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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Bonide Captain Jack's Neem Oil, 32 oz Ready-to-Use Spray, Multi-Purpose Fungicide, Insecticide and Miticide for Organic Gardening

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MULTI-PURPOSE BUG KILLER—Bonide Neem Oil is a perfect pest control solution for any garden dealing with mites, flies, mildew, and more. This product is a three-in-one fungicide, miticide, and insecticide. READY TO USE—This product is conveniently ready to use when it arrives. The spray nozzle makes this product easy to deploy and can even be used up to the day of harvest. KILLS ALL STAGES OF INSECTS—Bonide's 3-in-1 Neem Oil is great because it kills the egg, larvae, and adult stages of insects while also preventing the fungal attack of plant tissues. DORMANT SPRAY—In addition to being useful for ridding your garden of insects and other pests, this Neem oil makes a great dormant spray to help protect your plants throughout all seasons. ORGANIC GARDENING—Derived from the Neem seed, our product is great for use on roses, flowers, vegetables, fruits, herbs, indoor houseplants, trees and shrubs. It's approved for organic gardening.

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Corona® Multi-Purpose Metal Mini Garden Shovel

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Longer Service Life: The blade of this round small shovel is made of carbon steel, which can effectively improve the hardness by high temperature quenching, and the surface has anti-rust coating to avoid rusting. In the process of use when encountering hard objects will not bend and deformation. Sturdy Structure: The small garden shovel with D-handle, ergonomically designed grip can increase the grip of the hand when using, the handle is made of strong fiberglass, will not bend and break under heavy pressure. Quick Digging: Well-made digging shovel has a sharp blade, and the round shovel head is designed to easily penetrate the soil and cut quickly while digging to enhance your work efficiency.

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A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

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MULTITASKING DUAL EDGES: a deep serrated edge and a tapered slicing edge ideal for tough or delicate cuts. DURABLE 6-inch stainless steel blade withstands 300 lbs of pressure. TWINE CUTTING NOTCH, DEPTH GAUGE MARKINGS & spear point - no need to switch tools when using this garden knife. LEATHER SHEATH: heavy duty, protective, clip on sheath to keep your knife convenient and secure. LIFETIME WARRANTY.

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