Greensburg Garden Center gears up for annual holiday sale

Wreaths, garlands, trees, ornaments and other handmade decorations will be up for grabs at the Greensburg Garden Center’s annual holiday sale next week.

The sale, scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2, features decorations made by about 30 of the center’s volunteers, said Co-President Carla Rusnica.

Common items are artificial and fresh wreaths, garlands, centerpieces, decorated Christmas trees and kissing balls, ranging from $10 to $100. Ornaments filled with dried flowers are a new addition to the sale this year, Rusnica said.

“We have everything from rustic to sort of off-the-wall to traditional,” said Rusnica, of Greensburg. “They’re all unique and different.”

The fresh greens, kissing balls and hanging baskets go fast, said Co-President Diane Dale. Shoppers can purchase them online in advance of the sale at greensburggardencenter.net/events.

The Greensburg College Club and the McKenna Senior Center will fundraise at the sale by selling barbeque sandwiches and cookies, said Dale, of Greensburg.

All other proceeds from the sale will help the Greensburg Garden Center cover rent and utilities, its monthly print programs for members, its butterfly garden and the $1,500 scholarship the center gives out each year, Dale said.

The Katherine McKenna Scholarship is given to a student near Westmoreland County pursuing a two- or four-year degree in botany, horticulture, forestry, landscape architecture or another related field.

The proceeds also support the center’s annual Christmas Project, Rusnica said. This year, the center is donating boxes of personal care items to Welcome Home, a Greensburg homeless shelter that provides temporary housing to families and single women.

The shelter can typically house four families or 10 single women at a time, Rusnica said. Care products and items for women and children can be dropped off at the center throughout November, which will be packed into boxes on Dec. 5.

“It makes us feel good,” Rusnica said.