SunBlest Gardens to host 2023 Spring Open House

NORTHWEST FLORIDA – SunBlest Gardens in Crawfordville is holding its 2023 Spring Open House on the last weekend of March.

The second annual open house event will take place at 874 Commerce Boulevard, on Saturday-Sunday, March 25-26, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. each day.

SunBlest Gardens grows over 100 varieties of plants, grasses, and flowers. It has eight acres of covered greenhouse and 10 acres of field-grown crops. SunBlest supplies plants to over 100 stores across the Southeast and sells more than five million plants per year to brands like Costco and Ace Hardware, Sunblest Gardens said in an announcement.

“We hope this event becomes a family tradition for our visitors,” said Caleb Van Wingerden, who, with his wife, Melanie, founded SunBlest Gardens in 2017.

“We want our guests to experience the passion and hard work that goes into growing the plants they typically can only purchase at their favorite retail markets.

The open house will give the public an opportunity to visit the greenhouses to shop from a variety of tropicals, annuals, and perennials at wholesale prices. There will also be plenty of children’s activities, including face painting, a scavenger hunt, and a petting zoo from Redemptive Love Farm and Rescue.

Local food trucks and vendors will be set up offering food and refreshments for purchase, including Fired Up Pizza, The Frother’s Daughter, The Juice Box, Kona Ice, Pineappetite, Pineapples AC2, Seasonal Scoops, and Tally Sips and Sweets.

There will also be additional shopping opportunities showcasing local art, gifts, clothing, and jewelry from Baum Road Studios, MiCo Candles, Mollywood Designs, Olde Fields Clothing Co., and Solikall.

A portion of all proceeds raised will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of The Big Bend. During the open house, a canned food drive will be held for Good News Outreach. Guests are encouraged to bring canned food items to be entered into a raffle for two plants.

SunBlest Gardens is a true family business. With 22 brothers and sisters, Caleb comes from a large family of growers spanning the nation from Colorado to Maryland and has been growing since a very young age. His family originated from Holland and has been in the greenhouse industry for over 75 years.

To learn more about SunBlest Gardens and upcoming events, visit https://sunblestgardens.com.