Purpose
Thurston Conservation District offers two annual native plants sales to offer affordable access to native plants for habitat restoration, reforestation, and other conservation-related projects. Our goal is to promote environmental stewardship, educate our community about the benefits of native plants, and encourage their use in landscaping and other applications.
Refund & Cancellations
All plant sales are final. We will not issue a refund for any plants that are not picked up or order cancellations. You cannot change your order after it is placed. If you would like more plants, please place a separate order.
Plants that were ordered but become unavailable due to stocking issues and nursery or shipping changes will be refunded.
Availability
Plants are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We have limited qualities at both our online pre-order sale and in-person walk-up sale. Plants tend to sell out quickly and we advise that customers pre-order to ensure they get their first choices.
We will do our very best to fill your entire order, however we cannot guarantee the availability of plants. We order our plants from wholesale nurseries 6-12 months before the sale date and uncontrollable situations, such as crop failure, could prevent one or more species from being available. If we cannot fill part or all of your order, you will receive a refund. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
Plant Mortality
There are no refunds for plant mortality. The Thurston Conservation District is not responsible for plant stock once they have been picked up. We do not offer any guarantee regarding the survival of the plants. Even though these are native plants, they must be watered and cared for when they are young and still establishing. Please note that extreme weather during the first few years will affect survivability.
The plants sold at this sale are “conservation grade”, which means they are graded on their survivability, not on their ornamental value. We sell in bundles of five and ten and expect a 75% survival rate, which generally means one or two plants out of the bundle won’t survive.
Plant Pick-up
Spring Native Plant Festival & Sale
Plants are available for pick-up at the Thurston County Fairgrounds Wednesday-Friday before the first Saturday in March.
Plant sale customers will be contacted via email to arrange a pick-up time and day during those dates.
Fall Native Bulb & Seed Sale
Plants are available for pick-up at the Harvest Festival the first Saturday in October.
General
The District is not responsible for any plants not collected on the provided pick up dates. There are no refunds for any plants not picked up. No exceptions. Customers who are not able to pick up their plants during the provided pick-up days may arrange an alternate pick-up day up to one week after the sale. Due to the fragile nature of bare root plants, any plants not picked up one week after the sale will not be held and will be donated to other restoration projects in Thurston County.
Check your orders before you leave the sale. Once you leave, you will not be able to get a refund for any missing plants.
Customer Communication
To coordinate pick-ups and for reminders about the sale, plant sale customers will be contacted with the email address provided when the online order is placed. Please use an email address where our staff can reach you. Please also provide a phone number for incidental communication needs.
In-person Walk-up Sales
Our in-person walk-up sale has a large attendance. This festive event is a great way to purchase affordable plants in smaller quantities. Please keep in mind that plants sell out quickly and cannot be reserved ahead of time. Please remember that our organization is not a retail store and that our sales are run entirely by our small staff with the support of volunteers. We do our best to make the event as enjoyable as possible, but cannot control the line length, wait time, or which plants sell out quickly. We appreciate your patience and understanding.