Spring is definitely in the air in our St. Augustine golf course community!  This weekend is the 16th annual EPIC Flower and Garden Expo at the St. Johns County Agricultural Center and Arboretum. One of our World Golf Village residents, Shirley Barber, is a Master Gardner with St. Johns County. She designs the flower gardens at St. Johns County Agriculture center. The event goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 16th and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17th.

Shirley is a life long gardener that has grown from seed and installed plants in public gardens in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. In the past six years, she has donated and installed thousands of plants that were grown in World Golf Village from seeds and cuttings. Shirley will be conducting garden tours during the Garden and Flower Show on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

During 2007 and 2008, Shirley coordinated and authored two award applications for Master Gardeners’ projects in St. Johns County, resulting in two First Place State Awards from the University of Florida for Education and Beautification. She also coordinated and authored an award application in 2009, resulting in a Top-Three International Award presented at the Master Gardeners International Conference.

This year’s event will feature vendors from all over Florida. Keynote speakers will be featured as well as educational horticultural seminars. There will also be a quilt exhibit by the St. Augustine Piecemakers Quilt Guild and a silent auction by the Master Gardeners. All items will be awarded to the highest bidder at the conclusion of the show. The best part is parking is free and it only costs $5 for both days!!! So take your family to the beautiful gardens and think spring!