With the hopefully final snow of the season behind us, Denverites can finally start working on their gardens.

Both the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Urban Gardens hosted their annual plant sales on Friday and Saturday, bringing in thousands of amateur and semi-professional horticulturists to peruse a wide-ranging selection of plants. It also happened to be Mother’s Day weekend, and many said looking through the plants was a way for them to celebrate with their moms while also kicking off the start of Colorado spring.

The Botanic Gardens’ sale was hosted at the York Street location, and featured several large tents sprinkled throughout the garden. Guests filled shopping carts and cardboard boxes with a wide range of plants, from succulents and flowers to fruits and vegetables such as potatoes, chili peppers and tomatoes.

Sarah Shumate-Connor and her mother, Sharon Shumate, said they go plant shopping every year for Mother’s Day. Shumate said she loves to garden and recently turned her yard into a xeriscape yard, so she was on the hunt for perennials.

“With my yard the way it is, if I had to replace annuals every year, it would be a fortune,” Shumate said. “So perennials are good in the hot climate of Colorado.”

Audrey Smith and her daughter Zerah Smith, 16, also came to the Botanic Garden to celebrate Mother’s Day. Audrey Smith said this is the second time they have come to the Garden for the plant sale, and like Shumate, they were on the hunt for perennials, which they planned to

Erin Bird, director of marketing and communications, said the proceeds from the plant sale go towards the general operating costs for the garden. She said the garden hosts the sale every year on Mother’s Day weekend, and estimated 7,700 guests came through the sale on Friday.

By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Bird said 45,000 plants had been sold.

At the Denver Urban Gardens’ sale at City Park Greenhouse, guests looked through a similar selection of plants and vendor booths.

Nessa Mogharreban, executive director of DUG, said the yearly sale was in collaboration with Denver Parks and Recreation. She said Mother’s Day weekend was a perfect time for the plant sale, as spring is finally kicking off in Colorado.

“We miss the snow,” she said. “But right now is a good time for plants.”

Proceeds from the DUG sale went towards the Gardens’ food sovereignty and food access programs, as well as supporting Denver Parks and Recreation.

Mogharreban said DUG also hosts a fall plant sale for fall seasonal plants. She said DUG had about 40,000 plants available for sale, and about a third of them were sold Friday.

“We’re hoping to sell out today,” she said.

Rachel Haag and her mother Cecilia Burns called themselves “big plant geeks” and said in addition to celebrating Mother’s Day, they wanted to come to the sale to support the Urban Gardens. They said they also came to last years’ sale.

“They’re such a cool organization,” Haag said. “We love that they have the community gardens around, that they also provide foods for folks in need.”

“They’re really there to support anybody who wants to either grow their own food or just make what’s around them prettier,” Burns said.