Herbs, Beer, Worms, and Scarecrows at Fairchild's Edible Garden Festival

All photos by Laine Doss

It wasn't unusual to see couples walking their baby mango trees or a pumpkin getting a ride in a stroller this weekend at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

Read also:
- Edible Garden Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden This Weekend

It was, after all, the annual Edible Garden Festival and thousands of people took advantage of the clear blue skies to learn how to start a garden from Fairchild's experts. While most of the rest of the country is getting ready for a deep freeze, Miami is gearing up for growing season, as evidenced by the local farms that set up booths, selling everything from herb plants to mini-gardens to earthworms.

For those of us without green thumbs, farmers also displayed and sold fresh fruit and vegetables, several breweries sampled fall beers, and local caterers offered tasty food for sale.

The highlight of the festival was the annual scarecrow decorating contest.

This year's scarecrows featured storybook characters and not-so-scary creatures. If the scarecrows got you in the mood to decorate your own house for the holidays, pumpkins were available for "adoption" from the patch for a $5 donation to the garden.

Several varieties of dragonfruit were available for tasting and purchase.

Scary, yet delicious, rambutan were a popular item at the festival.

Herbs and vegetables were sold individually or in ready-made mini gardens, perfect for condo-owners wanting their own patch of freshness.