It may be difficult to believe but springtime and a new growing season are just around the corner and a sure sign of that is the arrival of the various local garden shows and expos! If you need a break from all of the snow and cold that is probably still lingering outside your door, then a trip to explore the exhibits, workshops, and lectures at your own nearby garden expo may be the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon.

The theme of this year’s 5th Annual PA Garden Expo is “A Garden Party” and the festivities begin today March 8 and run through Sunday March 11, 2007. Considering the recent snowfall covering the ground, the PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center sounds like the only place local gardeners will be able to do any celebrating this weekend.

I just noticed that the PA Home Show isn’t the only gardening related event in town this weekend, as the 15th Annual Mid-Atlantic Garden Show opened on Thursday and will continue through Sunday, March 4, 2007. The show is being held in Central Pennsylvania over at the York Expo Center.

The annual Pennsylvania Home Show in Harrisburg began last weekend and runs through this Sunday March 4, 2007. This is the first of a number of spring expos and events in the area that attract the interest of homeowners, backyard gardeners, and others interested in shifting their attention from the passing winter to the approaching spring season.

I recently wrote an article about the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the work that they are doing to support natural farming and to ensure the integrity of our food supply. Many of the educational programs and agricultural information that PASA offers are also useful to small market growers and even backyard vegetable gardeners.

I just thought I’d send out a quick reminder for those of you living in the Central PA area. Tomorrow is the final day of the 8th Annual Pennsylvania Herb Festival. The Herb Fest is being held at the York Expo Center on the York Fairgrounds.