Spring Garden Fair

We had a wonderful Fair this year, be sure to mark your calendars for May 4 & 5, 2013 ~ see you next year!

Our annual Fair has become a true gardening tradition in the Northwest. You will find us at the Clackamas County Event Center in Canby; come join us with your little red wagon.

The Fair offers some great features to make your day of shopping simple and fun!

Plant-Check: This free service is available to make your shopping effortless; just drop off your purchases and volunteers will hold them until you are ready to venture home. We made pick-up easy with a drive up area to get you on your way quickly.

Plant Taxi Service: Students from local schools work for tips and donations as a fund raiser for extra activities. personal wagon driver will be your patient hauler of plants as you shop the Fair; this year we have 4 groups taking care of you: Canby High Horticulture Club, Baker Prairie Middle School, Molalla High School & Canby High Leadership Class. They even provide their own carts! You can flag them down inside the main gate and just off the Main Lawn vendor area.

The Potting Station: At our Potting Station Our buyer starts shopping early to get you the latest colors and styles. Buy a new plant, choose and purchase a pot and Master Gardeners will provide free potting soil for your new container and plant. Take it home and it's ready for your deck or patio ... you just add the water and the sunshine! Several nurseries will also have displays of what they sell and possible planting combinations for inspiration.

Ask a Master Gardener : We will have two locations for you questions, outside in a tent in the vendor area and another inside the 4-H Hall. Bring your home and garden plant or pest question to us and we will give you researched based answers and advice.

10-Minute University™ : A favorite attraction for our annual Fair is the 10 Minute University classes we offer. Clackamas County Master Gardeners will educate and answer questions on topics from ‘Raised Bed Gardening” to “Growing Blueberries and Tomatoes”. Where else can you buy your plants and learn how to grow them all in one place! Click here for link to handouts.

Soil pH Testing: Located inside the Exhibits Center in 4H Hall. We will test soil samples taken from your garden for proper pH and make recommendations how to correct low or high pH. (No limit on samples) Please bring to us in a plastic baggies about 1/2 cup of your soil. Mark each bag the location from which it was collected. Since we need an hour to do the testing please get your soil samples to the "testers" one hour before the days quitting time. Our hours are Saturday 9 - 4 and Sunday 9 - 3. Click for the handout from 10 Minute University™ about Testing Soil pH.

Exhibits Center in 4H Hall: You’ll find the following: educational displays, children’s activities, Ask a Master Gardener™ Clinic, Spring Garden Fair Raffle, pH Soil Testing, inside seating for the Good Thyme Food Court, and Coffee Thyme and more! Here is a listing of participants: American Conifer Society, Champoeg 1860’s Kitchen Garden, Clackamas County Office of Sustainability, Clackamas County Vector Control, Growing Solar Clackamas, Home Orchard Society, Hopkins Demonstration Forest, Portland Beekeepers Association, OSU Extension Service, Multnomah County Master Gardeners, Washington County Master Gardeners. Click here for full details on every participant.

New Plant Introductions and Silent Auction: Do you crave knowing about the latest and greatest available from our Northwest Nurseries? Come into the New Plant Introduction and Silent Auction tent to view the new plant introductions for this year. The silent auctions run on both Saturday and Sunday; and you need not be present to win the auction!

Garden Raffle: Another wonderful way to add to your plant collection; with prizes drawn every hour and Grand Prizes donated by our vendors, the Raffle is one of our most popular features each year. We have an Hourly Raffle and a Grand Prize Raffle both Saturday and Sunday. Donations come from several of our vendors and area merchants. (Many thanks to all who donate!) And the proceeds add to our ability to support our local OSU Extension and other community projects.

4/ $1.00 tickets: Drawings are held hourly from 10 to 4 on Saturday and 10 to 3 on Sunday. (Prizes will be determined after the Fair begins, and must be picked up the days they are chosen) Grand Prize Tickets $1.00 each. Winners are drawn at 3:30 on Sunday, and you don't have to be present to win. A special thanks to our generous doners: Deezine's - garden art, vendor space D17 • Oregon Turf - 500 sq feet turf • Grimm's Fuel - 1 unit garden mulch • Portland Nursery - 3 gift cards/$25.00 each. SUPER Grand Prize: Clark's Lawn and Garden in Oregon City donated a Mini- Tiller ! (click business names for a link to their webpage)

Coffee Thyme: New this year, its a place to relax inside the Exhibits Center in 4H Hall and enjoy a quick treat.

Good Thyme Food Court: Located on the Main Lawn behind 4H Hall, this years menu includes choices like BBQ, wraps and waffles, apple fries, Italian Ice, Kettle Korn and more. You can even lunch and learn at tables set up in the 10-Minute University sessions, or rest on a nice picnic table enjoying the sunshine!

View our complete menu by clicking here.

ATM's available on site: If you come to the Spring Garden Fair short on money to purchase your treasured finds you will find the ATM machine on the asphalt between the 4-H Exhibit Hall and the vendor field in a small building near the outside picnic tables.

The Fine Print: Parking is Free and admission to the Event Center is $3, under 16 free.

History of the Spring Garden Fair: What began as a small fuchsia sale in 1984 has grown to one of the Northwest's most popular springtime events. Today the vendors number over 200 and is the regions largest kickoff sale for spring planting. This event is planned, organized and hosted by Clackamas County Master Gardeners. Volunteer leaders plan September through May, and an additional 300 Master Gardener volunteers work at the two-day event.

About Clackamas County Master Gardeners : We are a non-profit organization supporting the Oregon State University Extension Service. The Spring Garden Fair is a major fund-raiser for the Clackamas Chapter. Proceeds from the event go to fund an endowment providing horticultural scholarships at Clackamas Community College, as well as community grants and programs of Oregon State University and in Clackamas County.

How to get involved: Master Gardeners are Oregon State University Extension trained volunteers providing research based home horticulture information. Please click here for the OSU Extension Service Master Gardener page, and info on becoming a Master Gardener.

last updated on May 14, 2012