If you’re a gardening enthusiast and are able to travel to Little Rock, we recommend checking out the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show. The show began in 1992 to promote gardening as well as empower future horticulture professionals in the Natural State.
The show will be held at the state fairgrounds during the weekend of February 28th to March 1st. Daily tickets are $10 per person or $15.00 for a multi-day pass. Children 12 and under may attend for free.
Workshops & Talks About Gardening
Join one or more available workshops where you’ll be able to learn how to:
- Graft and grow vegetables
- Prune trees
- Grow hardy flowers
- Make tea from homegrown ingredients
- Attract butterflies and birds to your garden
- Explore plants that are native to Arkansas
- Grow produce in pots or directly in the ground
- Taste dishes made from ingredients you can grow
- Encourage and protect pollinators
Interested in aquaponics? What about foraging edible weeds? Beekeeping? Backyard poultry? Model train enthusiast? There are usually sessions for all of those things! You can also learn a lot about both interior and exterior (garden and patio) design. Sessions are half an hour long and don’t overlap. This means you can attend all the sessions or skip a few to browse other attractions.
Events for Kids
Last year’s show included a family scavenger hunt, among other kid-centered activities. The first 50 kids through the door each day received a free plant from the statewide chapter of 4-H.
Other Attractions
- Bid on silent auction items. The money goes towards scholarships for students enrolled in Arkansas horticulture programs.
- Check out the award-winning fauna at the juried flower show and the display gardens.
- Attend a garden demonstration by a professional landscaper to learn how the pros do it.
- Have a sick plant? Bring it to the plant doctor. Sherri Smith, with University of Arkansas Extension Services, will be making diagnoses and prescribing treatments.
- Check out the vendor exhibits in the Hall of Industry and Barton Coliseum. These exhibits cover everything from lawn care to tasty snack dips, botanical body products, plants, t-shirts, and more!
Scholarships & Grants
In the past decade, the Arkansas Flower & Garden Show has awarded over $60,000 in scholarships to students enrolled in horticulture programs at Arkansas universities. Since 2006, the show has also funded the Greening of Arkansas grant, which has given over $95,000 to public land (parks, schools, etc.) beautification programs carried out by civic groups. You can feel great about where your entry fee dollars are going when you attend the show.
General Info
Parking is free, strollers are allowed, and there are plenty of food and drink vendors. Purchase tickets at the door, or click the button below to purchase tickets online.