View full sizeTed Crow, The PD

On the unseasonably warm days that we’ve enjoyed this spring, lots of folks have taken advantage of the great weather to get an early jump on gardening chores.

Were you one of them?

If not, it’s time to get going. Dead foliage, dead perennial stems and debris aren’t just unsightly, they can be harmful.

“Dead foliage and stems of perennials are of concern,” says Charles Tubesing, plant collections curator at Holden Arboretum. “Some tree leaf fungal diseases, such as apple scab, and anthracnose of maples, ash and oak, can survive winter on fallen leaves, and if they are not removed, spores from the leaves can find their way to new foliage.”

We asked Tubesing and two other horticulture professionals what should be on gardeners’ to-do lists as planting season approaches. The others are Ann McCulloh, curator of plant collections at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and Tom Hrivnak, director of horticulture at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens. Here’s what they said.

Weeding

Perhaps the least-favorite gardening chore, but a must-do. Learn to recognize and pull weeds before the roots get deeply established and before they set seed. Add them to the compost pile before their seed heads can form.

Prevent new weed seeds from emerging in garden beds with a 1- to 2-inch layer of wood chips or well-aged compost.

After weeding, you can apply a pre-emergent herbicide to moist soil and water in or lightly mulch over the pre-emergent granules. Following the application instructions carefully will give the best results for a more weed-free flower bed. Reapplications of pre-emergents are normally required; be sure to check the label on how often applications should be spaced.

Flower and bulb beds

Remove dead leaves and general debris from flower beds. Cut back any brown or dead plant material off of each perennial. Trim back dead perennial stems. Also, remove dead foliage from ornamental grasses. Cutting and clearing away dead vegetation allows the sun to warm and dry the soil. Clip dead seed heads.

Deadhead spring-flowering plants but allow their foliage to remain in place and wither naturally. Leaves manufacture the food reserves, which are then stored in the bulb for a repeat showing next year.

Annuals

Yellow and purple pansies and other colorful annuals that like cool weather have been filling up garden centers for weeks, and they can be tempting, given how warm some days have been. Keep in mind that annuals need to be kept from frost, so it is best to not plant them in the ground until all threats for frost have passed. If you have already put some in the ground and frost is in the forecast, be sure to carefully cover them with sheets, blankets or newspaper and remove the following morning after the frost has burned off.

Nutrients

To improve the area where you plant, work some compost or leaf humus into the soil, either manually or with a rototiller. If you are redoing your landscape, it always pays to “jazz up” the soil with compost, says Hrivnak. If you don’t make your own compost, it’s available at most garden centers and sold in bags or bulk.

Plain Dealer fileNow is a good time to get simple cleanup tasks done in your garden before you begin planting in earnest.

Shrubs and trees

Fertilize woody landscape plants and perennials when you see 2 inches or more of growth, according to product instructions. As far as pruning and fertilizing trees, it depends on the variety. Prune late-summer blooming trees and shrubs, but avoid pruning birches, maples, oaks and cherry trees until later in the season. In general, if you don’t know the best time to prune a particular tree, do some research.

Veggies

Plant transplants of cool-season crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and onions. Adult cabbage white butterflies emerged early this year and have been flying and laying eggs for several weeks already. Lightweight “floating” row covers help to prevent further egg-laying. Pick off the caterpillars and destroy them or apply Bacillus thuringiensis sprays according to label directions.

Sow seeds of peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips and Swiss chard directly in the garden. Now is also the time to plant asparagus, rhubarb and strawberry crowns, as well as certified, disease-free potato “seed” tubers.

Pest control

Now is the time to prevent deer from forming their seasonlong feeding habits, not in the summer, say the experts. Apply deer repellents and rodent repellents regularly, according to label instructions. Erect some sort of protection, such as chicken wire.

Tubesing recommends do-it-yourself electric fences that he says are less than $100 and easy to install. “They’re very effective at keeping out deer,” he says.

Etc.

Chances are you’ve already mowed your lawn. But if you haven’t, take your mower in for a tuneup if you think it might need it.

Fix, sharpen or replace garden tools, if needed.

If at the end of last summer you noticed that a trellis, fence, faucet or anything else needed work but you never got around to it, fix it now, leaving more time to kick back and enjoy your yard come summer.

