I was always told you do not place your flowers plants outside until after Mother’s Day.  Others would say, not to do so until after May 15.

Looks as if the May 15-ers win this year.

Who expected frost in the second week of May?

We spent Saturday shopping for geraniums, marigolds, daisies, etc. and placing them in pots around our home on Sunday, Mother’s Day.  The single pepper and tomato plants had been planted the week before.

Then, on Monday, came the weather bulletins:  FROST EXPECTED.

Augghhh.

For the potted flowers in the front of the house, I created a tent out of a tarp and porch furniture and tucked the tender, potted plants under it.  The backyard plants were shuffled off to the garage.  I used paper bags to cover the vegetables.

It looks as if all of them survived the very cold night.

However, next year I’ll wait until May 15 to do my planting.

MAEscapes and the Penn State Master Gardeners will hold their Native Plant Fest and Sale on Saturday May 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the York County Annex, 112 Pleasant Acres Road, York.

This year the selection will include the opportunity to buy direct from native plant growers from around the region.  Buyers will find a large selection of native plants, trees, and shrubs suited for our area, including many hard-to-find plants.

Vendors include Harvey’s Gardens, Heartwood Nursery, Keystone Wildflowers, Kollar Nursery, Meadowsweet Native Plant Farm, Spring Haven Nurseries, and Rain Tree Landscaping and Nursery.  The Gardener of the Owl Valley will also offer garden-related gifts and products and Bob Holtzapple will have garden trellises, bee houses and more.  New this year, heirloom vegetable seedlings will be offered for sale by The Horn Farm Center and The Mason Dixon Unit of the Herb Society of America will have herb plants available.  Master Gardeners and MAEscapes experts will be on hand to answer your questions and help with plant selection.

If you want to know more about using natives in the landscape, attend one or more of the free seminars being offered during the event, including an 8 a.m. pre-sale lecture “Outstanding Plants from Our Pollinator Research Trial”.  Other lectures include “Invasive Aquatics” at 9:30 a.m.; “EdibleNativeGarden” at 10:30 a.m.; and “Creating a Rain Garden” at 10:30 a.m.

For more information go to http://extension.psu.edu/gardening/maescapes or call 717-840-7408.

MAEscapes (Mid-Atlantic Ecological Landscapes) was formed by the Penn State Cooperative Extension and the York County Conservation District to demonstrate ecological landscaping.  The habitats created at the MAEscapes demonstration gardens encourage diversity of native wildlife and have the additional benefits of lower cost and less maintenance.

Daffodils as seen through the star at the Gold Star Healing and Peace Garden

The Gold Star Healing and Peace Garden will soon be filled with color.  Daffodils, those first harbinger’s of spring, are in bloom.  This photograph was taken at the York garden on the morning of Thursday, April 11, 2013 when the Rotary Club of York took a number of veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the World War II Memorial.

The Gold Star Healing and Peace Garden is located near the York City Ice Rink and Memorial Stadium, just beyond York Catholic High School.

The 15th annual Pennsylvania Herb and Garden Festival will be held on April 12 and 13 at the York Expo Center’s Memorial Hall.  Festival hours are noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 12, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13.  Admission is $5, children under 12 are admitted free.

Formerly the Pennsylvania Herb Festival, the event was expanded in 2011 to include more plants and products for gardeners while continuing to offer all things herbal. The festival continues to be dedicated to educating the public about growing and using herbs and will feature speakers, workshops and over 75 vendors of plants, herbal and garden crafts, and products for the gardener, cook, and crafts people.

The festival includes a full schedule of speakers who are knowledgeable in herbs and gardening.  Lecture topics include:  creating a rain garden, square foot gardening, edible gifts from the garden, using herbs medicinally, growing and using elderberry the 2013 herb-of-the-year, and other garden or herb related topics.  Neither advanced registration nor a fee is required for the lectures scheduled throughout the festival.

In addition to the lectures, two workshops will be offered – “Planting an Herb Garden Container” and “How to Create a Fairy Garden”.  There is a fee for the workshops and advanced registration is required.

Visit www.PAHerbandGardenFestival.com for additional information and a full schedule of speakers and workshops.

Festival hours are noon to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12^th and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13^th.  Admission is $5, children under 12 are free.

With the weather hovering near the 60-degree mark these past few days, you can’t blame anyone for getting a case of spring fever.

That was evident on Monday, March 11, as I drove to a meeting in York City.

Stopped at the traffic light at Queen and Princess Streets, I noticed a man clearing out trash and winter debris that blown into the long  hedge along the Princess Street side of the building.

Not only was he helping to clean up his property, he was doing a good deed by helping to make the city look better.

He deserves a “thank you” from those who travel the city’s streets.

Icing on trees on Wednesday, January 16.

Nature’s artistry was on full display on Wednesday, January 16, when a light rain fell through the cold air and froze on trees around York County.

The glistening trees and limbs were a reminder of the beauty of nature.

Now that we’ve had a White Christmas — or at least the day before and the day after — it’s time to think about a green spring.

Mowing statue in a covering of snow.

When the ground is covered in snow, a gardener’s thoughts turn to spring.

Yes, with visions of flowers and grass mowing dancing in his head.

Even when my lawn-mowing statue is covered with snow, I begin thinking about taking the power mower in for maintenance so it can be ready for action in March.  After all, the mower has had quite a workout this year — twice-a-week lawn cuttings were the norm.  The bag was attached to clean up the many leaves this fall.

It may be getting colder outside, but I have my thoughts of spring to keep me warm.