Show Highlights > Special Events

All Special Events are free with paid admission to the Show.

Springfeast at Springfest
Cooking From Your Garden
Sunday, March 18th 10am-5pm

The Lecture Hall will be transformed into a kitchen stage featuring Celebrity Chefs and local cooking experts as they share their recipes for everything edible from your own garden, local farmer's market or even foraged from the wild! 

Free with paid admission to the show.  
 

Gardening Superstar Ken Druse Returns to Springfest

Ken Druse, celebrated lecturer, national award-winning garden writer and photographer is scheduled to join the roster of distinguished speakers at the 16th annual Springfest Garden Show, Sussex County Fairgrounds, Augusta, NJ on Sunday, March 18th 11am -12pm.

Ken’s extensive knowledge of plants has earned him the reputation as one of America’s foremost gardening authorities, but as a passionate New Jersey gardener, he will treat visitors to Springfest with recipes for perfect plant pairings using diverse species that will thrive in our local climate. Unlike most advice on companion planting (which come from England), this talk introduces heat- and cold-tolerant varieties that will thrive in our part of the world. Organized by theme within topics including: seasons, color, fragrance, foliage, grasses, edible flowers and much more; his lecture, “Natural Companions: Inspiring Combinations of Plants that Grow Together - Culturally and Aesthetically - and Bloom at the Very Same Time” will be accompanied by, as usual, a stunning presentation filled with gorgeous images of favorite plants and new ones to introduce to our gardens. Along with the garden photos, the presentation features unique botanical images created in collaboration with artist Ellen Hoverkamp using modern digital technology. Cuttings of plants and flowers (often grown in Ken’s Sussex County garden) were arranged on an oversized flatbed scanner. The results reveal the vivid characteristics of favorite plants with amazing color, depth and clarity.

A prolific author, Ken’s 18th book, Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations will be hot off the press just in time for Springfest visitors to purchase. Containing a wealth of horticultural guidance, useful plant recommendations, and gardening lore—all written in Druse’s charming, witty style—this book is a must-have for all gardeners and lovers of plants and flowers! Ken will be on hand after the lecture for a booksigning.

Ken has been a dear friend of Springfest Garden Show and an important player in the Show’s 16 years of successfully pursuing its non-profit mission to promote horticulture, environmental stewardship and related education by producing a high quality flower & garden show every March. This “gem of a show” attracts 10,000 visitors annually to the sun-drenched Conservatory at the Sussex County Fairgrounds, Augusta, NJ.

His presentation will be on the last day of the Show - March 18th at 11am and is free with paid admission to the show - as are all Springfest lectures this year. Seating is limited, so be sure to save the date and take in all that Springfest has to offer.