WESLEY CHAPEL, FL --- Gardeners, families and anyone looking for something local to do this Saturday can head to Wesley Chapel District Park, where the 10th Annual Gardening 365 Festival & Plant Sale is taking place today.

Organized by the UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County Master Gardener Volunteers, the festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road, Wesley Chapel, FL 33545. UF/IFAS describes Gardening 365 as the largest gardening festival in Pasco County.

This year's event marks a milestone: 10 years of Gardening 365.

More than a plant sale

Plants are a major part of the event, but Gardening 365 has grown into a full-day community and educational festival.

Visitors can browse plant and retail vendors, garden tools, yard art and décor while also meeting gardening experts and community organizations.

The official program includes a live walk-through butterfly exhibit, ladybug sales, a silent auction, food and drink vendors, face painting, a Kids' Zone and bounce house, along with gardening demonstrations and educational activities.

The festival also serves as an annual fundraiser for the Pasco County Master Gardener Volunteer Program. According to UF/IFAS, proceeds help cover materials and supplies that allow the program to continue offering programs to Pasco County residents throughout the year.

Have a gardening question? Bring it with you

One of the more useful parts of today's festival may be especially valuable for Wesley Chapel residents trying to keep plants alive in Florida's sometimes challenging growing conditions.

Master Gardener Volunteers will be available throughout the event to answer questions about plant selection, watering, sunlight, maintenance and Florida-Friendly gardening practices.

Residents can even bring a plant that isn't doing well and ask volunteers for help identifying what may be wrong --- an interactive area the organizers compare to a kind of "plant hospital."

That means visitors don't necessarily need to be experienced gardeners to get something out of the festival.

Someone buying a plant can leave with advice about how to take care of it once they get home.

Gardening classes throughout the day

Education is another major part of Gardening 365.

Seminars scheduled during the festival cover subjects including fruit trees and food forests, backyard vegetable gardening, herbs, pollinators, cacti and succulents, fire ecology and other Florida gardening topics.

Several sessions are particularly focused on gardening conditions residents encounter locally.

A backyard vegetable gardening session, for example, covers choosing a location, preparing beds, evaluating soil, composting, watering and selecting plants appropriate for the area.

Another presentation focuses on growing cacti and succulents in Florida, including how gardeners can deal with the region's high rainfall and humidity.

There are also sessions covering herbs in Florida gardens and ways residents can create landscapes that better support pollinators.

A special rain barrel workshop

Visitors interested in conserving water can also participate in a Rain Barrel Workshop from 2 to 3:30 p.m. inside the Wesley Chapel District Park Recreation Center's Monarch Room.

Unlike the general festival, this particular workshop is a paid event.

Participants learn how to build, install and use a rain barrel and keep the barrel they construct during the workshop. The program also covers Florida-Friendly Landscaping practices, including efficient watering and reducing stormwater runoff.

An event for the whole family

Gardening 365 isn't designed only for serious gardeners.

The butterfly exhibit, Kids' Zone, bounce house, face painting, food vendors and other activities give families several reasons to visit even if they aren't planning to buy plants.

For gardeners, meanwhile, the combination of vendors and direct access to UF/IFAS-trained volunteers creates an opportunity to buy plants while also learning how to care for them in Central Florida.

October is also an important time for Florida gardens. UF/IFAS guidance for Central Florida identifies the month as a time to begin planting a variety of fall annuals and herbs as temperatures gradually move toward the cooler season.

What you need to know before you go

Event: 10th Annual Gardening 365 Festival & Plant Sale
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. -- 4 p.m.
Location: Wesley Chapel District Park
Address: 7727 Boyette Road, Wesley Chapel, FL 33545
Organizer: UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County Master Gardener Volunteers
Admission: Free
Rain Barrel Workshop: Separate paid workshop, 2--3:30 p.m.

For Wesley Chapel residents looking for a local Saturday activity, the festival combines something increasingly valuable in a growing community: a free event, practical education and activities families can experience together close to home.

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