Spring is in the air… although Mother Nature has certainly been teasing us! In my Maryland zone 7 garden, we had a fairly mild winter with much less precipitation than we have had in many years. And then March came in like a lion with icy cold temps, snow and sleet.

I’m on the road in Arkansas and they had an even milder winter down here in the Ozarks (zone 6 b) than we did in Maryland. And since I’ve arrived, there has been three days with snow and nights with plummeting temperatures below freezing. The forsythia, redbuds, wild cherry and plum trees, daffodils-everything that is in bloom-they’ve been frozen at night, however fortunately, the snow cover has acted like an insulative blanket and protected them. Although they are getting a bit worn from the freezes and thaws, they still perk back up during the day when the snow melts.

I’m getting ready for the River Valley Lawn and Garden Show this weekend in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where the theme is Go Wild Gardening. I’ll be doing a program for the Master Gardeners of Arkansas on Saturday on “Capturing the Essence of the Culinary Herbs” and on Sunday, I’ll be giving a power point and cooking demo in the lecture hall on “Gathering and Cooking with Edible Wild Weeds & Seasonal Greens”. There is a wonderful array of speakers with great topics all weekend. https://www.fslawngardenshow.com/speakers-schedule

As you can see in the photos, spring is bursting out all over. There are lots of herbs and wild edibles poking their way through the cold earth as well as some spring harbingers already in bloom. The Vernal Equinox is this coming Monday, March 20-so get outside and take a walk or attend a local garden show-and celebrate Spring! 

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