OSU Herb and Succulent Festival slated for April 30
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Media Contact: Trisha Gedon | Communications Specialist | 405-744-3625 | trisha.gedon@okstate.edu
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.
The festival 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.
“The garden is really shaping up and looking good, and we’re looking forward to having more visitors. We’ll have herbs and succulents for sale and activities for the kids, too,” said Lou Anella, director of The Botanic Garden at OSU. “We love for people to visit the garden and we’re glad we’re able to offer opportunities like this.”
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.
“Herbs and succulents are a great way to get your feet wet in the gardening world because they’re really easy to grow,” said Shelley Mitchell, OSU Extension associate specialist in horticulture. “They’re 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.”
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.
“Participants 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,” she said. “It’ll be a lot of fun to see where their imagination takes them. Children also have an opportunity to create wildflower seed balls.”
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 children’s 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 or shelley.mitchell@okstate.edu.
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