Iris Society Regional Gathering and Garden Tours

Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13, All day; hosted by the Shenandoah and Potomac Iris Society

https://www.irisregion4.com/happenings1.htm

$95 Registration includes 2 lunches and a dinner

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit several gardens that are closed to the public*

Guided garden tours on Friday include Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and Iris Hills Farm*

Guided garden tours on Saturday include Winterberry Gardens*, Opequon Gardens, and Meagher Garden

Saturday evening includes a banquet, presentations by Virginia and Maryland iris hybridizers, and an amazing plant auction

Contact Campbells@IrisHillsFarm.com with questions

Gardening in the Valley Symposium

Scheduled Topics and Speakers Include:

Organics: Origins, Definitions, and How Organic are the Products You Buy?
Karin French, USDA Training Office

Big Dreams, Small Garden: Creating the Extraordinary in Your Ordinary Space.
Marianne Willburn, Author and Journalist

Medicinal Plants: How to Use Them in Your Home in Everyday Items.
Wendell Combest, Shenandoah University Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences

Best Practices for Small Farms: Making a Living by Growing Crops & Raising Livestock.
Tyler and Angel Wakeman of the fifth generation family farm Valley Roots Farm

Native Plants: Attracting Butterflies with Flora Local to the Shenandoah Valley.
Stacey Morgan Smith, VCE Master Gardener

$65 registration includes continental breakfast, hot lunch, and free parking, plus chance to mingle with speakers, win door prizes and ticket auctions, enjoy a mini seed swap, and talk gardening with EMGs and other attendees.

Shop from garden vendors with plants, herbs, and other goodies, as well as books for sale by the speakers and authors of interest.

Check in between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and enjoy breakfast.
Welcome address kicks off the day at 8:45 a.m., and talks end by 4:00 p.m.

View the flyer

Garden Fair – Mother’s Day Weekend

Join us for Blandy’s 33rd Annual Garden Fair, a premier event for area gardeners and naturalists! We’re back on the grounds of Blandy in 2023! Thousands flock from around the region to be the first to choose from our tremendous selection of native plants, annuals, perennials, herbs, trees, shrubs, garden tools, decor, and related items. You’d have to drive all over the Shenandoah Valley to enjoy the selection that’s available at Blandy’s Garden Fair!

Members-Only Preview Night: Friday, May 12, 5-7:30 p.m.

Foundation of the State Arboretum (FOSA) members enjoy early access to the vendors at Preview Night. This members-only event allows members first pick of the plants, music, refreshments, and free admission to the Garden Fair again on Saturday or Sunday! Pro Tip: you want to bring your own wagon!

Not a member of FOSA? No problem! Purchase your ticket to Preview Night and enjoy 20% off on your membership. Current FOSA members can renew for 20% off when they purchase their Preview Night tickets as well.

Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Garden Fair is one-stop shopping for your home and garden! Enjoy a quick lunch at one of our food vendors or sit back and enjoy the vibe on one of Blandy’s special benches!

Sunday, May 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Happy Mother’s Day! Can you think of a better way to enjoy a Sunday in May than at the Garden Fair? We can’t!

More information: https://blandy.virginia.edu/2023-garden-fair