Port Gibson Main Street is excited to be featuring a new gardening seminar/demonstration series to the annual Heritage Festival. This year we will feature Nellie Neal, also known as The GardenMama, a 1975 graduate of LSU in horticulture, and a life-long gardener, a radio talk show host on SuperTalk Mississippi, a syndicated columnist, wife and mother. She will be speaking at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28th at the Bernheimer Building on Walnut Street. The GardenMama is a member of the Garden Writers Association of America and regularly writes for regional magazines, local and national newspapers and for her website which is www.gardenmama.com. Learn what Mama uses to make gardening easier and safer for people, pets and pollinators.

Chairperson for this new venue, Judy Moore, said, "we have received so much interest in this event because people are beginning to think about getting into their gardens and getting their hands dirty! Neal writes and speaks from a solid educational background coupled with a lifetime of gardening successes and failures. She knows what works and isn't afraid to say so."

Organized around the guest speaker will be vendors selling gardening products ranging from plants and flowers to yard art and containers. Each vendor will have free tickets. When a purchase is made from one of them, the buyer will be given a raffle ticket to be eligible to win door prizes provided by The GardenMama or a container garden which will be planted that day by noted local gardener Nancy Butler. Mrs. Butler commented, "container gardening is so easy and has become very popular with beginners and more experienced gardeners. It adds dimension to any landscape." The free raffle tickets will also be given to those attending The GardenMama's talk.

Main Street President Donald Carter, also an avid gardener, expressed appreciation to sponsors The Farmer's Cooperative and Home Depot. He said "Mrs. Neal's talk on overlooked and alternative garden products should be interesting and fun. Her advice will give all gardeners, no matter of the size they plant, good advice for a more beautiful and bountiful garden".

Applications to be a vendor of any type or information on being a volunteer can be obtained by calling the Main Street office at (601) 437-4500 or visiting the web site at www.portgibsonmainstreet.com