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Fall flower, garden fest set for October
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The 29th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest in Crystal Springs to be held Oct. 12 and 13 will delight garden and horticulture enthusiasts with acres of vegetables, flowers and herbs.
The two-day event at Mississippi State University’s Truck Crops Experiment Station will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
Features will include a huge plant sale, and wagon ride and walking tours throughout the fest. Guided walking tours will examine plant diseases, trees, adaptations for accessible gardening, and the station’s flower and vegetable gardens. A self-guided tour on backyard conservation is also planned.
Garden plots include banana trials, ethnic, shade, hummingbird and butterfly gardens, Mississippi Medallion winners and All-American Selection winners.
The theme of the 2007 festival is better health and nutrition with fruits and vegetables. Seminar topics include healthy cooking with fruits and vegetables, adding value to fresh fruits and vegetables, and nutritious and delicious cooking.
The Southern Fruit Fellowship will deliver six talks on fruit crops. Their topics include mulberries and Chinese che, figs, pears, fruit breeding and citrus.
New this year, Let’s Go Walkin’ Mississippi will kick-off the fest with a one-mile walk Oct. 12 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Entry is free. The first 300 walkers will receive a free pedometer.
Sponsored by MSU’s Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the Fall Flower and Garden Fest attracts more than 6,000 people from across the region every year.
Demonstrations and workshops offered include pond management, climbing vegetables and flowers, ornamental grasses, beekeeping, backyard wildlife habitats and shade gardening. The “Corn Meal Man” and Master Gardener programs are also on the agenda.
The Truck Crops Experiment Station is located on Highway 51 in Crystal Springs, 25 miles south of Jackson. Take exit 68 off Interstate 55 to get there. For more information, call (601) 892-3731 or the local county Extension office.
Writer: Courtney Coufal