Harden off tender summer spectaculars (eg fuchsias, pelargoniums, cannas) in a
sheltered spot or cold frame.

Cut back for later

Late summer-flowering shrubs that are now showing signs of life (e.g. hardy
fuchsia, ceratostigma and hypericum) can be cut back to points just above
healthy new shoots.

Make way for leaves

Pulmonarias are one of the best early bee-attracting plants of spring. Remove
old flower stems completely to make way for their new decorative leaves.

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(ARA) – Having a beautiful lawn and garden doesn’t mean the work has to be difficult or complicated. With a little planning and the right tools, you’ll spend less time working and more time hosting cookouts, lounging in the sun and watching the kids play in the backyard.

“Selecting the best tools for your outdoor space can make all the difference if you’re looking for simple, year-round maintenance,” says Duane Utterback, marketing manager for Remington, a leading manufacturer of electric and power tools. “That’s why when you’re shopping for new equipment it’s important to consider the size of your lawn and garden, how much power you’ll need and who will be using it. It’s also just as important for the tool itself to be comfortable and easy to use.”

For example, a string trimmer is a useful handheld tool that can get into places that a lawn mower can’t reach – but if you don’t get the right one for your needs, it could make the job more difficult than it has to be. If you have a larger yard or tough brush to cut down, you should consider a higher-powered gas trimmer like the Remington RM2510. But if your lawn is smaller or you prefer something lightweight, an electric trimmer like the Remington RM115ST may be exactly what you need.

Beyond choosing the right tools, here are five more tips for easy lawn and garden care this spring:

1. Grow low-maintenance plants and flowers. When deciding what to grow in your garden, you’ll want to consider the layout of your space, as well as the climate. To keep it easy, try undemanding perennials such as coneflowers, hostas, peonies and black-eyed Susans.

2. Cut your planting and weeding time in half. Using a garden cultivator like the Remington RM151C Electric Cultivator speeds up the process of preparing soil for new plantings, quickly works in compost, manure and fertilizers, and can be used to eliminate weeds between garden rows.

3. Give your body a break. Many lawn and gardening activities like trimming edges, planting or weeding require repetitive movements that can be stressful on muscles and joints. Take some of the work out of your work by selecting tools that feel comfortable and easy for you to use.

4. Try a container garden. If you want to change the look of your garden throughout the season in a matter of minutes without the hassle of digging up your plants, try a container garden. Glazed ceramic pots with holes in the bottom work best. Put newspaper at the bottom to keep the soil from escaping.

5. Go ahead, recycle your clippings. Not only does this save time and energy (versus bagging), but leaving the clippings on the lawn after you mow adds vital nutrients back into the soil as the clippings decompose. And, if you have the proper mowing height set, the clippings will quickly break down.

“By following simple tips and guidelines like these, you can create an outdoor space that you love, without spending the entire season working,” says Utterback. “Start with a good plan, have some fun working outside and take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

Pollination is vital to our food supply, and native plants are a vital food source for pollinators.

Planting for biodiversity and adding native plants to your landscape attracts bees, butterflies and birds and creates a healthier ecosystem, said Penn State Consumer Horticulture Educator, Connie Schmotzer.

Native plants require less labor and less water, and attract wildlife.

Read more at InYork.com.

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With spring in full swing, gardeners across the country have been gearing up for the planting season, pulling out the hose and unearthing shovels and trowels.

And while every experienced gardener knows that hoses and tools can trip up the unsuspecting lawnmower, there is evidence that they may pose risks to consumers as well.

Last week the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich., that reviews consumer products, released a study at the Web site HealthyStuff.org on potentially hazardous chemicals in gardening tools.

The group tested nearly 200 gardening products, including hoses, gloves, kneeling pads and tools, for lead, cadmium, bromine, chlorine, phthalates and bisphenol A. Over all, they found that two-thirds of the products tested contained levels of one or more chemicals in excess of standards set for other consumer products.

For example, 30 percent of all products tested contained lead exceeding the Consumer Product Safety Commission‘s standard of 100 parts per million for children’s products.

“Hoses and garden tools are obviously not classified as children’s products,” said Jeff Gearhart, who led the research for the Ecology Center. “But kids are still going to be playing with them. I know I drank out of a hose all summer when I was growing up. What kid doesn’t?”

