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.

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Classic car dealer rolls into Houston with massive Katy facility

Courtesy of Streetside Classics

Streetside's Katy location will be similar to its store in Fort Worth.

Classic car enthusiasts will soon have a new place to shop for vintage rides. Streetside Classics, a vintage car dealer with six locations nationwide, will open its seventh in Katy later this year.

Located at at 500 Commerce Pkwy, the 56,000-square-foot showroom will have enough space for more than 250 cars. The facility will house classic muscle cars such as Mustangs, Cudas, and Corvettes as well as classic trucks, SUVs, and other vehicles from the early 1900’s to contemporary exotics.

"When we started Streetside, we committed to a customer-first philosophy in an industry that desperately needed it," said Donna Mueller, co-founder and chairwoman of Streetside Classics, in a statement. "We’re excited to expand to a seventh location in a vibrant and fast-growing market like Houston. We hope to be a hub for the growing enthusiast community by hosting car shows, welcoming car clubs, and always being a place where you can come see that car your dad had.”

One way Streetside caters to buyers is with in-house lifts that allow shoppers to inspect a vehicle more thoroughly than simply opening the hood. In addition, the dealer offers financing, shipping, warranties, and a “low-pressure environment” to make buying and owning a classic car as easy as possible.

Ahead of the opening, Streetside is already accepting applications for consignment cars. Interested parties will find more information at the company’s website.

Mueller founded Streetside Classics in Charlotte, NC in 2008. Since then, the company has grown to six locations, including an outpost in Fort Worth. It sells more than 3,000 cars per year with revenues of over $1 billion annually, according to press materials.