Good Garden!

Gardeners, both beginners and veterans, are invited to travel to the popular Brookside district in Tulsa for the annual Herb Day in Brookside celebration.

April is abloom with things to do for gardeners – beginners and veterans – and for all lovers of flowers, plants and herbs. Mark your calendar for one or all of these fantastic garden-themed events.

Travel to the popular Brookside district in Tulsa for the annual Herb Day in Brookside celebration on Saturday, April 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Come to view or purchase herbs, heirloom flowers, pottery, Oklahoma wines, birdhouses and more from Oklahoma growers. You will find more than 20,000 fresh herbs, heirloom tomatoes and flowering plants up for sale. Everything sold at Herb Day is locally grown and produced, and admission is free. For more information, call Pat Kroblin at (918) 260-7680.

The 10th annual Garden Fest will be held Saturday, April 16 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at A New Leaf, located at 2306 S. 1st Pl. in Broken Arrow. A New Leaf’s mission is to provide developmentally disabled children and adults with life skills and job training through horticultural therapy, vocational placement and residential services, and all proceeds from Garden Fest will benefit the non-profit organization. Admission to the event is free. Featured items for sale include perennials, annuals, tomatoes, herbs and houseplants under a big tent, as well as inside the greenhouse. Also available will be a great selection of pots, potting soils, gardening ideas, mulch, fertilizers and more. In short, this is a one-stop shop to get ready for spring plantings! For more information, call A New Leaf at (918) 451-1491.

A great opportunity for the public to enjoy Tulsa’s private residential gardens in full spring splendor will be Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17, when the Tulsa Garden Club hosts the Midtown Garden Treasures 61st annual garden tour. At this event, you can enjoy gorgeous gardens throughout midtown Tulsa, learn horticulture and landscape tips, and purchase plant and garden materials from local vendors. The tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. For more information, call Mary Lou Havener at (918) 606-3789.

The Herbal Affair & Festival at Main and Broadway in downtown Sand Springs will be held Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 22nd annual event will feature over 90 vendors selling medicinal, cooking and ornamental herbs. Perennial, heirloom and annual plants will also be sold, along with garden and herb-related products and supplies. A variety of food vendors including Indian, Polish, Mexican, Cajun, barbecue, Italian and Greek will be available, and the Amish and Mennonite communities will be present to serve up homemade bread, noodles, cinnamon rolls and pies. In addition, festival-goers will enjoy free lectures by nationally recognized herbalists and horticulturalists, along with entertainment including cloggers and bluegrass and Irish music. Bring the kids and enjoy games, prizes, face painting and the kids’ talent stage. There is no cost to enter the festival. For more information, call (918) 245-5082 or visit www.herbalaffairandfestival.com.

The 15th annual Jenks Herb & Plant Festival, a celebration of all things gardening, will be held Saturday, April 23 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Jenks. The Kiwanis Club is preparing pancakes at the Jenks First United Methodist Church on Main Street from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. More than 100 booths will be overflowing with herbs and plants of every variety, so come to the festival to shop for annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, herbs, tomato plants, vegetable plants and heirloom plants. Vendors will also be on hand with booths filled to the brim with Oklahoma wine, decorative items for the home and garden, birdhouses, bath and body products, and more. Creek County Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions. Plus, there will be festival foods to please every appetite, a children’s area with fun activities, Garden Railroads for kids of all ages, and a full festival stage for around-the-clock entertainment. It all adds up to a full day of fun as you stroll from booth to booth, stop and enjoy some specialty foods, and soak up the warm and welcoming atmosphere of small-town America. Best of all, it’s free! Last year’s overwhelming attendance of 20,000 guests garnered statewide attention for the festival. The Jenks Herb & Plant Festival was chosen as the “Outstanding Event” in the state for 2010 by the Governor’s conference on tourism and received the coveted Redbud Award. In addition, the festival was awarded the Community Impact award by the Jenks Chamber of Commerce for the positive financial contribution to the Jenks community. For more information about the event, call (918) 299-0007 or visit www.jenksgardenclub.com.