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Festival celebrates summer at Rotary Gardens

JANESVILLE — Take 400 varieties of irises.

Add 25 kinds of heirloom tomatoes, the same number of cucumbers, gourds and hot peppers.

Blend in the herb ladies, the pepper guy and a pack of garden gurus.

Mix—or perhaps cross-pollinate would be a better word—and you've got this year's Garden Festival at Rotary Botanical Gardens.

The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, but the iris sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Technically, the iris sale and Garden Festival are separate events, but they both go to support the same causes: Rotary Botanical Gardens and the Rock Prairie Master Gardeners Volunteers.

The iris sale will feature divisions from this summer's special collection that was grown for the American Iris Society Meeting.

"Many of these irises haven't been introduced. They're new hybrids," said Mark Dwyer, director of horticulture for the gardens. "And the vast majority of them you won't be able to find at any garden center—they're brand new."

Each box will be labeled with a photograph of the flower in bloom. Supplies of each variety are limited.

Meanwhile, at the garden festival, tomato lovers can taste test 25 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and munch on the Herb Society's fried green tomatoes.

Other displays include 25 varieties of hot peppers, cucumbers and gourds.

Cucumber salsa and other treats will be available.

For creative types, there's the pie-judging contest.

"It has to be a pie that doesn't need refrigeration," said Deb Grams, garden festival organizer. "And we're giving extra points for creativity."

Pies must be registered by 10 a.m. and judging will be at 11 a.m.

What else?

The Rock Prairie Master Gardener Volunteer dialogistic team will be on hand to answer questions; Roger Crary, country classic artist, will provide the music; 4-H members will be running the children's games; and a handful of vendors will display outdoor-related art and other items.

To top it all off, polano pepper maestro James Nienhuis will answer questions and show off his special method of roasting is favorite vegetables. For a guy with a doctorate, he's very entertaining.

Finally, Garden Fest also means that admission to Rotary Botanical Gardens will be free.

"Things are really at their peak in the garden, and it will be a good day to go," Dwyer said.