dig it

Iconic Houston plant sale blooms with 80 years of the best bulbs for the greenest thumbs

Buy beautiful blooms like this at the iconic sale.

Photo courtesy of Garden Club of Houston

Despite our hurricanes, freezes, and random weather events, Houstonians truly dig the gardening and plant life — especially during the pandemic, where many thumbs got greener while at home in their yards.

To that end, Houston's heralded garden club is hosting its longtime market for plant and gardening experts and even those who wouldn't know an rose from a weed. The Garden Club of Houston will hold its annual Bulb & Plant Mart this week, which celebrates an astounding 80th anniversary this year.

Plant lovers and those interested in gardening can head to The Church of St. John the Divine (2450 River Oaks Blvd.) for the beloved sale, which boasts everything from amaryllis to zinnia. Preview night runs from 5 pm-7 pm Thursday, October 13; the event features music and light bites. The sale continues from Friday, October 14 (9 am-5 pm) through Saturday, October 15 (9 am-2 pm).

Discriminating gardening types can expect hard-to-find items from the best growers and nurseries, both in the U.S. and even abroad. A quick rundown of offerings includes: amaryllis, anemones, crocuses, daffodils, freesias, hyacinths, irises, ranunculi, tulips, and watsonias. (We had to Google the last one.)

Other finds include vines, bushes, and citrus plants, many grown specifically for the sale by longtime Garden Club members. A live butterfly tent from The Museum of Natural Science's Cockrell Butterfly Center is sure to be an Instagram favorite.

butterflies Houston Museum of Natural Science Butterfly guests from the HMNS will visit the sale.HMNS.org

Additionally, a GCH Conservation Booth will feature native and drought-tolerant plants curated by experts in ecological conservation.

Friday and Saturday will also see guest lecturers presenting interesting topics including beekeeping, floral arranging, and even edible evergreen plants. (Get the full speaker schedule here.) Event chairs Paula Mentz, Claire Curtain, and Ashley Clark are spearheading the milestone sale with club president Nancy Kelley.

Buyers, meanwhile, can take heart in knowing that their purchases fund the Garden Club's ongoing support, beautifying, and conservation campaigns, as well as nonprofit partners.

Founded in 1942 on the steps of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bulb & Plant Mart has sprouted a tremendous local following; many mark their calendars each year for the popular sale that has truly blossomed in popularity ever since.

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”