Annual Lawn and Garden Show Kicks Off Spring

It might still feel like winter outside, but inside the Fort Smith Convention Center spring is in full bloom at the 21st Annual Arkansas River Valley Lawn and Garden Show.

“It’s been a long winter,”  Larry Sharum, with Sharum’s Garden Center said. “It’s been wet. We’ve had snow and it’s just going to be like last year. Once the weather starts turning, everybody’s going to have the itch to get out in the garden and go.”

Hundreds of people made it out for the Lawn and Garden Show Friday, getting excited about rolling up their sleeves as spring approaches.

“In the last 12 weeks, we’ve just been counting down the days for spring,” Mike Carroll with Express Tree & Landscaping said. “So I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m very excited because that’s my therapy, working in the dirt with the sunshine on my back,”  Sally Barrows, a gardener who was out enjoying the show said. “That’s all you need in life.”

There were all sorts of flowers and three large gardens for people to get ideas from before spring arrives.

“Pinks and whites are always something that can kind of transcend with everything,” Barrows said. “I happen to love orange, so I’ll probably have some of that in my garden as well.”

Several gardeners out at the show said colors are based on personal preference, and that it’s still a little too early in the season to tell which colors will be the hottest this year.

“I think the colors are going to be a lot of different variations of green this year,” Carroll said. “But you never know. It’s always different.”

Tickets to the Lawn and Garden Show are $5, but free for kids under the age of 12. If you buy one ticket, it will last all weekend. Doors open at 10 Saturday and stay open til 6. Sunday, the hours are 10 to 5.

For more information about the Arkansas River Valley Lawn and Garden Show, CLICK HERE.