Dear Gardening Bug,

Several weeks ago I was hosting a field trip at Rockledge Gardens for some school kids, and one child asked me about our "dead" trees. I explained that the trees weren't dead, just dormant. I told the children that these plants were resting ... conserving their energy in the winter so that they could grow vigorously in the spring and the rest of the year.

Probably my favorite example of "rest time" in nature is the butterfly chrysalis. The caterpillar, a real eating machine, slows down, transforms into a chrysalis, and there slowly develops into a gorgeous butterfly.

We need rest time too! And I can't think of a better place for "down time" than in our gardens. My favorite R&R spot with Kevin is our swimming pool and the surrounding garden areas. It was a great setting for our informal Easter dinner with our family on Sunday. So many of the plants in our pool garden have thrived there since we built our pool more than ten years ago. Sadly, we lost two gorgeous coconut palms in last year's multiple freezes, but most of our plants have bounced back with vigor year after year, and they transform our pool area into an enchanting and inviting outdoor room where we go to relax and renew ourselves.

This Saturday at 10 am, Kevin will give a seminar about pool plantings. He'll talk about layout, design, and maintenance of these garden areas, and share his ideas about favorite plants for enhancing your pool setting.