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Dear Friend,

This is my month to spend a lot of time doing what I love most: gardening. From the thrill of seeing the first spring daffodils in my border to the joy of picking fresh lettuce from my garden to the ache of muscles that I never knew I had after an afternoon of toiling-gardening is, without a doubt, my most stress-reducing hobby (unless you count unwinding at sunset on a Southern beach). So it is with great pride that I tell you about some of this issue's garden stories.

First, we have our annual "Southern Gardener" special section, which gives you almost everything you need to know about cottage gardening. It starts on page 93. Second, on pages 84 and 85, we introduce the largest and most complete new gardening book in our history: The Southern Living Garden Book, which was edited by Senior Writer Steve Bender. Next, we feature iris, one of my favorite spring flowers. Weesie Smith, the best gardener I know, gave Associate Garden Editor Charlie Thigpen and me several root rhizomes of a yellow bearded iris we have long admired, and I expect its first blooms to appear sometime this month. I can hardly wait. "Iris for Every Garden" starts on page 134.

Whether you grow your own lettuce (we show you how on page 72) or purchase it at the grocery, our story on springtime salads (page 122) seems just right for the season. One of the neat side attractions to this story is the creative bread serving bowl made from refrigerated bread sticks. It is easy to do if you follow the instructions in "From Our Kitchen" on page 194. There's no more spectacular way to dress up a salad.

Traveling is just as much a part of enjoying spring as gardening and eating. So, check out the story on page 138, and then be sure to try one of the favorite seafood dives we found across the South. Travel Assistant Tanner Latham, who coordinated this story, includes his favorites, but let me add one more: Nick's on the Beach in Blue Mountain Beach, Florida (between Destin and Seaside). Owners Frank and Bonnie Nick are old friends, and their fried shrimp and grouper are hard to beat.

I hope this March issue gives you many ideas along with a great read. Welcome to spring-I love this season.

Best regards,

John Alex Floyd, Jr., Editor

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Mar 2004
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