Green Dreams

My good friend Kitty -- a Master Gardener -- and I defied the frigid, early-morning temperatures recently and drove an hour to take in the annual Garden Expo sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television in Madison.  She and I make this annual trek to fulfill our green dreams -- those dreams about sunny days, warmed soil, earthworms, open garden centers, and lush, green living things.  By mid-February, we robust and resilient Wisconsinites have taken just about enough of winter and need to think spring, if only for a day.  The expo's seminars broaden our thinking and the heavenly scents of growing plants in the exhibition hall are nearly intoxicating.  People wander the huge exhibition hall aisles, lugging around lawn ornaments, rakes, gardening books, seed packets and bunches of pussy willows.  People stand around some of the exhibits, contemplating the possibly hefty purchase of a new mower, retaining wall or water feature. Despite the burdens in their arms and the potential dents to their pocketbooks, they never seem tired or discouraged.  It's just too good to be thinking spring!  So, although it'll be months before we have real, honest-to-goodness dirt under our fingernails again, the Garden Expo satisfied our green dreams for now.