such as an entryway, water feature, or garden nook.

Proceeds will help Friends of Powell Gardens build the Heartland Harvest Garden. Inspired by the Villandry gardens in France, the harvest garden will take advantage of the vast textures, architectural shapes, and colors of crops, vegetables, and fruits. Scheduled to open in 2008, it is a highly interactive educational garden with an eight-and-a-half million dollar price tag. Four Quilt Gardens, each planted on three-quarters of an acre in Old Missouri and Kansas Star quilt patterns, will feature an ever-changing display of the world’s food plants.

Call 816-697-2600, ext. 238 or email info@powellgardens.org. Reservations are required. Powell Gardens are at 1609 Northwest U.S. Highway 50, at Kingsville, 30 miles east of Kansas City.

—Patsy Bell Hobson

June 2006

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