October 20, 2025 - Students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s horticulture program will host the seventh annual Fall Plant Fair from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the SFA Plantery, located at 1924 Wilson Drive behind the Agriculture building. Plants available for purchase include a variety of winter annuals, native perennials, houseplants and succulents, all of which thrive in the East Texas area.
Pam Penick, Texas gardener, speaker and author, will give a presentation based on her new book, “Gardens of Texas” at 7 p.m. She will be available to sell and sign her books following the presentation.
Penick is a Texas gardener who advocates for climate-resilient design. She’s the author of “Gardens of Texas, Lawn Gone!” and “The Water-Saving Garden,” and the voice behind Digging, her influential website about gardening in a hot climate. A former landscape designer, Penick now tends her own garden under live oaks in northwest Austin, keeping an eye out for screech owls and foxes, but wishing for fewer deer. She also leads “Garden Spark,” a speaker series that brings bold ideas in design and ecology to the Austin gardening community.
The Plantery is a program rooted within the Department of Agriculture where students grow and raise plants in the micro-farm, Sprout, the greenhouses, and the teaching gardens around the Agriculture Building. This event is also an opportunity to tour the plant-growing operation and the projects that SFA students have been developing, like the gravel garden and native plant garden.
“Our horticulture program is thriving, and the Fall Plant Fair is an excellent showcase of our student’s hard work and the energy and excitement within our department,” said Dr. Jared Barnes, associate professor of horticulture and steward of the Plantery. “We are so excited Pam is coming to inspire our students about how to better garden in Texas. We also welcome people to come tour the Plantery and buy some plants since all proceeds support student learning.”
For more information, contact Barnes at barnesj@sfasu.edu. Follow the horticulture program on Instagram @sfahorticulture to learn more.
