Seeds of Spring at the Green Thumb Festival 

by Debbie Wolfe

At the festival, Hardin’s Nursery of Tampa was a multi-space veteran vendor that specialized in roses of many varieties. They also sell fertilizer and bags of two-part planting soil, which are custom made at their nursery.

The 33rd-annual Green Thumb Festival sponsored by the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department was held on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walter Fuller Recreation Center park. More than 30,000 attended the two-day event according to the Green Thumb Festival website. In addition to numerous plant vendors, the festival featured environmental and horticultural exhibits, a soil and water sample clinic, recycling rally, free mulch, plant auction and children’s programs, as well as food and entertainment.

Joan Rafferty of Madeira Beach is a 10-year veteran of the festival. This is the third year she has brought her two dogs, Murphy, foreground, and Riley, background. “I’m here today to look at all of these lovely flowers. We’ve already bought orchids,” she said. Her husband, Paul, was in charge of pulling the doggie wagon. Paul is a Marine Corps Korean War veteran and points out that each animal is wearing a “Semper Fido” collar.
The 33rd-annual Green Thumb Festival sponsored by the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department was held on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walter Fuller Recreation Center park, 7891 26th Ave. N. Terry Evans, one of the over 200 vendors and exhibitors, has a Weirsdale, Florida based business called Creative Garden Structures that he runs with his wife. They specialize in backyard habitats for wildlife like birds, squirrels and bees, he said. “I go by Audubon specifications for the hole sizes in the bird boxes,” said Evans. The screech owl box, center, also includes five kerf cuts below the entry hole so the birds have something to grab onto with their talons before entering, he said.
More than 30,000 attended the two-day event according to the Green Thumb Festival website. One of the happy plant buyers early on Saturday morning, April 27 included Richard Gibson, right, of St. Petersburg who found a Gram Broga Tiger orchid that produces a three-foot long spike containing dozens of flowers that can last up to three months. “It’s a very large orchid, that’s new for me,” said Gibson. He’s been into orchids for about eight years. John Cox, left, selected a Lotus Bowl Water Lily for his pond.

 

 

by Debbie Wolfe

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