With summer in full swing, now is the perfect time to stop and smell the roses as Brainerd’s Northland Arboretum engages in an annual gardening extravaganza.

“This is, I think, our fourth year of coming to the arboretum for a talk and plant sale,” explained Jodie Ramsay, co-owner of Jean’s the Right Plant Place.

“For me, I’m a beginning gardener, so I’m excited to learn some of the basics about gardening,” said Trevor Pumnea, the Northland Arboretum’s new executive director.

In addition to the plant sale, a special educational presentation was given about the many perennials on display.

“We’re really excited to host an educational event,” said Pumnea. “This really ties in well for what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

“We’re kind of teachers at heart, so we feel it’s important to teach people,” explained Ramsay. “Not just, ‘here are these plants,’ but also how to grow them, and how they’re important for landscape and for pollinators and all those types of things.”

Much of the presentation focused on the importance of perennial plants native to the area, as well as the many benefits they provide.

“Because perennials really add a lot to your landscape, they add a lot to your property values,” said Ramsay. “And so it’s just an important thing to highlight.”

Overall, the goal of this event is to provide a growth of gardening knowledge so that the community can connect to roots of their own.

“It’s always fun to see the crowds and to have people come, to kind of see what’s new and unusual and exciting,” added Ramsay.

In the past, gardeners from Jean’s the Right Plant Place have discussed other topics such as plant drought and proper seasonal planting.

By — Justin Othoudt