If the sun is shining and the grass is starting to get green, then it's time for thoughts of gardening.
When I was walking through several gardening areas in local businesses, I happened to notice a display of what was called "Roll-Out Flowers." This is a 10-foot strip of biodegradable material (100 percent wood fibers) in which flower seeds are embedded. The strip is placed on a prepared bed of soil and all the gardener has to do (according to the manufacturer) is water the strip and watch the flowers grow.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I think this is a neat and easy way to plant flowers. Of course, it is more expensive than just buying several packets of seeds, but it might be fun to try several strips and see how they work out.
Most of the flowers in the strips are annuals, with a few perennials thrown in. The flower strips should not be planted until the last frost, usually about May 15 in this area, although I have seen frosts occur after that date.
Several varieties of strips are for sale including "Olde English Garden," which has 20 varieties of "antique" and "nostalgic" flowers such as candytuft and painted daisies.
There are also "Fragrance Garden" with sweet William, alyssum, phlox and poppies; "Shady Garden" with forget-me-nots, columbine, coleus and others; "Butterfly/Hummingbird Garden" with baby's breath, sweet William, pinks and sweet alyssum; and a "Cabbage Patch Kids Garden" that includes a sunflower playhouse with several varieties of sunflowers.
A 10-foot flower strip sells for about $10 locally.
The company also sells roll-out grass strips to patch lawns or for larger areas, an indoors flower strip with colorful impatiens and an herb garden strip. These strips of flowers can be trimmed to fit in a pot, window flower box or other garden container.
Another gardening innovation I have seen this year is the pre-planted hanging pot with a selection of flowers or strawberry plants. Imagine, hanging strawberry plants where all you have to is reach up and grab a strawberry!
(Darlene Prince is home, lawn & garden editor for The Crescent-News and may be contacted by e-mail at: prince@crescent-news.com)