With drought restrictions continuing into a new gardening season, the Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardeners are looking to help the community cope. The theme of their 2025 Spring Garden Fair is “Water — Every Drop Counts.
The fair will be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at the Sedgwick County Extension Center, 7001 W. 21st. Admission to the family-friendly event is free, and the first 200 visitors will receive a rain gauge.
“Ultimately, we want everyone in the community to adopt water-smart gardening practices for a greener tomorrow, and the purpose of this event is to show you how,” said Matthew McKernan, K-State Research & Extension – Sedgwick County Horticulture Agent and event organizer.
“Dealing with drought and water restrictions can be a daunting task. It’s easy to become quickly overwhelmed or not be sure where to start. The goal of our event is to help attendees better understand the complexity of drought, and to have each participant leave confident in simple ways that they can conserve water in the landscape and still maintain a beautiful, water smart landscape.”
Booths and hands-on activities will focus on water-wise landscaping techniques, rain barrels and other water conserving tools, drip irrigation, compost bins, how to keep from over or under-watering plants and other issues.
Tours of the of the water-wise gardens on the Extension grounds will be given, with Master Gardeners on hand to answer question.
Many area Garden Clubs man booths. The Herb Society of South-Central Kansas will be offering breakfast and brunch for sale. In addition, demonstrations will be hosted throughout the day showcasing how to make your own tea blends using fresh grown herbs.
Wichita is under Drought 2 conditions, which limit non-critical use of outdoor watering to one day a week.
