Feb. 25—GOSHEN — For the fifth year, the Michiana Master Gardeners’ Association Annual Garden Expo drew together fans of gardening, professionals and amateurs alike.

Event Chairperson Karin Frey said in the late morning that the event was going “fantastic.”

“We have probably, for the first time, vendors who are really geared towards gardens,” Frey said. “And that is wonderful.”

Hosted by Faith United Methodist Church, the event got underway at 9 a.m. and was set to run until 3 p.m.

Frey said the purpose of the event is to promote Michiana Master Gardeners, and the event is geared toward home gardens, not big farmers.

“We are a teaching tool of the extension of Purdue University,” Frey said.

Three main speakers and four workshops were scheduled, with topics such as how to start your plants early, and another about hostas, which Frey said are extremely important in shade gardening.

“There are gardeners that do not have sunny properties, and that’s when you’d be using hostas,” she said.

Frey said that Varner’s Greenhouse & Nursery, a commercial flower vendor in Niles, Michigan, was represented at the expo, with the remainder made up primarily of individuals and small entrepreneurs who attended.

“I think a lot of people are purchasing the product being presented to them,” she said.

The church served muffins, coffee and hot chocolate, while Dal-Mar Catering, Nappanee, served sloppy Joes, fruit and vegetable trays, chef salads and other lunch items.

Vendor booths were set up in various parts of the church; a silent auction was set for noon; and Concord High Schools students who participate in the school horticulture program also took part in the expo.

“This is something they do after school,” Frey added. “So it’s not even part of their curriculum. I think the students have graduated to the point of knowing their plants and what their needs are.”

Crystal Van Pelt is Purdue Extension Plant Educator for Elkhart County.

“It’s surprisingly busy,” Van Pelt said. “This is my first expo, so I’m delighted to see all the vendors and the public. We’re having a great turnout today.”

Vendors presented a variety of garden or environmental products: plants, flowers, seedlings, books, magazines, handbags, lawn equipment, skin care products and others.

“We’re here drumming up business for our fall show in Shipshewana,” said Rusty Ritchie of Elkhart Dahlia Society.

Nate Swartzentruber, representative of Millersburg-based Epo-Precision Table Tops, worked his company’s booth.

“There’s been a lot of interest,” he said.

The Seed to Feed program of Church Community Services, which provides locally grown, fresh garden vegetables to the church food pantry, had its own information table.

“We just started seeding,” said Tiffani Steinhagen with Seed to Feed, noting that her organization produced about 130,000 pounds of produce in 2023. “I believe we have about 15 trays, and we’re not done yet.”

Krystofer Yacks and Paul Womack represented Elkhart-based Aquascapes of Michiana.

“It is going well,” Womack said. “I thought the snow and ice would slow things down today, but it didn’t. Most of the booths seem very busy and everyone is having a good time.”

To learn more, visit extension.purdue.edu/county/elkhart/4-h.html or www.michianamastergardeners.com.