Our special guest this session is Barry Glick, a perennials plant expert who specializes in the growing and breeding of Hellebores (also known as Lenten roses for their ability to bloom early in spring, during the months of January, February, March, April and May, even before the last snowfalls of winter. Barry explains their growing needs and the color range of his Sunshine Hybrids, and their zones of hardiness. With spring on its way, Carolyn and I discuss seed starting techniques, not only using commercial products readily available from garden centers, but also discarded supermarket containers such as transparent plastic clam shell packages used for packaging strtawberries, blueberries and baker goods like croissants. In the email segmment we answer questions about the growing of white marigolds and what happened to the contest that offered $10,000.00 for seeds that produced a pure white. Listeners can send their email questions to [email protected] and also subscribe to the Avant Gardener newsletter by visiting avantgardener.info.