In the James Bond, 007 flick Live and Let Die, the eponymous double agent is sent to New York to uncover mysterious murders and foil an evil drug lord’s plot to flood the U.S. with billions of dollars worth of heroin.

The 2007 “Live and Let Grow” Nashville Lawn and Garden Show, meanwhile, will uncover the blooming beauty of spring and foil the deadly plot of winter.

The 17th annual event, which runs March 1-4 at the Nashville Convention Center, will feature newly-designed bountiful garden displays; cooking demonstrations; a free lecture series; the Floral Design Gallery; and 250 exhibit booths featuring all the trade tricks and trends of horticulture.

“We are all tired of winter, and this is a nice intro to spring,” said Randy Lantz, co-manager of the event. “You walk in and there’s a lot of color, big blooming flowers, it smells good — it’s really the first taste of what’s to come to get you going. We base this show to introduce people to plants and gardening, and everyone who does a display will be on hand to talk to people and answer questions. So it’s a really nice place to go and learn as well as a good entertainment source.”

The Nashville Lawn and Garden Show’s centerpiece will be the acre of cement floor transformed into 23 vivid, live gardens created by landscape and gardening professionals with an array of plants and flowers; water features such as ponds, fountains and waterfalls; structures including gazebos, outdoor fireplaces and pits and rock walls; and a variety of landscaping styles ranging from casual to formal.

This year, the gardens will be arranged in a new “naturalized” presentation, Lantz said.

“In the past, it was always a garden in the front, one on each side. This time, things are cut up more like islands, so it’s opened up, a little more free-standing, and you’ll have the freedom to walk anywhere — completely around several of the gardens — just like you would in a park or in a yard,” Lantz said.

The free lecture series will include presentations on 18 different topics ranging from soil health and how to grow a chair to construction of earth walls and teapot therapy. Plant lovers can attend lectures on orchids, new and useful plants, plant selection, perennials and award-winning plants.

New to the event are two cooking demonstrations by Stephen “The Herb Meister” Lee of Louisville. Lee, who was taught by his grandmother, the herbalist of her native Kentucky town, has been lecturing about herbs for more than 30 years.

“When I do a cooking demonstration, it is all about not just how to cook, but how to use herbs to really enhance your foods and give that extra depth of flavor,” Lee said. “I talk about how to make herb vinegars and herb pastes and herb salts, which really do make cooking easier when you’ve made them. And I talk about fun techniques people don’t normally use in everyday cooking, out-of-the-box techniques, like cooking a pizza on top of the oven instead of inside of the oven.”

Since it was introduced in 1998, the Floral Design Gallery has become a popular show attraction. This year, 15 of Middle Tennessee’s award-winning floral designers will interpret the “Live and Let Grow” theme in showpiece arrangements.

For those who have their curiosities piqued by the gallery’s floral creations, Peggy Lynn Marchetti — one of Tennessee’s premier specialty-cut flower grower — will present tips, tricks and trade secrets as she shows how to plan, plant and design with fresh flowers from your own cutting garden.

The event’s 250 booths and venders from 12 states will hawk their wares of garden tools, decorative items, books, fountains, seeds, plants, tractors and more. Shoppers will find old favorites as well as new exhibitors like Ghann’s Cricket Farm from Augusta, Ga., offering “cricket poo” (the farm’s premium organic plant food) and La Cigale from Mt. Gretna, Pa., selling French provincial linens that have been specially treated for outdoor use.

For more information, visit nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com.

source : www.nashvillecitypaper.com