Springfest blooms at the fairgrounds

May 8—Saturday's rain didn't stop plant lovers from making the trek to Fiddler's Grove for the 14th annual Spring Fest in the Grove at the Wilson County Fairgrounds.

"It has grown from just doing garden tours to now what you see, which is vendors and music and a plant sale," Wilson County Master Gardeners volunteer Marianne Pelletier said.

The plant sale helps the Wilson County Master Gardeners fund its projects in Fiddler's Grove.

"We have a demonstration vegetable garden, which we plant in time so that it is in full production during the fair, and during the winter we manage and answer people's questions," Pelletier said.

Work on the vegetable garden typically begins at the end of May to have it ready for the fair in August.

"Whenever you walk through Fiddler's Grove and you see flowers, a master gardener more than likely touched it," Pelletier said. "We take care of all the flower beds."

Those flower beds are nestled throughout the replica building that fill Historic Fiddler's Grove, where Pelletier says the vendors have kept people coming back to Spring Fest in the Grove for 14 years.

"I think it's also the atmosphere," Pelletier said. "You walk through the grove and it's peaceful, nice, and you can enjoy the vendors, the plant sales and the music we have played throughout the day."

University of Tennessee Extension Agent Lucas Holman set himself up close to the entrance of Fiddler's Grove, where he could sell his plants while enjoying the live music nearby.

"I think it's special because it's a whole lot of different artisans and crafts and plant people getting together in one location," Holman said. "I think a lot of people miss out on it. It's a really good day."

For vendors like Holman, it's an opportunity to connect with other plant lovers and artisans.

"For a lot of the vendors here, we

try to focus on plants that are going to grow well in Tennessee," Holman said. "You

can go to some of the larger box stores and see all sorts of plants, but we try to focus on those plants that are going to do well in Wilson County, Tennessee."

Finding out what plants will grow well takes a little bit of research, Holman

says.

"University of Tennessee has three public gardens so it's good to go look at those gardens to see what's successful in those gardens," Holman said. "Before you buy any plant, we need to research our plant choices."