An annual favorite for local gardeners will be here a little sooner than in previous years, taking place on May 6.

Western Tidewater Master Gardeners will hold its annual plant sale at Carrollton Library on New Towne Haven Lane. The sale will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and parking will be down the road at Carrollton Elementary School. Handicap parking will be available closer to the sale.

This will be the first year the annual sale will be held in the spring. The Master Gardeners held the sale at the agricultural tent at the Isle of Wight County Fair in September in previous years.

“It always did well, but spring seems to be a much better time for getting new plants out into the public,” Master Gardener Lynn Hamm said. “That’s why we decided to go from our old process of doing it in the fall.”

Hamm said approximately 700 plants will be on sale this year, including perennials, annuals and herbs. There will be nectar plants that attract pollinating bees and butterflies. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil will be sold.

“The quantity of plants is probably triple or quadruple what we had in the fall at the fair,” Hamm said.

The list goes on to include hundreds of potted daylilies and hard-to-find milkweed.

“Nobody has milkweed right now,” Master Gardener Carol Baugher said. “It’s highly sought after this time of year.”

Customers will be provided educational resources by the Historic Southside Master Naturalists, Nansemond Bee Keepers Association and Peninsula Chicken Keepers. The Master Gardeners will have an educational “plant clinic,” featuring a native plant display.

“We are going to have massive amounts of locally grown plants that will do well in the area,” Baugher said. “They’re made for this zone, so they’re going to be acclimated already to grow in the area and help make good front yards and backyards.”

Raffle tickets will be sold for the chance to win garden essentials, such as rain barrels and books on gardening.

“It’s just going to be fun,” Baugher said.

Call 238-2641 for more information.