STILLWATER, Okla. — Gardeners looking for herbs or succulent plants for their home landscape or a fun outdoor activity with the family should make plans to attend the annual Herb and Succulent Festival at The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University.
TheĀ festivalĀ takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 30 at The Botanic Garden at OSU, 3300 W. 6th St., in Stillwater.
āThe garden is really shaping up and looking good, and weāre looking forward to having more visitors. Weāll have herbs and succulents for sale and activities for the kids, too,ā saidĀ Lou Anella, director of The Botanic Garden at OSU. āWe love for people to visit the garden and weāre glad weāre able to offer opportunities like this.ā
While gardening may seem like a mystery to some, herbs and succulents are a good way to introduce people to a rewarding activity involving horticulture.
āHerbs and succulents are a great way to get your feet wet in the gardening world because theyāre really easy to grow,ā saidĀ Shelley Mitchell,Ā OSU ExtensionĀ associate specialist in horticulture. āTheyāre also good choices for people who may not have a lot of ground space for a garden because herbs and succulents do very well when grown in containers. Succulents grow well in desert-like environments, so novice gardeners are likely to be successful growing them.ā
Festival visitors can purchase plants while learning everything they need to know about growing them. Fresh herbs are a healthy way to add robust flavor to foods prepared at home. Herbs available for sale at the festival include parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, mints and more. Succulents will include various cacti, Echeveria and sedum. Only checks or cash will be accepted as forms of payment; credit and debit cards will not be accepted.
Children at the festival are invited to jump in the bounce house as well as take part in a pop-up STEAM Studio, which is a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math solar-energy lantern project. Mitchell said the activity is funded by the National Science Foundation to study learning practices.
āParticipants will explore, invent, tinker, learn and have fun while repurposing a solar garden path light and creating a lantern cover from paper, objects they find in the garden and recycled materials,ā she said. āItāll be a lot of fun to see where their imagination takes them. Children also have an opportunity to create wildflower seed balls.ā
The lanterns will be on display at the garden from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 30.
In addition to the plant sale and the childrenās activities, there will be a variety of arts and crafts vendors on site during the festival. Vendors will offer pottery, jewelry, painting, woodwork, fossils/minerals and fabrics.
For more information, contact Mitchell at 405-744-5755 orĀ shelley.mitchell@okstate.edu.
OSU ExtensionĀ uses research-based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state’s 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.
–Trisha Gedon
OSU Extension