

Publisher's Notes
March is Birthday Time!
Happy spring, everyone! We survived another winter in Omaha. Yippee! As of this writing, it has really been a pretty mild winter. A couple of REALLY cold snaps, not very much snow…not too bad. Let’s hope it holds.
This time of year, a lot of us feel like caged animals. We want to get outside and start digging in the dirt. Today, I went to lunch with Roxy, my operations manager. The gal who seated us told us that, every year, she buys flowers twice. The first set, she plants early. The second set is to replace the ones she lost to the frost! I learned years ago that you should wait until Mother’s Day before planting annuals here in Nebraska. If you don’t, nine times out of 10, a late frost comes and you have to do it all over again. Roxy explained to both of us that it’s okay to plant pansies early, as they can handle the cold weather. With the rest of them, we need to be patient! If you need a fix, buy a blooming plant and keep it inside your house until the timing is right to get outside.
I admit…I definitely don’t have green thumb! Back in the day, I used to plant lots of flowers in boxes around my house. My favorites were impatiens. My previous house had a perfect partially shaded porch. They thrived in that location! They were absolutely stunning. My new house doesn’t have the same exposure, so I haven’t planted impatiens here. Maybe I’ll give it a shot this year…but not before Mother’s Day.
March is a very big birthday month in our household. My husband’s birthday is March 8. I love his birthday…he gets so excited that he reminds me of a little kid. I have never met anyone who can have so much fun trying to guess what his birthday present is. It’s always a challenge to see if I can make it to his birthday without spilling the beans. I’m going to give it my best this year. Happy birthday, honey!
Now, let’s not forget the rest of them: My nephew, Seth, celebrates on March 10th. My daughter-in-law, Sam Van deWalle, celebrates on Pi Day (March 14th), and my son-in-law, Ken Rosa, is on March 21st. Happy birthday to every single one of you!
I hope you all have a wonderful month and the weather cooperates. Start planning for your flower beds, but resist the urge to get them in the ground! We’ll talk next month.

Janet Van deWalle,
Founder/
National Publisher
Positive Thought of the Month
“Minds are like flowers; they open only when the time is right.” —Stephen Richards