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Published: March 22, 2009

Fans of The Dirt: Penny and I will be at the Tampa GreenFest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, and we'd love for you to stop by and say hi. We'll swap stories about our gardening successes, commiserate about our failures and suck up every tidbit of advice you might give us until you swat us away. GreenFest will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and March 29 at Plant Park on the University of Tampa campus. Children 12 and younger get in free; there is a $3 suggested donation for adults.

The first time I saw Birds & Blooms magazine's special new "Thrifty Gardener" issue, I was giddy.

It's pretty to look at, useful and - this is my favorite thing - every project is doable for the average gardener on a budget.

Then I saw the cover price is $10.99! What's thrifty about that?

I put the issue back on the rack that first time, I'll admit it, and walked away. Then I thought about how many ideas I might steal and I bought it a few days later.

It was well worth the money. There are more than 300 tips to help you recycle, think creatively and buy smart. And what I really like is that the cash savings translate into gas savings, because I don't have to make as many trips to the garden center to buy stuff I used to think I had to have.

That's right. This isn't one of those magazines that urges you to simplify your life then turns around and tells you all the products you'll have to buy to get to that simpler state. I counted only three pages of ads in the entire 144-page magazine.

"Thrifty Gardener" should be on newsstands until May 11. I first saw it at Walgreens, and ended up getting it at Lowe's (for $9.88), but you also can order it online at www.countrystore

catalog.com by typing "the thrifty gardener" into the search field. Super thrifty gardeners can get lots of free tips and fun ideas on the Birds & Blooms Web site at www.birdsand

blooms.com.

Kim Franke-Folstad

Come play in The Dirt at TBO.com, Keyword: Dirt. We provide all the tools.

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