It's spring in San Diego, so it must be time for garden touring. More than 20 tours will be held all across the county before the tour season ends in June. Our guest today, Evelyn Alemanni, is the founder of the Elfin Forest Garden Festival, to be held Saturday, April 26, in the North County community of Elfin Forest. Five gardens will be open for visitors, all with water wise plantings and inviting spaces for outdoor living and entertaining. Alemanni's garden, a finalist in Good Morning America's 2001 contest to find America's most beautiful garden, has been open for many tours and she recalls the hard work required to ready a garden for hundreds of visitors and shares some garden touring etiquette - right, you don't eat the daisies, or pick them either. For more information on the Elfin Forest event, entitled "Entertaining Edens, visit elfinforestgardens.info.

It's a favorite flower - and scent - of springtime. Now you can enjoy sweet peas planted in a tall maze at one of San Diego's top specialty nurseries. Our guest Sheryl Lozier, co-owner with her husband Marshall of Summers Past Farms in Flinn Springs, describes the origins of the nursery 15 years ago and its famous spring sweet pea maze 8 years ago. Planted in November, the plants form walls of fragrant blossoms next to Summers Past's landmark red barn. Wander through the maze and then pick a bouquet ($3 for 30 stems) and buy some seeds to plant next fall. Lozier expect the maze to last through Mother's Day. Other delights at the East County nursery include demonstration gardens (poppies and roses are blooming), a shaded patio and coffee bar, and garden items and home-made soaps (including one scented with sweet peas) for sale. More information is at Published: April 16, 2008

A French hybrid tomato changed Renee Shepherd's life, leading her to found a seed company, Renee's Garden, that supplies gardeners and gourmands with superlative vegetables, herbs and flowers. On this program she shares her knowledge of tomatoes with tips on growing them from seed and selecting varieties with that special blend of sweetness and acidity. She also names some tomatoes - and other veggies - designed to thrive in containers, for those who garden in small spaces. Seeds for varieties she mentions, along with recipes and gardening expertise, are available at reneesgarden.com.

In spring, California hillsides seem covered in rivers of golden orange and blue as sunny California poppies and moody blue wild lilac come into bloom. David Fross, founder of Native Sons wholesale nursery, admits to an obsession with wild lilac or ceanothus. He is the co-author of a book on the subject ("Ceanothus" from Timber Press) and today he shares with us his knowledge of this diverse genus that includes ground covers, shrubs and small trees. He picks some hybrids ideal for San Diego's microclimates and offers care tips guaranteed to help ceanothus thrive in a garden setting. He also previews a yummy new hybrid - think chocolate - coming to market next year.

There are many signs of spring in San Diego, but one unique to our county is The Flower Fields of Carlsbad. For 2 1/2 months starting March 1, these fields visible from I-5 are covered with rainbow-bands of ranuculus blooms. More than 150,000 visitors will enjoy them over the coming weeks. Our guest Don Miller, master gardener at The Flower Fields, tells us how they originated and what visitors can expect, including special events and a new sweet-pea maze, pelargonium garden, a rose garden filled with AARS winners, and more. He also shares tips for growing these bulbs in San Diego gardens. More information is at theflowerfields.com.

Over the years, hundreds of thousands of daffodils have been planted in Julian - along highways, around downtown buildings and in private gardens. When spring comes to his mountain town east of San Diego, the hills come alive with beautiful yellow blooms. In March, the town celebrates with a Daffodil Show, a competitive judging that draws some 300 entries. Our guest, Ann Dawkins, is coordinating the show. She tells us how the Daffodil project started and where to view them. She also describes the farm where she gathers cut flowers that she sells at a stand during weekends. More information is at julianca.com.

Nineteen display gardens, dozens of plant vendors and talks by gardening experts - all add up to bloomin' good fun for gardeners at The Spring Home/Garden Show Feb. 29-March 2 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Our guests, show coordinator Lucy Warren and landscape designer Shellene Mueller of Designs by Shellene, take us behind the scenes of this annual spring event. Mueller, who has won numerous awards for her display garden designs, began planning this year's design at the end of last year's show. Her garden, called Stone and Steel, will be contemporary is style and built around recycled materials and a plant palette that stands up beautifully to San Diego's dry climate. For the price of admission, show goers also can listen to the advice of garden gurus in free talks and purchase plants from numerous specialty growers, Warren points out. For more info, visit springhomegardenshow.com

