Wesley Chapel park hosts free gardening festival Oct. 3

Wesley Chapel District Park will fill with plants, butterflies and bounce houses Saturday, Oct. 3, when UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County holds its 10th annual Gardening 365 Festival & Plant Sale.

The free event runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park, 7727 Boyette Road. It goes on rain or shine.

UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County calls the festival the largest gardening festival in the county on its official event page. The organization has held the event on the first Saturday in October every year for a decade.

The extension tagged this year's milestone edition "A Decade in Bloom" in a Facebook post promoting the anniversary.

Butterfly exhibit, seminars and a kids zone

The lineup includes a live walk-through butterfly exhibit, seminars on fruit trees, herbs, pollinators, vegetable gardening, cacti and fire ecology, and Ask a Master Gardener Volunteer sessions where residents can bring yard and garden questions. A paid rain barrel workshop requires separate registration through Eventbrite.

Kids get their own zone with a bounce house and face painting. A Touch-A-Truck exhibit rounds out the family offerings, according to the extension's social media post.

Vendors to sell plants, tools and yard art

Plant and retail vendors will sell seedlings, garden tools, yard art, apparel and decor. Food and drink vendors will also be on site. A silent auction and ladybug sales add to the shopping.

Proceeds keep Master Gardener classes free

The festival doubles as the annual fundraiser for the UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County Master Gardener Volunteer Program. Proceeds pay for materials and supplies that keep the program's gardening classes and resources free to Pasco County residents year-round. Businesses interested in vendor or sponsor spots can contact Jillian Meek, manager of the Master Gardener Volunteer Program, at [email protected].

More details are available on the festival's event page.