Hyde Park Garden Fair – Fall 2023

The fall fair, held mid-September, provides chrysanthemums in all sizes and colors. There are tulips, narcissus, crocus, hyacinths, alliums, and specialty bulbs, plus asters and bearded iris.  This sale isn’t limited to just bulbs. Most years, the fair offers a variety of house plants, especially those that are easy to care for. The producers also try to provide an eclectic mix of perennials that can be planted in the fall (such as anemones, peonies, irises, and grasses) and colorful autumn ornamentals such as colorful varieties of kale, cabbage, and peppers.

The Hyde Park Garden Fair’s 63rd annual Fall Bulb & Mum Sale will return to the Hyde Park Shopping Center just as the neighborhood’s fall colors begin to appear.

Held in the Hyde Park Shopping Center, 5450 S. Lake Park Ave., the one-day sale focuses primarily on two plants: bulbs for a colorful spring bloom and chrysanthemums for autumn color.

“We’ll have 100 or more chrysanthemums, all different colors, all different shapes and sizes,” fair organizer George Rumsey said. “They usually disappear very quickly. We unload the trucks and open up and people just descend in droves and grab armloads.”

Joining the usual tulip, allium and quill bulbs this year are a selection of native plants, which have “exploded in popularity over the past couple years,” Rumsey said. One native plant he’s eager to feature is green dragon, a relatively rare plant that resembles a large lizard’s tongue.

The sale is hosted by the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference.

Proceeds from the events go toward community beautification programs at local parks and gardens, among other neighborhood projects.  For those new to gardening, volunteers will be stationed around the sale to assist.

More information is available at hydeparkgardenfair.org/fall-fair.