The Sierra Foothills Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is holding the fourth annual Native Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday April 8 at the Calaveras County Water District’s (CCWD) headquarters at 120 Toma Court, San Andreas.

Hundreds of plants will be available for purchase, including trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, grasses, bulbs, succulents and water-wise plants. Plants in 1-gallon pots will be $8.50; 1-quart pots will be $5.50; and small “2.5-inch liners” will be $3.00.

A wide variety of educational booths will also be set up, including the Central Sierra Audubon Society, which will sell books, offer its popular handcrafted bird houses and provide information about birds and birdwatching. Books on gardening with natives will be available for purchase, and customers’ questions will answered by experienced volunteers from CNPS and master gardeners.

This is the fourth year that the spring sale has been hosted by CCWD at its headquarters. The building is surrounded by native and drought-tolerant landscaping that was designed and planted in 2014 by Mountain Ranch resident Judy Dean as a Sierra Foothills CNP- sponsored project. The landscaping is attractive all year long and is an excellent example of what plants available at the sale will look like once established. The District hopes that its landscaping will inspire visitors to incorporate native and drought-tolerant plants into their gardens.

“Native plants take so little care,” Dean said. “People don’t have time to spend hours and hours in their garden. Once native plants get their roots down, they can grow without water or with deep water once a month. They are very drought tolerant and take almost no pruning. You can mulch them with rocks or pine needles or whatever you want and hardly any weeds will come up. They are just so smart!”

Directions: From Highway 49 in San Andreas go west on Poole Station Road; turn left on George Reed Drive; turn left on Toma Court; turn right into the CCWD headquarters’ building parking lot. Look for the building with the blue roof.

Those with questions about the sale may call Judy Dean at (209)-754-5887. For more information about native plants or visit http://www.cnps.org.