annie's spring partyAnnie’s Annuals in Richmond (at 740 Market Avenue) is holding their spring party this weekend, April 14-15. They will have free “supermarket sweep” raffles every hour — winners get 15 minutes of free shopping. There’s also a “gardening olympics” (“no athletic ability necessary”). Plus Calypso music, complimentary snacks and drinks, and gardening talks, as well as an Easter egg hunt, face painting, a bunny petting corner, coloring table, and sandbox for kids.

Annie’s specializes in unusual annuals and perennials, including cottage garden heirlooms and hard-to-find California native wildflowers. Annie’s plants are grown outdoors, not in greenhouses, so they tend to be tough. And they’re not sprayed with hormones as is the case with most commercial growers.

It’s a great place to pick up plants that you won’t find in retail box stores. But beware, at $5 or so per 4-inch pot, you can spend a lot in a short time.

The full schedule of events is here.