To illustrate how chemicals can migrate from garden hoses into water, the research team left a section of garden hose filled with water out in the sun over multiple days. When the water was tested it was found to exceed federal standards for safe drinking water for several chemicals — including four times the standard considered safe for phthalates, 18 times that for lead and 20 times that for BPA.

Unlike residential plumbing fixtures, which must comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, the brass fittings on hoses are not regulated, even though 30 percent of those tested in the study were found to exceed safety limits for lead.

Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said that the commission would never recommend that any consumer drink from a garden hose.

“The real health concern here is bacterial contamination,” she said. “Garden hoses sit outside and bake in the sun. Anything can get in them, and it’s a perfect environment for all sorts of microbial communities.”

She offered a reminder that the leading cause by far of lead poisoning in the United States is still lead-based paints in older homes. “The most important step you can take to protect you and your family from lead is to remediate paint dating from before 1978,” she said. And then there’s the safety commission’s list of recalled toys and jewelry for children, she said.

“What we’ve found over the years is that it’s very rare to be able to point at one product and say it’s causing X problem,” said Mr. Gearhart. “What’s much more common are many small sources that have a cumulative effect.”

In the gardening domain, she said, “the good news is there are safer options already available — polyurethane or natural rubber water hoses, non-PVC tools and work gloves.”

Here’s a video from the HealthyStuff Web site that explains the study and offers some tips.

Deer-proof plant ideas, that deer just don’t like to eat.

If you live in an area heavily populated by deer, you may have had the experience of planting several hundred dollars worthy of flowers and shrubbery only to find it gnawed to twigs the following day. Deer are not particularly picky eaters and they will try almost any plant at least once. The deer randomly graze and when they find something that tastes good, they usually come back to finish it. Unfortunately, many common flowers and bushes are found to be utterly delicious to our four legged friends. Whole beds of impatiens and sunflowers will suddenly disappear; even thorny rose bushes are not safe from the crunching mouths of deer.

If you want to save yourself from spending money replacing what the deer eat, it’s a good idea to fill your yard and flower beds with plants that they find distasteful in an area with a lot of deer. Although nothing is totally safe from a curious and hungry deer, there are many varieties of bushes, trees and flowers that deer will most likely leave alone.

Deer-proof plants for your garden and yard

If you are trying to start trees in your yard, you might find out how irresistible young trees are to deer. One tree that deer leave alone is the Paw Paw tree. Paw Paw trees are widely adaptable and can grow in either full sun or full shade. They are hardy in zones 5-8 and grow up to 30 feet tall. Paw Paw trees have large, shiny leaves and produce maroon flowers, which bear fruit in mature trees. Another great feature of the Paw Paw tree is that it is also highly resistant to insects.
Other good deer-proof trees include pines such as Colorado Spruce, White Fir, Pinyon Pine and Juniper. Pine trees tend to have a lot of sap, which makes bark chewing a bit undesirable. Also, the sharp pine needles tend to discourage the deer that prefer soft, leafy plants

When it comes to flowers, it’s hard to find varieties that are unappealing to deer. They seem to be attracted to the colors and eat the most beautiful ones first. There are some varieties however that don’t seem to taste good including Peonies. Peonies like full sun and rich soil and the best time to plant them is in the fall if you want them to bloom in the spring. Peonies produce large, luscious blooms that are so sweet smelling, that you will often find ants crawling on the petals. Another perennial that is pretty in flower beds is the bleeding heart. Bleeding hearts grow up to 4 feet in height and become dripping with lovely pink, white or red blooms in the spring. They prefer partial shade and well-drained soil for best results.

Other flower choices for a deer-proof bed are daffodils, daylilies, lily of the valley, black-eyed susans, forget-me-nots, delphinium, geraniums and carnations. Most lilies and daisies seem to be safe from deer and most poisonous varieties of plants and flowers will be safe as well.

If it’s shrubbery you are looking to keep safe from munching jaws, there are a few beautiful bushes that deer will generally leave alone. Forsythia is one and will treat you with the first flowers of spring. Forsythia can grow up to ten feet tall and they will grow almost anywhere. Another good bush is the hydrangea. Hydrangea bushes sport large bursting blooms of white, blue, pink or purple and can grow up to 8 feet high. You should plant hydrangea in partial sun and most varieties are winter hardy. Butterfly bushes, Burning bush and Spireas are also good choices for shrubbery.

