March marks the historic beginning of spring! This year spring begins on March 20th, but in Florida, spring has already begun! The flowers are budded up or blooming, new foliage is breaking, and the itch to garden is real! The other great part about spring is that it brings a multitude of spring flings! From farm and garden festivals to u-picks, to garden tours, and gardening classes! Spring offers a diverse range of fun, family centered activities. So what better place to plan your calendar? We are going to highlight some of the greatest gardening events offered near the Suncoast!
March 18th 9AM-3PM Elwood Park Farm & Garden Festival– Ya’ll know we had to put ours first, as we are SO excited for it! It’s the first annual event featuring 25 vendors, food truck, and gardening classes. Come visit the quaint neighborhood of Elwood Park, while browsing for the perfect addition to your home. From interior plants, Florida Natives, Succulents, annuals, garden planters, seeds, vegetable starts, John Deere Equipment, soil & compost, and organic fertilizer options, it’s a one stop shop! We also are offering THREE gardening classes! 9:30AM class is with You Had me at Aloe, creating your own succulent terrarium, along with a light breakfast! 11AM class is with the Plant Place and is focused on how to rebuild your soil organically! Finally, the 1:30 PM class will be hosted by Mindful Blooms in which you’ll learn the essence of floral design and create your own arrangement to take home. More festival information and class registration can be found here! Okay, now we will go in order by date! Hope to meet everyone! 🙂
March 4th 11AM-3PM: Lolla-Bee-Looza by the Bee Musketeers Inc! Terra Ceia will always have a special place in my heart, as it’s such a unique and beautiful area. Come explore the wonderful world of bees through exhibits, mead tasting, take home pollinator gardens, hive painting and more! We all know how important bees are, and they deserve to be celebrated!
March 10th & 11th 9AM-5PM; March 12th 10-4PM: Spring Open House by Palmer Orchids! Who doesn’t need a new orchid for their collection? Join Palmer Orchids along with other orchid growers, pottery, and plantscapes for a weekend full of potential purchases! During the event they will also offer orchid talks along with a sale tent of $10!
March 11th 9AM-12PM: Growing Citrus at Home Class by UF IFAS Extension. This may not be a festival, but it’s quite the exciting event! UF is offering a three-hour class on how to successfully grow citrus at home. We do have oranges on our license plate, so we should have some in our backyard. The best part is you’ll get to take home 1-2 trees! This class is located in Sebring, so it is a bit of a hike, but certainly well worth it! See the flyer below and be sure to register!
March 12th 10AM-3PM: Palma Sola Botanical Park’s Spring Plants & More Sale! Check out the vendors and enjoy the gardens! It’s free admission, so it’s the perfect day to attend!
March 16th 6:30PM-8:00PM: Precious Pollinators by UF/IFAS Extension Manatee, Palma Sola Botanical Park, & the Manatee County Agricultural Museum Inc. This may be a Thursday night, but it does sound like so much fun! Spend the evening learning about pollinators, favorite pollinator plants, and make your own bee box! Be sure to register as spots are limited!
March 25th 10AM-4PM: Edible Plants Market by the Plant Place! The Plant Place is truly a local treasure. Jan and her family are such wonderful people and extremely knowledgeable. Not only will they have annual and perennial edible plants and herbs for sale, but they will also host TWO classes that day! The 11AM is focused on the Amazing Moringa Tree and 1:30PM will be on worm castings. Should be a great day to learn more and also kick start your garden with some amazing plants.
March 25th & March 26th: Tampa GreenFest by the Tampa Garden Club. Enjoy a day filled with children’s activities, vendors, speakers, butterflies, and floral displays by the Tampa Garden Club!
April 22nd 10AM-4PM: Scars Farm Food Forest Festival. This festival not only includes a multitude of vendors, but there are many tours as well! From wildflower gardens to agriculture to farm animals, there’s great areas to explore. There are many small fruit and tree vendors along with other plant vendors.
May 13th 9AM to 5PM: Watermelon Festival by the Rotary Club of Hardee County! This is a newly created festival in Zolfo Springs! There will be vendors, agriculture demos, entertainment, watermelon contests, buggy rides, a car show, and more! Truly a family friendly event with so much to do. Plus, the first 300 people will receive a free box of fruits/vegetables! Definitely book this one on the calendar.
We hope that you found something that might not only work in your calendar, but something your family can enjoy and do together! Learning, growing, and adding to your garden is essential to success each year in your garden! We hope that you find some new plants for your garden or landscape, hopefully you learn something new from a class, and meet fellow gardeners who share the same passion as you. We hope you can make our festival (we want to meet you in person!!) and also the others listed. There’s so many opportunities to connect with our great community of gardeners in Florida!
Have an event?
Are you hosting an event or know of one? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know, so we can research it and add it to the list!
The Veranda View 