Customers look at salvia and other perennials in 2019 at the Indian Creek Nature Center’s plant sale in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The annual Spring Plant & Art Sale is one of the major fundraisers for the Indian Creek Nature Center, attracting crowds of gardening enthusiasts who eagerly buy wildflowers, prairie plants, hosta and more.

Every year, the event has grown, but the coronavirus pandemic has moved the 2020 sale from the Nature Center’s site at 5300 Otis Rd. SE. to an online version.

Related: See photos from last year’s plant sale at the Indian Creek Nature Center

The Indian Creek Nature Center’s annual Spring Plant & Art Sale is moving online this year. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Learn more about this year’s sale from the Indian Creek Nature Center:

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — To continue to “flatten the curve” and prevent the spread of COVID-19, Indian Creek Nature Center is holding its annual Spring Plant & Art Sale online this year, with sales opening at noon on April 17 and closing at noon on May 2.

Orders will be placed through the Nature Center’s website. Once they are finalized and the sales window has closed, Nature Center officials will assign no-contact pick-up times to ensure a safety-first process.

The Spring Plant & Art Sale, hosted annually by the Friends of the Nature Center, features a variety of native plants that members of the group dig by hand, including a variety of beautiful wildflowers, prairie plants, hostas, geraniums and much more.

We have also secured a number of other vendors selling an assortment of items including plants, herbs, garden accessories, home products, art and more. Vendors this year include Alpaca Fiber Arts, Echollective Farm, Feed Iowa First, Locust Grove Farm, MCG Biocomposites, Nirvana Garden Creations, Skyline Farms and Willowsprite, LLC.

Also available for purchase is our maple syrup, honey, farm-fresh organically-raised eggs from Etzel Sugar Grove Farm, and butterfly milkweed to plant in preparation for our upcoming Monarch Festival (July 11), where you can adopt a monarch caterpillar for free. Milkweed is critical for your monarch’s survival!

The Plant & Art Sale comes at an especially important time this year, when people are isolating at home and could use time in the garden for their mental health, beautifying their home and yard, and, if growing vegetables, having fresh food available  throughout the summer. For gardening tips and expertise, we encourage people contact the Linn County Master Gardeners.

The Spring Plant & Art Sale is one of the Nature Center’s largest fundraising events and one of two put on by the Friends of the Nature Center (along with the Nature’s Noel holiday market in December). Proceeds from the Spring Plant & Art Sale support the Nature Center’s ability to provide environmental education programming to thousands of children each year.

More: Maple Syrup Festival postponed until June

Hundreds of visitors found a variety of plants to purchase last year at the Indian Creek Nature Center Spring Plant & Art Sale. This year’s sale is moving online. (photo/Cindy Hadish)