Hopefully, with these suggestions, you can close down the 24 hour deer buffet and start to fill your landscape with beautiful plants that just might stick around for awhile.

• 
  Sheri Steckler

FARGO – Sheri Steckler, greenhouse manager and garden maintenance supervisor for Baker Garden Gift in Fargo, didn’t always think she would work with plants for a living.

She studied other subjects in college, but after working in greenhouses for nearly 20 years, she realized she was doing what she wanted all along. So she went back to school to study horticulture and landscape architecture.

Steckler recently talked about her job at Baker’s and offered up some tips for gardeners.

What do you do at Baker’s?

I am the perennial greenhouse manager, so I order all of the perennials in the fall. I order bare root and plugs that we’ll get in March. Then we pot them to sell.

I help customers a lot in the store. They often bring in pictures of their house and ask me to help them pick out plants. It’s fun to help them and give them advice, especially the people who are just starting to dabble in gardening. It’s fun to give them a vision of what things will look like and teach them how to put things together.

I also visit people’s homes to make suggestions about how to improve their landscaping. I do one-time consultations as well as ongoing work for repeat customers. I let them know if things appear overgrown and need to be trimmed or if I see places where they could add pops of color with perennials or annuals.

Do you see any trends in landscaping?

People are popping in annuals all over the place. If some plants do not look good later in the summer, it’s easy to swap those out with fresh ones. Fall planting is also huge. We can bring in mums and different fall blooming plants.

The popularity of ornamental grasses is also on the rise. It started out more for commercial landscapes, but it’s becoming a residential trend as well. There are a growing number of hardy ornamental grasses, such as Huron Sunrise and Miscanthus, that will thrive here.

Is it safe to start planting?

That is the most commonly asked question right now. I’ve told people who are really eager to plant now that it’s OK, but if temperatures are going to be near freezing they should cover up their plants with things such as tarps, sheets or buckets. They should also bring any containers into their garage.

People could also use this time to clean up their flower beds, do trimming and amend the soil, which means turning the soil and adding things like compost or peat moss.

It’s a great way to get in the garden without putting flowers in the ground right away.

Do you have any watering advice?

The main thing is not to overwater. When it’s really hot and windy of course you’re going to need to water more. Mulching really helps on how much you’re going to have to water. Cocoa mulch has really become a favorite of mine.

Do you have any advice for new gardeners?

For people starting out, I tell them to try a variety of plants and perennials that bloom at different times in different colors with different textures. Incorporating shrubs is always great.

Add splashes of color with annuals or containers.

What do you like best about your job?

There is nothing like firing up the greenhouse in March when there is still snow and ice on the ground. The smell of sterile soil and fresh plants – it doesn’t get much better than that.

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Readers can reach Forum reporter Angie Wieck at (701) 241-5501

Tags:
its my job, business, garden

Editor’s note: Last chance to meet Mike this spring. On Saturday, May 5, Mike makes his final area appearance of the season to discuss “The seven secrets of successful organic gardeners” at 10 a.m. at a plant sale and fundraiser for the Moonflower Garden Club in Severna Park.

Mike McGrath, wtop.com

Timing your tamatas

If you live in the District or in one of the region’s more southern suburbs, tomato planting time can pretty much be here if you want, as your ten-day forecast shows the nighttime temperatures staying reliably in the 60s and high-50s.

But, the extended forecast also shows that some of our northern listeners still have nights in the very low-50s next week.

That’s why you should always be suspicious of firm dates for doing any kind of garden thing “in the D.C. area” – it’s just too big and climactically diverse a region to be pigeonholed like that. Instead, follow the golden rule for tomatoes and other tropical plants: Wait until May and then plant when nighttime temps are predicted to be 55 or higher for the next ten days.

Got plants in hand? Leave them out during the day and bring them back inside on chilly nights until planting time arrives.

Box plants on cold nights

What can you do if your tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and other cold-sensitive crops are already in the ground and a night in the 40s, or gulp, below the 40s, is predicted?

Easy. Just place a cardboard box over top of each tender plant before the sun goes down and lift the box off early the next day. The box will trap a little warm air around the plant, and – more importantly – prevent any frost from settling on those tender leaves, a real risk when temps are low, skies are clear and winds are light.

