SEASONAL FESTIVALS & PLANT SALES
GARDEN FAIR & PLANT SALE
Thank you to all of the attendees, volunteers, and sponsors who made the 2025 Garden Fair & Plant Sale a success! Proceeds from this event help make FONA a strong partner to the National Arboretum. Thank you for supporting FONA’s work!
This event could not happen without the incredible support of volunteers. Over 80 volunteers helped on the main event day alone! Plus, the Garden Fair Committee spent over four months preparing for the event. Thank you to everyone who donated time and energy to make this event happen.
Special thank you to Bartlett Tree Experts for sponsoring this year’s Garden Fair & Plant Sale. We are also grateful to in-kind donations from Anonymous (2), Adcock’s Nursery, Bell Nursery, Edelweiss Perennials, Far Reaches Farm, Hawksridge Farms, Hoffman Nursery, Monrovia, Old Glory Nursery, Pender Nursery, Plant Delights Nursery, Pleasant Cove Nursery, R.A. Dudley Nurseries, Alan Rudan, Youngblood Nursery, Zanfel.
GARLIC PLANTING PARTY & BULB SALE
Our annual Garlic Planting Party & Bulb Sale is a great way to celebrate fall and FONA’s community at the National Arboretum! This event takes place each year in the Washington Youth Garden on the last Saturday in October. Attendees can plant garlic, harvest sweet potatoes, try fresh sugar cane juice, and enjoy free nature-based family activities. They can also buy edible and ornamental bulbs to plant in their own gardens. We will share information about the 2025 event in the late summer or early fall of 2025.
CHRISTMAS TREE SALE
Thank you to all who joined us for our 2024 Christmas Tree Sale! This important annual fundraiser supports our work at the National Arboretum. We hold this event each year in early December. We will share more information about the 2025 Tree Sale in the late summer or early fall of 2025.
LAHR NATIVE PLANT SYMPOSIUM & NATIVE PLANT SALE
The National Arboretum’s Lahr Native Plant Symposium brings together expert speakers for an engaging day of presentations about native plants, pollinators, and ecosystems. FONA’s Native Plant Sale hosts a small number of native plant vendors from across the mid-Atlantic region to sell spring ephemerals and other choice perennials and woody plants.
Both of these events are held together on the same day in late March. Registration for the Lahr Symposium often opens in January.
EVENT VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering at FONA’s events throughout the year is a great way to support our work building community at the National Arboretum. Spend a day enjoying plants and people by volunteering at our annual Garden Fair and Plant Sale, or help with other seasonal festivals, concerts, 5K races, and more. No experience is required, but we greatly appreciate when people can commit to volunteering at multiple events throughout the year. Fill out our event volunteer interest form and we will get back to you with more details.
