Each year there seems to be something new to cause panic in the garden. One year it was a bird, then a rabbit ate my string beans. The latest culprit had been deer.

Late one night not long ago, I discovered two deer in my front yard. All of Rescue could hear me as I beat and banged, screamed and yelled.

Those deer scooted and I haven’t had a problem since.

Purple, white and striped eggplant share space with green and dark-hued peppers. I’m sure it must be my imagination; they all seem so tall and proud.

The leeks too are looking very gallant, and I think that they whisper to one another occasionally, “The Fair is Coming, The Fair is Coming.”

Thursday, Sept. 17 through Sept. 20, the Isle of Wight County Fair at the Joel C Bradshaw Fairground located at Heritage Park will once again be back for our enjoyment.

A seafood feast kicks off the festivities, followed by national entertainment, variety shows, a mini tractor pull and, of course, the midway.

There will be the usual delicious hot dogs, burgers, curly fries and barbecue.

Drinks of interest and plates of choice seafood give everyone a wide beverage and food selection.

The agriculture field and garden competition is of special interest to our area gardeners.

This is always exciting for all ages with everyone looking for those prized ribbons hanging proudly on their beloved entries.

Potted plants, hanging baskets, cut flowers, dried arrangements as well as colorful fresh vegetables and fruits are a welcome display.

You probably have a gorgeous house plant ready to be shown. Bring it.

This is an opportunity for each of us to enjoy the fair from a patrons view point and as a participant as well. Just do it. “The fair is coming, the fair is coming.”

Gwen holt is a master gardener from Isle of Wight. Her e-mail address is garden@tidewaternews.com. Virginia Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management education and training. As an educational program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth.