It's not so easy being green for some of us. But if you want to try, now's the time
From shamrocks to the first day of spring to Thin Mint cookie boxes, you just can't get away from green during the month of March. So I'm trying my own "green" experiment. Wish me luck.
I'm trying to propagate some plants, from cuttings no less, to put in my window boxes this summer. They're all still alive so far, but it's early.
It's a latent interest in horticulture, I suppose, and it's a little outside my comfort zone. I never bothered much with plants as I was growing up or while my work was chasing me around the country.
My grandmother, however, was a certified green thumb. If she saw something interesting growing along the road, she'd pull over, take a cutting or dig up a root, and faster than you can say "P. Allen Smith," she had it growing around her house.
And she was adept enough at using assorted natural "remedies" from those plants that she would have gotten herself arrested in old Salem. Fortunately for me, she was born about 220 years later. And farther south.
Anyway, I'm probably not the only one for whom the pandemic became an excuse to spend more time in our own backyards — rediscovering all the play between plants and insects, reimagining what to plant and revisiting how to make whatever outdoor space we have a little more relaxing, or productive, or pretty to look at.
With spring and summer approaching, you might be thinking about what to do with your yard this year. Lucky you — you can find advice on all of those things next weekend at the annual Flower & Garden Show at Hagerstown Community College.
This year's theme is "Once Upon a Time in a Garden," and more than 100 vendors, from nurseries and landscaping services to purveyors of outdoor furniture and gourmet gifts, are expected. Seminars and demonstrations from gardening experts will be available.
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Admission is $5 for adults. Children under 12 are admitted free, and special activities are planned for them. It's a great time to expose your kids to gardening.
It's not a bad deal for gardening advice, and it supports a good cause. The HCC Alumni Association sponsors this show every year to raise money for the school.
HCC has been part of the local fabric for more than 75 years. The school offers more than 100 programs of study, houses a business incubator, provides continuing education for professionals who want to expand their skills or others who just want to learn something new, and makes higher education more affordable for students who might otherwise be excluded.
A major focus in recent years has been adapting a local workforce to meet projected needs of local industry.
Money raised by the Alumni Association and the HCC Foundation helps the school maintain and expand programming, provide scholarships for students and help keep tuition manageable.
And you can play a small role in that just by checking out what's new in the garden.
The 2023 HCC Alumni Flower & Garden Show will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at HCC's Athletic, Recreation & Community Center.
Maybe I'll see you there. Granny would be so proud.
Tamela Baker is a features writer for The Herald-Mail.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: HCC Alumni Association Flower & Garden Show good time to learn growing
