Dear Gardening Bug,

Kevin and I had the opportunity to put in some volunteer hours this past Sunday, and we were greatly rewarded for it! Our state nursery association (FNGLA) has an exhibit at the Epcot Flower Festival and recruits their membership to staff the exhibit in 3-hour shifts. The reward is a back-stage entrance to the park and a chance to enjoy Epcot for the rest of the day.

The exhibit was called "Backyard Fun," and it featured some whimsical ways to decorate and enjoy your gardens. As usual, we were truly inspired by the wonderful use of flowers, trees, and shrubs throughout the entire park. One of my favorite displays, and certainly a very doable one for any of us, was a succulent wall made out of cinder blocks. This one was actually in the FNGLA exhibit and drew a great deal of interest from all of the guests.

I ran the battery down on my cell phone taking pictures that day ... thought you'd like to see some of the many treasures we found.

• As the days get longer and the sun gets more intense, consider replanting your container gardens with more heat-tolerant plants. You can also move your containers to partial shade to prolong the life of your spring flowers.

• Apply corn gluten to control weed growth in your lawn and garden. Corn gluten provides a source of slow release nitrogen while preventing weed seeds from germinating.

• When you dead-head your perennials, toss the seed heads into the flower bed. Many of these seeds will germinate, and these second-generation perennials are sturdier and well-acclimated to your garden.