Don’t worry about crops like lettuce, spinach, peas and broccoli. They love cool weather. But really worry about eggplant, peppers and tropical melons. They’re even more cold sensitive than tomatoes, and should be the very last plants to be installed outdoors.

Eggshells will give you a perfectly pretty bottom

Every July and August, I get dozens of emails from listeners heartbroken that “a pest or disease is making my tomatoes turn black and rotten on the bottom just as they’re getting ripe.”

This is one of the only tomato problems that is not caused by a pest or disease. It’s blossom end rot, which is a cultural problem, like opera. But unlike opera, there’s a cure for blossom end rot: adequate soil calcium, which none of you have. So:

• Crush up the dried shells of a dozen eggs and put them in each hole at planting time.
• Or, dissolve a dozen calcium carbonate tablets in a watering can and slowly deliver that water directly to the root zone of each of your plants.
• Or, use a natural plant food designed and specifically labeled for tomatoes. Organic tomato foods always supply lots of calcium, while chemical plant foods…well, they only supply more problems.

Are you determinate? Or indeterminate?

Yearning to grow your own tomatoes this year? Be sure to choose the right type for your situation.

If you’re tight on space or have a container garden, stick to determinate varieties. These well-behaved tomatoes, which often have words like ‘bush’, ‘pot’, or ‘patio’ as part of their name, top out between three and five feet tall and are more naturally upright, although they are still vines, and need support. (Oh, and only one tomato plant per pot, container growers. Although, you can position smaller plants, like herbs and flowers around the edges of a big pot.)

INdeterminate varieties, on the other hand, have long, rangy vines that can easily grow ten feet in length over the course of a season and often produce very large fruits, like the popular beefsteak and treasured heirloom varieties. Don’t try and grow a monster indeterminate like Brandywine or Mortgage Lifter in a tiny space or in a pot that doesn’t look like it belongs outside a hotel. Each indeterminate plant needs at least a two foot wide footprint, at least a foot in between plants and serious support.

The best support for these big, delicious love apples? Buy a roll of real animal fencing (not chicken wire) or concrete reinforcing wire, cut it into six foot long sections, form the sections into cylinders, and then position them so that a compost-mulched tomato is in the center of each cage. Then drive a piece of rebar or a big metal stake through the side of the cage and into the ground. This stake is just to support the cage, NOT the vine. Don’t stake the vine – you want it to be able to curl around the inside of the cage so that by the time it reaches the top, it’ll have used up a good nine feet of its length.

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Editor’s note: Amy L. Dabbs works at the Clemson University Cooperative Extension. She will be a regular columnist, running alternately with Tony Bertauski’s gardening column.

Q How can I grow grass under my live oak trees?

A: This is a question the Master Gardeners and I hear often from clients in the tri-county Clemson Extension offices. Home gardeners often are tired of spending money and time on what seems like a losing battle. Perhaps it’s time to wave the white flag and seek some neutral ground.

It is possible to grow turf and live oaks in the same landscape, but it will require calling a truce. It also requires an understanding of the

science behind the trees and the turf.

Live oaks (Quercus virginiana) need space, and they don’t take kindly to competition for water and nutrients. They also have a kind of plant “super power” called allelopathy, which means their roots and leaves produce a chemical byproduct that inhibits germination of other plants in their immediate vicinity. This natural defensive chemical barrier can cause wilting, yellowing, thinning and even death of nearby plants.

The other issue may be as simple as the amount of sunlight the turf actually receives. St. Augustine or Charleston grass often is touted for its tolerance to shade, but this is a bit of a misconception as it still requires four to six hours of direct sunlight for quality growth. More often than not, lawns are in partial sun under the shadow of maturing oaks, which may lead to weak, thin grass.

Under the canopy

The most peaceful approach is to follow the advice of urban foresters who recommend mulching under live oak canopies to protect roots from soil compaction and soil erosion. Mulching also improves soil and enhances the beauty of these majestic trees in the landscape.

