Home About us Tour of gardens Calendar Facility rental Links Spring Garden Festival Wish List

What to Expect

The Spring Garden Festival is an annual celebration held at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens located in southwest Gainesville, Florida. The festival has about 200 booths including many where patrons can select from a variety of plants to add color, shade and beauty to their yards and gardens. Patrons can also purchase garden related products including tools, furniture and outdoor decorations. In addition there are booths staffed by local gardening and environmental organizations. In these booths, patrons can gather information about plants, ponds, pests, the environment at large, and a variety of other topics. There are also a number booths presented by artisans who create a wide range of fine arts and crafts for your home or garden.
No festival would be complete without a large variety of foods available along with picnic areas where they can be enjoyed. The Festival has two stages featuring live local entertainers as well as a free butterfly house for visitors of all ages.
Young visitors will enjoy our free Children’s Activities Area where they can pot plants, create floral arrangements, design newspaper hats and be involved in a wide variety of supervised activities.
On Saturday afternoon patrons have an opportunity to get bargains by bidding on plants donated by area nurseries at the Live Auction.

Must See & Do's

Butterfly House

Each year Greathouse Butterfly Farm erects a large screened tent and fills it with native butterflies. Admission to this tent is free. As you stroll through the enclosure where hundreds of butterflies flit among flowering plants, you may be lucky enough to have one of the butterflies land on you. This display provides many opportunities to see butterflies up close and to talk with the attendants about butterflies and their habits as well as learn about butterfly attracting plants for your garden.

Children’s Area

A large shaded area is set aside for our free supervised children’s activities. This area is organized and supervised by The Gainesville Garden Club, Inc. with assistance from Chick-fil-A. Activities include garden related craft projects, potting plants, story telling. This is a Make-and-Take area where each child can leave with something they have made.

Main Stage

The main stage is located under a large live oak tree near the entrance to the Festival. Performances are scheduled hourly from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Saturday and 11:00 am till 5:00 Sunday pm. At 1:00 pm Saturday the Live Auction takes over the stage and lasts for the remainder of the afternoon. Entertainment is provided by a diverse group of performers from folk dancers to drum ensembles. Tables and seating are provided under the tree so patrons can enjoy food from the adjacent vendors while they enjoy the entertainers on stage.

Sugarberry Stage

A second stage is located under the wedding oak, which overlooks Lake Kanapaha. It is a smaller venue with live performance from solo singers, small groups of singers, dancers and instrumentalists. Tents, tables and seating are provided in this area so that visitors can enjoy food from the adjacent vendors while they listen to the music on stage.

Live Auction

Members of The Frontrunners Chapter of the Florida Nursery, Grower and Landscaper Association, donate a wide variety of plants and garden supplies to be auctioned off Saturday afternoon at the live auction. This provides an opportunity to make major additions to your garden at very reasonable costs. Proceeds from this auction benefit the Frontrummers Chapter of the FNGLA and are used to fund research and scholarships for students in area horticulture programs. The Auction is from 1 pm until 5 pm on Saturday.

Summerhouse Display

Displays for the 2011 festival will be held in Kanapaha’s entrance building in the reception hall.

Seminars

The seminars for this year's festival will be held in the conference room located in Kanapaha’s entrance building.

4700 S.W. 58th Drive Gainesville, FL 32608, (352) 372-4981


Home About us Tour of gardens Calendar Facility rental Links Spring Garden Festival Wish List
What to Expect The Spring Garden Festival is an annual celebration held at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens located in southwest Gainesville, Florida. The festival has about 200 booths including many where patrons can select from a variety of plants to add color, shade and beauty to their yards and gardens. Patrons can also purchase garden related products including tools, furniture and outdoor decorations. In addition there are booths staffed by local gardening and environmental organizations. In these booths, patrons can gather information about plants, ponds, pests, the environment at large, and a variety of other topics. There are also a number booths presented by artisans who create a wide range of fine arts and crafts for your home or garden. No festival would be complete without a large variety of foods available along with picnic areas where they can be enjoyed. The Festival has two stages featuring live local entertainers as well as a free butterfly house for visitors of all ages. Young visitors will enjoy our free Children’s Activities Area where they can pot plants, create floral arrangements, design newspaper hats and be involved in a wide variety of supervised activities. On Saturday afternoon patrons have an opportunity to get bargains by bidding on plants donated by area nurseries at the Live Auction. Must See & Do's Butterfly House Each year Greathouse Butterfly Farm erects a large screened tent and fills it with native butterflies. Admission to this tent is free. As you stroll through the enclosure where hundreds of butterflies flit among flowering plants, you may be lucky enough to have one of the butterflies land on you. This display provides many opportunities to see butterflies up close and to talk with the attendants about butterflies and their habits as well as learn about butterfly attracting plants for your garden. Children’s Area A large shaded area is set aside for our free supervised children’s activities. This area is organized and supervised by The Gainesville Garden Club, Inc. with assistance from Chick-fil-A. Activities include garden related craft projects, potting plants, story telling. This is a Make-and-Take area where each child can leave with something they have made. Main Stage The main stage is located under a large live oak tree near the entrance to the Festival. Performances are scheduled hourly from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Saturday and 11:00 am till 5:00 Sunday pm. At 1:00 pm Saturday the Live Auction takes over the stage and lasts for the remainder of the afternoon. Entertainment is provided by a diverse group of performers from folk dancers to drum ensembles. Tables and seating are provided under the tree so patrons can enjoy food from the adjacent vendors while they enjoy the entertainers on stage. Sugarberry Stage A second stage is located under the wedding oak, which overlooks Lake Kanapaha. It is a smaller venue with live performance from solo singers, small groups of singers, dancers and instrumentalists. Tents, tables and seating are provided in this area so that visitors can enjoy food from the adjacent vendors while they listen to the music on stage. Live Auction Members of The Frontrunners Chapter of the Florida Nursery, Grower and Landscaper Association, donate a wide variety of plants and garden supplies to be auctioned off Saturday afternoon at the live auction. This provides an opportunity to make major additions to your garden at very reasonable costs. Proceeds from this auction benefit the Frontrummers Chapter of the FNGLA and are used to fund research and scholarships for students in area horticulture programs. The Auction is from 1 pm until 5 pm on Saturday. Summerhouse Display Displays for the 2011 festival will be held in Kanapaha’s entrance building in the reception hall. Seminars The seminars for this year's festival will be held in the conference room located in Kanapaha’s entrance building.
4700 S.W. 58th Drive Gainesville, FL 32608, (352) 372-4981