Two weekends ago was an annual Green Thumb Festival in St Peter. Never heard of it? No worries, I don’t think it’s very popular.
Not so popular means not too big of a crowd and no admission fee. What is the Green Thumb Festival? It’s a weekend event at a local park where a multitude of nurseries and garden-related vendors come together to sell you their stuff.
What’s sold there varies from Florida native flowers and trees, edibles herbs, vegetables, and fruits, orchids, succulents and indoor plants, bamboo, worms, compost, various pots and containers, garden/yard art, and much much more.
This is our third year attending the festival, and although parking can be a hassle, we enjoy making it out to browse the various booths.
Thankfully, all three kiddos remained happy.
I even think they may have had some fun, although they won’t refer to is as fun publicly.
This year was particularly kid friendly thanks to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve coming out with some of their birds in tow.
Mr. Red Tailed Hawk was a sight to see up close. We usually only see them fleeing the scene of chicken-related crimes that have taken place in our backyard.
My favorite, though, were the owls. Can you spot the two tiny screech owls in the background? Those are Philip’s favorite. We would, without a doubt, have one as a pet if we could.
On the other hand, this big owl is so breath-taking.
Every time someone would walk up to gawk at him, he would immediately turn his head to stare them down. Talk about being aware of your surroundings…
What is great about this event is all the deals to be had. I saw air plants for $1 a pop, and Elijah bought himself a succulent for only $1 as well. The butterfly garden booth is known for giving away a potted flower to children, so this year we scored two, and the city gives away two bags of mulch per car.
And one booth (either the Arborist Society or the county), was selling native trees for $3 each. They also gave away two Pine saplings per customer.
I jumped on the opportunity and bought a baby Sycamore.
Last year we brought home our mulberry tree and our pomegranate tree, and they are still living.
This year I was interested in indoor plants so after some browsing, I picked up two mosses and an upside down fern.
I already had some pots laying around the house, so they are already settled into their new homes (the white pot is from Ikea, and the gold ones are decorative bowls from Target).
Hopefully I can keep them alive, at least until next year.
