Springfest Garden Show is getting ready to bloom Special guests, contests, seminars and kids activities to be offered

AUGUSTA — The 17th annual Springfest Garden Show will be held March 14 to 17 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta.

The custom glass Springfest Conservatory – a gift to the Fairgrounds from Bev and Bruce Gordon of Sussex County — encloses a sun-filled space blooming with garden exhibits.

Springfest, a non-profit show produced by garden-lovers for garden-lovers, hosts more than 8,000 visitors from the tri-state area. Proceeds benefit the promotion of excellence in horticulture, including year-round educational opportunities.

Sussex County Master Gardeners greet visitors to the Show in The Entry Garden, designed by the staff of Three Seasons LLC. In the garden guests will find vignettes serving as a backdrop for the “Container Competition.” Here both amateur and professional contestants create arrangements full of ideas for gardens.

The area’s garden designers and landscape companies are featured in displays of natural stone, ponds and waterfalls, arbors and patios, and garden plants and flowers in variations of form, fragrance and color. Representatives of these companies are present throughout the show to share their knowledge and expertise.

Garden enthusiasts can plan their visit to catch a free lecture, included with paid admission to the show, in the lecture hall. Among the speakers this year is garden writer Margaret Roach, former garden editor for Martha Stewart Living and author of the just-released The Backyard Parables: Lessons on Gardening and Life. Produce Pete from NBC’s Saturday Morning News will highlight Sunday’s schedule, which will also include scents from Ben Del Coro from Fossil Farms, and a talk by Alana Chernila on freezing, canning and dehydration.

This year Springfest will be showcasing the newest trend in outdoor living — Designer Sheds: Living in Your Garden that will give a peek into three sheds with style, all professionally furnished by designers Tracy Gibbins Interior Designs, Maxwell & Molly’s Closet Pet Boutiques and LoHo Living. Guests will see a transformation of a garden shed into a “Garden Guesthouse/Home Office,” “Your Pouch’s Poolside Puppy Palace,” and a “Mancave.”

The show’s marketplace shops offer widely diverse items such as garden ornaments and furniture, hats and gloves, dried flowers, fertilizers, garden machinery, fencing and sheds, seeds, bulbs, and potted plants, including orchids, topiaries and perennials.

Arborists, outdoor lighting and irrigation specialists are among the expert service exhibitors. Educational displays offering information and advice include public gardens, the Master Gardeners, and various birding and plant societies.

A Kids Plant Your Own Zone will also be offered where children learn about gardening. Another feature for children is the Treasure Hunt.

Springfest is sponsored in part with generous donations from Intercar Mercedes-Benz of Newton, Eastern Propane and Stihl, Inc. and with support from Brodhecker Farms, The Morville Agency, Appleby’s Corp., Tri-State Insurance Agency, Lakeland Bank, Blue Ridge Lumber and more.

Springfest begins Thursday, March 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road, Augusta and runs through Sunday, March 17.

Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors (65+) and free for kids under 12. March 14 is Senior Day for $8 admission.

For more information visit www.springfestgardenshow.org or call 973-948-9448.