When he was six years old, Chuck Ades became hooked on horticulture when a friend showed him that geraniums would grow from cuttings. From that moment on, Chuck recalls, he pursued his plant passion through college and into the business world, where he eventually founded Ades and Gish Nurseries in North County, a supplier of potted and blooming plants around the nation. When many growers were focused on carnations, a flower Chuck says he found "boring," he switched to houseplants that became all the rage in the Flower Power decade. Now the company's line up includes a great variety of begonias, another plant Chuck has loved since childhood. On Feb. 27 he will be honored as 2008 Horticulturist of the Year by the San Diego Horticultural Society at a garden gala that precedes the Spring Home/Garden Show. For more information, visit sdhortsoc.org

Duane Kelly, founder and head of the two largest Flower and Garden shows on the West Coast, looks back at 20 years of producing events in Seattle and San Francisco that draw gardeners from across the U.S. and Canada. He combined a business background with a passion for gardening to launch the shows, now recognized for trendsetting display gardens and talks by notables in the field. Kelly also previews the year's Seattle show, that runs Feb. 20-24 and includes new "balcony" display gardens, and the San Francisco show, March 12-16, that will feature an appearance by the Duchess of Northumberland, who is turning British gardening on its head with a new garden at Alnwick Castle. More information on both shows is at www.gardenshow.com

Pamela Homfelt of pH Designs previews the upcoming Green is Red Hot garden tour. This free event on Feb. 16 visits 3 gardens in the Kearny Mesa area that are environmentally friendly and waterwise. Homfelt, a self-described exterior designer, created two of the gardens on view - one at the San Diego Water Authority headquarters and the other at the City of San Diego's Department of Environmental Services. She shares her definition of green gardens; the advantage of working with, not against nature; and tips for caring for waterwise gardens. Hint: check the sprinklers.

Award-winning hybridizer Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses outlines the new Region's Choice program of All-America Rose Selections (AARS), a group he currently heads as board president. In the works for several years, Region's Choice takes the guess work out of selecting roses that will thrive in San Diego gardens. Carruth describes each of the 10 roses selected, looking at color, fragrance and size. All are disease resistant for easy care.

Has the Queen of Flowers become a royal pain in the garden? No, insist our two experts today. In the first half of the program, Karen Dardick, the author of Simply Roses, outlines the three SSs of easy rose growing - site, soil and selection. She also picks some of her favorite roses for Southern California gardens.

In the second half, Steve Berry, a former president of the San Diego Rose Society and avid rose gardener, previews the society's upcoming seminar, Learn To Grow Beautiful Roses. This all-day event on Jan. 26 promises insider information on selecting, planting and taking care of roses in San Diego's
exceptional rose growing climate.

Stephanie Turner is director of horticulture for seed products for Park Seed, one of the nation's oldest horticultural companies. Stephanie selects the 1,100-plus varieties of fruit, veggie and flower seeds sold by this South Carolina based firm. Stephanie tells us how the 140-year-old company finds new seeds, tests them and keeps up on trends.

In the second half, Stephanie Turner of Park Seed previews some introductions for 2008, including pentas that like the heat and cold; an early-producing tomato, a pepper that thinks it's a tomato, and much more. She also offers tips for growing from seed. Hint: Start with easy-to-grow plants.

Vincent Lazaneo, urban horticulturist for UC Cooperative Extension, supervises the Master Gardener program and its hotline. We look at some of the most frequently asked questions this month and the solutions. In the first half of the program, questions focus on citrus … how to tell when oranges are ripe, what causes split fruit, how to control aphids and the culprit behind empty oranges.

In the second half of the program, Vincent Lazaneo walks us through some winter garden chores. We discuss dormant spraying of deciduous fruit trees, winter lawn care and some steps that will keep pesky critters from damaging your home and garden.

Debra Lee Baldwin, author of SDesigning with Succulents, a best seller from Timber Press, looks at the history of a Southern California holiday icon, the succulent wreath, and its many links to San Diego. Baldwin gives step-by-step instructions for making a succulent wreath and keeping it looking good for months to come.

Southern California holiday icon, the succulent wreath

Quail Botanical Gardens Executive Director Julian Duval takes us to the Encinitas garden for its annual Garden of Lights. This holiday event for the whole family lights up the grounds and includes seasonal delights like wagon rides and marshmallow roasts.

Julian Duval takes us on a tour of some new exhibits at Quail Botanical Gardens … the Seeds of Wonder Childrens Garden and the Mexican Garden that spotlights garden plants native to South of the Border.