Phipps to sell used flower bulbs to the public

Visitors to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens can take home a burst of color with the organization’s used bulb sale on Saturdays through the end of the month or until supplies last.

Phipps horticulturists and volunteers regularly replace the more than 60,000 bulbs on display throughout the Gardens of the Rainbow show, which ends Sunday. As blooms are changed out, the conservatory offers bulbs to the community. For $5, visitors can purchase two, 6-inch pots of used bulbs, which include daffodils, hyacinths and lilies.

The sale – held on Saturday April 20 and 27 from 9:30 a.m. through 11:30 a.m. – is free and open to the public.

Phipps also will have a “Find the Egg” treasure hunt starting Friday through Easter with colored eggs hidden in each glasshouse room to spot. On Saturday, the conservatory will unveil its Butterfly Forest with a path that winds past ponds and through a tunnel of butterflies taking flight.

The conservatory is open this weekend, including Easter Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. with extended hours on Friday until 10 p.m. Admission is $17.95 for adults; $16.95 for seniors and students and $11.95 for children 2 to 18 years old. Members and kids under 2 are free.

Founded in 1893, the 15-acre Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh draws nearly a million visitors annually to its 14-room glasshouse and nearly two dozen indoor and outdoor gardens. To learn more about the conservatory’s research and sustainability mission, click here.