Gardening at the State Fair

I didn’t have too much time to actually see the state fair during the 3 days I spent there last week. I did make some time to get out and see my favorite parts like the butterfly garden and the FFA building.

This year, I saw an exhibit I don’t remember visiting before – the Master Gardener’s exhibit.

I loved the sign at the entrance to the greenhouse – “Food Begins Here!”
They had some beautiful displays of a potted herb garden. (I had an indoor potted herb garden once. No more…)

And more herbs in a raised bed.

We were excited to find a pineapple plant! We’re growing two of these right now. We planted four, but two died. So far, so good on the other two!

But my favorite part was the theme gardens. They showcased a pizza garden.

The pizza garden had oregano, basil (seriously, have you ever seen a basil plant that big? Holy moly!), banana peppers, and tomatoes.

And a taco garden…

Complete with tomatoes, tomatillos, and jalapeno peppers.

I love the idea of grouping different plants together for a “ready made meal” – what a neat concept! It’s probably easier to plant all your tomatoes and peppers together, but where’s the fun in that? What a cool project for kids!

This made me want to start my raised-bed herb garden even more… I’ve got just the perfect spot for it (in front of the garage, near the kitchen). But we haven’t had the time (or the rain) to get it set up this year. It will definitely be a project for next spring!