I have a little wooden sign in my office that I'll put up that day that has little springs with lady beetles on it. How appropriate for this season. We've been opening the house and office windows wide to let the beetles fly out, as nature columnist Scott Shalaway suggested, and are fervently hoping they'll eat lots of aphids in the gardens instead of coming back into the house again. Sounds like a great place to take your school-age children, if you're interested in gardening with them.
All kids get so excited when they see birds and butterflies in the garden.
For more information about the seminar, contact Tim Pyles at Tamarack, 256-6843. Adults may want to attend the Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium in Waynesboro, Va., on April 12. Some very good speakers are lined up for the day-long event, including Dr. Michael Dirr, who wrote my favorite tree and shrub book, and Brent Heath of Brent and Becky's Bulbs. You can visit nearby Andre Viette's perennial nursery in nearby Fishersville at the same time. The Charleston Rose Society operates this one, and the page has a link to the American Rose Society Web site.