Looking for gardening inspiration? A trip to the 21st annual Baton Rouge Spring Garden Show might provide more than a few ideas.
Presented by the LSU AgCenter and the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, the show will take place at LSU’s John M. Parker Coliseum from March 10-12. It’ll have something for every kind of gardener, from die-hard aficionados to enthusiastic amateurs.
Kathryn Fontenot, of the LSU AgCenter, said the risk of hard freezes would diminish after March 15, making it a good time to start thinking about getting back in the garden.
“Now is the time of the season where it’s starting to warm up, and people are getting the itch to do something in their yards,” she said. “There’s nothing better than going to a big show like this and trying out a few new plants that you’ve never grown before, right?
“I really hope people show up, if anything, to walk around and experience all the plants.”
So what’s going to be popular? Anything “with a bloom on it” will likely disappear relatively quickly, Fontenot said, though there will still be plenty left to look at and buy no matter what time keen gardeners head down.
“Right now, when you look outside at your yard, azaleas are in full bloom, so azalea shrubs with blooms on them are going to go quickly. If you’re looking for that big, full, in-bloom shrub, you better be there Friday night or Saturday morning.
“But, in saying that, what I love about this show is that our vendors aren’t just going to sell out and be there with an empty booth. A lot of them bring enough so they can restock fully on Sunday morning. They have plenty of stuff. If you can’t make it down until toward the end of the show, you’ll still have a really good selection.”
While there will be thousands of plants on offer, all sorts of garden implements — including accessories, crafts and flags — will also be on sale. An “ask the expert” booth, as Fontenot called it, will be open to help answer gardeners’ questions.
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