USF Botanical Gardens Tropical Plant Fair

Is your pepper the fairest of them all?  Let the judges decide at the Pepper Beauty Contest during USF Botanical Gardens’ Annual Tropical Plant Fair. 

The fair takes place rain or shine.  On Saturday it runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday, the day of the beauty contest, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Admission is $5 for adults but a decorated pepper will gain its designer free admission on Sunday. Garden members and children under twelve years old are admitted free and parking is free for all both days.

If the peppers aren’t exciting enough to attract attention, perhaps the carnivorous plants will do the trick. There will be plenty of vendors who can help provide the perfect mix of these types as well as blooming tropical and exotic plants and popular fruit trees.  Expect to see gingers, orchids and an emphasis on ferns of all kinds in the Garden Plant Shop’s Fern Rainforest.  In short, just about all the elements that go into creating a tropical paradise will be on view and/or for sale.   

 June 14 at noon features a talk explaining the varieties and growing methods for the beautiful and fragrant plumeria – also known as frangipani – that grows so well in Florida.  The next day, the pepper beauty “contestants” will be displayed at the Botanical Gardens Shop tent.  There will be prizes for the first, second and third place winners who will be announced at the end of the event.