Nick DiNote and his mother, Patti DiNote, of Sea Isle, fill up their wagon with an array of plants.
By MADDY VITALE
Dealy Field’s basketball courts in Sea Isle City were transformed into a colorful assortment of flowers Saturday for the city's Garden Club Flower Sale.
Throngs of customers from homeowners looking to spruce up their properties to master gardeners made their selections.
There were hanging baskets, potted flowers, even herbs and annuals in flats.
The event was all day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will continue during the same hours on Sunday at Dealy Field, 6108 Central Ave.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the Garden Club’s charitable efforts.
Mary "Mike" Tumolo places some hanging baskets in her SUV.
One buyer, Mary “Mike” Tumolo, of Sea Isle, was busy packing large hanging baskets into the back of her sport utility vehicle at noon Saturday.
“This is my second trip,” Tumolo said with a smile as she carefully placed the baskets in the hatch. “These are for my neighbor.”
Tumolo went to the sale at 8 a.m. to make sure to get the best choices. She filled her SUV with lots of flowers, she said.
“The sale benefits the Garden Club and it is important to beautify our community. You can’t beat the prices and the quality,” she said. “I specifically bought a lot of flowers for pollinators. I filled the entire car. I just couldn’t resist.”
Nick DiNote and his mother, Patti DiNote, of Sea Isle, fill up their wagon with an array of plants.
Garden Club member Annette Lombardo called it a very successful first day of the flower sale. It was especially wonderful after a two-year hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.
Like Tumolo, Lombardo said other flower lovers came back a second time in the day for more purchases.
"People love the hanging baskets,” Lombardo said of the most popular seller Saturday. “We sold out of some flowers.”
Patti DiNote and her son, Nick, who own a vacation home in Sea Isle, filled a cart with flowers from hanging baskets to herbs.
They also purchased plum tomato plants and basil.
“I was excited they did it today," Patti DiNote said of the sale. "We went for a run and I said, ‘We have to go to the flower sale.’”
City Councilwoman Mary Tighe, whose mother Marie Tighe is a Garden Club member, helped out Saturday.
“By 7:45 a.m. we were full of people itching to buy,” Tighe said. “We have great weather and people are out planting flowers. It is the perfect time to have a flower sale.”
The Garden Club accepts cash or checks only. For more information call 609-263-1157.
City Councilwoman Mary Tighe helps out at the flower sale.
