NORWICH – Flowers and vegetable plants will decorate the pavilion in East Park today as Hospice, a not-for-profit agency committed to improving the quality of life for county residents with a life limiting illness, hosts its annual plant sale fundraiser.

The Hospice plant sale will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today in East Park. Flower pots and hanging baskets comprised of varied floral arrangements will be sold to support the efforts of Hospice in its largest fundraiser of the year. In addition, the organization will sell barbecued chicken in the park beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Earlier this month, Hospice employees and volunteers distributed nearly $37,000 worth of merchandise from Pires Flower Basket in Norwich and Alcotts Florist in Waterville to pickup locations in Afton, Bainbridge, Greene, Norwich, Oxford and Sherburne for patrons who ordered plants when the agency held its pre-order sale.

“It’s definitely a big project. We utilize probably 50 volunteers,” said Hospice Development and Community Relations Coordinator Donna Wood-Craig. Each year, net sales of flowers from the pre-order sale combined with the sales in East Park averages $24,000, she added.