The annual GardenFest, Mum Sale and Pumpkin Palooza offers a day filled with fun activities for the whole family. Make plans to attend Oct. 5, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

GardenFest, Mum Sale and Pumpkin Palooza at The Botanic Garden at OSU

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University is the place to be Oct. 5. Family and friends are encouraged to make the trek to the garden for fun, food and a variety of family activities during the annual GardenFest, Mum Sale and Pumpkin Palooza celebration. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Botanic Garden at OSU is located just west of Stillwater on the north side of State Highway 51.

GardenFest is a great time for the entire family, said Laura Payne, volunteer coordinator for The Botanic Garden at OSU.

“We’ve got a little bit of everything for everyone, so we’re encouraging you to bring the whole family for a day of fun,” Payne said. “With the rain we’ve gotten lately, the garden is in tip-top shape and we’re excited for everyone to come out and enjoy the day.”

Festivities kick off at 9 a.m. with the legendary mum sale. Local Boy Scouts from Troop 814 will be manning a knot tying station from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendors offering a wide variety of products, as well as food trucks, will be stationed throughout the Event Lawn.

Payne said there will be free pony rides from 10 a.m. to noon, and local Stillwater band, Tres Dudes, will be sharing their music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Laura’s Bandstand. Free children’s activities will be available and the Audubon Society will be taking groups out to do birdwatching and identification. Kristen Baum, professor of integrative biology at OSU, will be on hand to teach the proper techniques to tag Monarch butterflies.

In addition to all of the fun and educational activities, attendees will have an opportunity to purchase mums and pumpkins, which will be perfect for fall landscape decorating. The sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A pumpkin painting table will be set up for people to paint their purchased pumpkins, as well.

The Oklahoma Horticultural Society is hosting guest speaker Douglas Needham, retired vice president of education at Longwood Gardens. If his name sounds familiar, he was a professor of floriculture with OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture for 18 years. His presentation, Greenhouse Inspiration, Design and Construction for Energy Efficiency, is free and open to the public. His talk will begin at 1 p.m. in the Educational Center.

For more information about GardenFest, please contact Payne at 405-744-4531 or laura.payne@okstate.edu, or visit The Botanic Garden at OSU’s website at botanicgarden@okstate.edu. You also can follow the garden on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheBotanicGarden.

“If you haven’t been to the garden for a while, or if you’ve never been, GardenFest is a wonderful opportunity to come visit,” Payne said. “You’ll probably get some great ideas for your own landscape, too.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Trisha Gedon | Agricultural Communications Services | 405-744-3625 | trisha.gedon@okstate.edu