It’s spring – according to the calendar, anyway. But, like me you’ve probably been planning your gardens all winter – and it’s been a beaut for dreaming about warm sunshine, blue skies and being outdoors dressed in clothes that are not of goose down and polar fleece. 

Over the last 30 years I’ve been more about flowers than veggies; the most I’ve managed is a container of tomatoes on my deck. But there was a time, back in the ’70s (of course) when my first husband John and I started what would become a co-op vegetable garden. It went the length of a four-car garage – one for each of the apartments between the two houses (this is the same apartment I got trapped in the bathroom of on Christmas Eve, 1975, for those who remember thatstory!) Everything was by the book (Rodale Press books all), for we novice produce growers … summer squash, zucchini, cukes, green beans, lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pumpkins, peas, and God and Goddess knows what else!

After carefully diagramming the length of the garden we planted our seeds. No shortcuts with starter plants for us. Our neighbors, Sue and Ernie, joined in and we four met in the middle. Watering was a chore – all we had were watering cans, and when I think of this now, well, insert eye roll here! But, what a harvest!

Indoors I had plants everywhere – our spare (bed)room was filled with ’em on shelves, hanging in windows and throughout the apartment. And, yes, I did talk to them. There were studies done back then that indicated plants responded to vibrations – and every time I had to cut off those babies from the mother spider plant I could have sworn they were quivering. I tried to make it as quick and painless as possible while assuring them it was not the end for them; they were just moving to their own pots; kind of like kids. Kinda.

Flowers were much easier. Even today. I have gardens, kinda wild, but gardens none the less! Rugosa roses, evening primrose, bee balm, tiger lilies, sweet William, lavender … and herbs from sage and creeping thyme to mullein, mugwort, and monkshood. This year I plan to move things around and add some flowers, and I’m planning something special in the garden where my beloved shih tzu Merlyn now rests (a fact that’s hard to write about and live with).

So, you can imagine how excited I am about going to the Maine Flower Show this Saturday. Actually it’s on from Thursday, March 22 through Sunday, March 25. Checking out the imaginatively themed gardens – many with stonework and sculpture – is a sweet annual treat. This year there are to be 13 such gardens with the theme “Rooted in Maine,” by professional regional landscapers, greenhouses, masons, etc. – Skillins, you know, we have one in Damariscotta, is one of the pros. In fact, Skillins Greenhouses and Pray's Hardscapes, Inc. were  the recipients of the Natural Stone Award, Designers Task Award & Color Palette Award.

In addition to the display gardens – don’t forget to vote for your favorites! – there are informative seminars. This year Diane Walden-Rapalyea of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will lead one such event, “Slow Flowers,” at noon on Sunday, March 25. One seminar I plan to sit in on is “7 Keys to Organic Gardening Success in Short Season” at 12:30 led by the co-founder of Fruition Seeds, Petra Page-Mann. I’d love to attend the 10 a.m. “Roses for New England” session … but, that would mean leaving my house by 8:45. In the morning?! Not bloody likely – as anyone who knows me will tell you … after they’ve stopped laughing, that is.

For more on the show at Thompson Point in Portland, and the seminars, visit http://maineflowershow.com. General admission is $20. But, bring extra cos there’s always cut flowers, gardening tools and products, seeds, and more you’re bound to want to pick up! Now, where’s that list of new flowers gone to?