Mulched areas should extend slightly beyond the tree’s drip line or the imaginary line on the ground around a tree where the branch tips end and rainwater drips off. Ideally, the leaves of the live oaks should be left to decompose under the canopy to recycle nutrients. If you already have raked and removed the fallen leaves, mimic nature by applying a thin, 1- to 2-inch layer of compost over the root zone. Top with no more than 4 inches of shredded bark or pine straw mulch to retain moisture without smothering roots and depriving them of oxygen.

If your yard is dominated by an old-growth live oak, congratulations on inheriting one of the most sustainable landscapes a gardener could dream of! However, your dreams of a lush turf grass lawn may not be realistic. The good news is that live oaks are ecological powerhouses supporting hundreds of organisms such as Spanish moss, resurrection fern and a host of beneficial native insects, animals and birds.

Protecting your tree

Live oaks need very little water, fertilizers or chemical pest controls. They stabilize soil from erosion and withstand hurricane-force winds better than any other landscape tree. Their presence in a home landscape may increase home values and often contribute to lower energy bills by providing cooling shade and reducing water needs.

The only demands live oaks insist on are space, proper pruning done early in their lives, supplemental watering during drought, healthy soil and protection from injury. Live oaks do not fare well when the soil around their roots is compacted. Activities to avoid include placing large volumes of soil on top of their roots, construction, parking or driving cars or other machinery such as lawn mowers over their roots. When planting near live oak roots, choose plants in small 2- to 4-inch containers to minimize root disturbance. As long as gardeners take their cues from nature, it is possible to garden under live oaks

What will grow

To create a beautiful, sustainable woodland garden inspired by nature, begin by researching plants and observe your site for quality of sunlight (full, part or shade). Consider the amount of time you want to spend on maintenance. Choose plants that are known to do well in competition with tree roots and are tolerant of dry, shady conditions. Most importantly, guard against plants known to become invasive. That means looking beyond the traditional ivy (Hedera species) and periwinkle (Vinca minor) that are both known to escape “captivity” and move into natural areas. Vines should not be allowed to consume trees since they can choke out sunlight and weigh down branches.

Consider native plants such as beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor), upland river oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), sweetgrass (Muhlenbergia filipes), purple mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum), green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), coralbean (Erythrina herbacea) or little brown jugs (Hexastylis arifolia).

Combine these natives with other ornamentals such as autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum species), cast iron plant (Aspidistra eliator), barrenwort (Epimedium species) and beach wormwood (Artemisia stellerana).

For more home horticulture tips and information, go to the Clemson University Home Garden Information Center at www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic. To contact a local Master Gardener or for information on how to become a Clemson Extension Master Gardener, go to www.clemson.edu/extension/mg/counties/tri_county.

Amy L. Dabbs is the urban horticulture extension agent and tri-county Master Gardener coordinator for the Clemson University Cooperative Extension. Send questions to gardening@postandcourier.com.

To welcome spring—and just in time for Mother’s Day—a gardening expo will be held at the Burlington County Agricultural Center (farmer’s market at 500 Centerton Road) on Saturday, May 12. An extensive plant sale, gardening presentations, activities for children, and food are just some of the attractions at the expo, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Master gardeners will be on hand to offer tips and answer questions.

The plant sale will feature a variety of affordable perennials, native plants, daylilies and more. A garden-themed flea market will compliment the live plant sale.

All thumbs or green thumb? Check out these free presentations: 

• 11:30 a.m. — “Plants for Pollinators”
• Noon — Backyard Composting
• 12:30 p.m. — “Thinking Outside the Vase” (flower arranging)
• 1-2:30 p.m. — Make a rain barrel workshop ($45, class size limited to 15 people. Register in advance by emailing Mike at haberland@njaes.rutgers.edu)
• 2 p.m. — Choosing native plants

There will also be talks on gardening basics and the value of trees.

“The county’s goal is to make this center the focal point of horticultural and agricultural education in Burlington County,” said Brooke McMinn, horticulturalist and master gardener coordinator with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County.

For children, the 4-H children’s garden and a make-and-take flowerpot activity will be available.

Food from local vendors will be on sale, and Bad Dogz and Warmhearted Country will provide live music.

Burlington County Community Agricultural Center is home to the Saturday farmer’s market, which officially opens the following Saturday, May 19.

The expo is sponsored by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, 4-H, and the Burlington County Master Gardeners.

Courtesy of Margie and Lizzi Gorman, Moorestown