Normally, I do not feature one event, but I am making an exception this time. Partly because some of the these same educators are presenting at the 2025 Spring Garden Fair were expected to attend our rained out 🌍 Earth Day ICT 2025 event. I plan to attend the Spring Garden Fair. You should attend too and take a friend. We all need to work together to save water during this drought.

2025 Spring Garden Fair, Saturday, May 3, 2025. open 7:00am to 1:00pm, 4-H Hall of the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 7001 W. 21st Street North in Wichita (SE corner of 21st and Ridge Road). Admission is free, and the first 200 visitors will also receive a free rain gauge. Attendees will discover sustainable, easy-to-implement solutions that will help the community create beautiful, water-smart gardens that benefit both the environment and their own homes.

Visit our educational booths and learn about water-wise landscaping techniques, native plants that can beat the drought, the earth’s water supply, and the journey of water from raindrop to faucet. Learn more about water conserving tools, including rain barrels, drip irrigation, and compost bins, and how they can help save water in your garden. Get to know how much water the plants in your landscape really need, and discover simple ways to measure your watering to ensure you are not over or under-watering. Youth will enjoy make-and-take creations.

Guided tours of the water-wise gardens on the Extension grounds, will also be available. Every half hour take a tour to see what is possible with minimal maintenance and water. Tours include: Water-Wise Plants Collection, Daylily Garden, Arboretum Trees, Pollinator Garden, Food Crop Demo Garden, Compost Bins, or the Nature Trail.

Browse the onsite Plant Sale and indulge your green thumb. The plant sale will offer a diverse selection of plants, including many hardy perennials and exciting house plants, ideal for gardeners of all skill levels. Supporting the sale also helps support the educational outreach of the local Master Gardener Volunteer program.

Visit the booths of many area Garden Clubs in attendance. The Herb Society of South Central Kansas will be offering breakfast and brunch for sale. In addition, demonstrations will be hosted throughout the day showcasing how to make your own tea blends using fresh grown herbs. Information on Chamomile, the 2025 Herb of the Year, will also be available.

Bring your gardening questions, and stop by the Garden Hotline booth to discuss your gardening issues with a Sedgwick County Master Gardener.

“We can all make small changes in our gardening practices that together will make a big impact in the community,” McKernan says. “We hope you will join us for this great event, and learn how you can be part of the solution for a greener, more water-wise future.”

Every drop counts!

Wichita Clean Streams is taking orders for rain barrels at https://www.rainwatersolutions.com/products/wichitacleanstreams. The cost is just $88. Rain barrels qualify for up to $100 rebate your Wichita Water bill.

I was honored to be part of a Bad-Ass Women’s panel about Gardening. These ladies are pillars of the gardening community. Thanks, Jill Miller, for having us.

Here is another Bad-Ass Gardener! Meet Sarah Myers of ICT Treehuggers. See her weekly events below. She’d love to have experienced gardeners volunteer to support new gardeners. Sigh Up HERE.

RECYCLE - REUSE - CONSERVE