Photo by Erin Nelson.
A variety of sizes and types of pumpkins, pictured, and a potted chrysanthemum are seen at Sims Garden for the kick off of its fall fundraiser with the annual Pumpkins and Mums Sale in Homewood on Sept. 12.
Beginning Sept. 18, residents can view scarecrows and visit a pumpkin patch at Sims Garden in Edgewood.
Sims Garden Manager Amy Milam said the event will be similar to last year’s, just beginning a week later, and will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There will be all kinds of pumpkins and mums for sale, and there will also be daily arts and crafts and scavenger hunts, Milam said. On the weekends, visitors can purchase pumpkin spice coffee.
The Scarecrow Trail will include a scarecrow competition, where visitors vote on their favorite and the winner will be announced on Halloween, Milam said. The idea for the event came when Milam was living in England and saw something similarly done there, she said. The trail will open the same day as the pumpkin patch, Sept. 18.
The deadline for submitting a scarecrow is Sept. 17, Milam said.
The pumpkin patch, mum sale and scarecrow trail are great ways to promote the garden, Milam said, and she saw the benefits during last year’s event, the first of its kind.
“A lot of people didn’t know it existed,” Milam said. “That really was good for the garden.”
Since last year’s event, Milam said there have been more visitors and more events, including a “drop-in” baby shower. During last year’s event, Milam sold 2,000 pumpkins and 600 mums, and she said she was glad to say no one, to her knowledge, contracted COVID-19 from the garden, and staff will be masked as they were last year in an effort to keep everyone safe.
“There’s just so many ways this pumpkin patch thing blew up in good ways,” Milam said. “I’m excited that this will become a tradition.”
The garden is also hosting a take-home tea party along with the city of Homewood and in conjunction with The Little London. The tea party is Oct. 2, and The Little London is providing tea kits that include tea, along with two sweet items, two savory items and a “neutral” item, along with other things in the box, Milam said.
Tea kits must be pre-ordered by Sept. 30, and pickup is between 12 and 3 p.m. at 913 Irving Road. Orders can be placed at https://www.toasttab.com/little-london-kitchen-162-oxmoor-rd.
