More plants, artists & other pics from PlantFest

 I love these vibrant bromeliads!

Last weekend was the Tampa Garden Club's annual Plant Fest.  The day was sunny and with temps in the high 70s and a breeze off the bay. You could not have asked for better weather! 

Front lawn of Tampa Garden Club

The family had a grand day out and enjoyed visiting with the friendly vendors. There were even fresh eggs for sale from King Farm. I took a bunch of photos & intended to share earlier, but this has been a busy week. I posted egg pictures on Monday - today we've got a mix of shots.  Plus, I'll try to add a few here and there over the next few days.

The sellers were mostly local growers and artists with great items & affordable prices. And everyone was just so darn nice. Little Dude was obsessed with these adorable wind chimes and the kind person in charge gave him this one (his favorite) at  no charge. Thanks again, Tina!

bead & flatware wind chime from Green Creations

Tina Brogdon of Green Creations (in Redington Beach, FL) was selling fun up-cycled garden decorations. She recycles tea kettles, watering cans, silverware and other metal pieces into cute windchimes and fan pulls. Discarded china and glassware is transformed into whimsical birdbaths, feeders, and solar powered lanterns. Cute & clever! For more photos of these cool garden items, click here to visit their fan page.

upcycled garden decor from Green Creations

The next table over showcased a lively display of blooming amarylis from Sweet Dream Enterprises (of Valrico, FL). Michael Sweet, one of the owners, kindly told me what was wrong with my long neglected patch of flowers. Chances are they are dead. This is becoming a trend in my garden posts, I fear. (Remember the orchids I wrote about killing last week?) But Michael gave me some tips to try to revive the amarylis, so there is at least some hope.

stuffed fabric owls by Cassandra

There was an impressive assortment of creative folks sharing their wares. Cassandra and her owls were hanging out with artist & instructor Tim Gibbons from FunkyAsAMonkey.com. Her owls will soon be available through his website.

Tim Gibbons, Greg & Cassandra enjoy a break

And of course there were lots & lots of plants. Several exhibitions were in the main building.

The overall theme was "it is all in the cards" with a variety of competitions from flower arranging to roses, bromeliads to dried displays..... and everything in between.

more lovelies from the show

There was even a photography contest which I was honored to judge. It was great fun and I have more to share, but I have promised the boys I would make double chocolate brownies before their friends stop by today. Please pop by later this week for more art and garden highlights.

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By the way if you haven't entered the 4/7 giveaway yet, you have until 1 am (EST) to leave a comment on this blog and put your name in the hat. Winner gets a free piece of art from Curioddities.etsy.com (valued at $20 or less). For details and an interview with the shop's owner, artist Clara Boo, click here.

Pop by tomorrow to see if you are the winner. I'll also have some kind of new destash giveaway posted - still trying to dig my way out of this mess and you guys are a big help! I hate to throw out useful things and can't be bothered to list them for sale lately (just not enough hours in a day).

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One last note: If you need some custom printed magnets & want to try your luck in the 4/14 random drawing, Uprinting.com is sponsoring another great giveaway! Click here for details (this one is open to USA residents only)