LADYBUG SAYS...TODAY IS A GREAT DAY TO HONOR LITTLE PEOPLE AND SHAMROCKS

Sure, and it's a great day for the little people, the leprechaun said, as he sat on a shamrock leaf, his green hat tilted at a jaunty angle and his tiny cane twirling in a shaft of sunlight.

The leprechaun jumped from his perch, gave a wink, and said to me, "I have it on the best authority, St. Patrick himself, how this shamrock here came about.

"Old St. Pat, bless his name, told me he planted it because the three leaves represent the Trinity. Now what do you know it is the symbol of that grand day that bears his name."

Let me tell you what the leprechaun said to me about the shamrock.

It is not only the national flower of Ireland, he said, but also of everywhere on March 17, because on that day of the year everyone's an Irishman. They feast on corned beef and cabbage, boiled potatoes and Irish soda bread.

He went on, "Shamrock is the common name of Oxalis, the European wood sorrel, white clover. Both are plants with three leaves, the symbol of the Trinity.

"Did you know," he asked, doing a little jig, "that the shamrock appears on a thistle and a rose on the British coat of arms for these are their flowers?"

Then he went on to tell me more about the oxalis. "Lots of plants are sold for shamrocks near St. Pat's Day. Most near anything with three leaflets is called shamrocks, such as black magic, nonesuch, yellow trefold and hop clover.

"All of these have cloverlike leaves that fold tightly together at dusk and open again each morning. Even under a fluorescent light they will close up at sundown. They all like sun and moisture except during dormant periods.

"You ought to try an oxalis", he said. "There are a lot of dainty, cloverleaf foliage type plants to choose from. Excellent as basket or pot plants, and most are early spring bloomers. According to variety, they have a color range of white, pink, yellow, red, rose and violet flowers."

Then, with a tip of his hat and a salute with his cane, he was gone in a flash, just as he came.

It is very soon bedding plant time.

The Professional Plant Growers Association has announced that their annual study shows that the bedding plant industry has grown an average of 15% yearly for 13 years and as of last year has become seven times the size it was 15 years ago.

The organization pointed out that during 1990, for the first time, the bedding industry reached an excess of a billion dollars in wholesale sales for the year. The 10 best selling bedding plants in terms of dollar amount spent, listed in order of popularity, are geraniums, impatiens, petunias, marigolds, all perennials, begonis, tomatoes, vinca, salvia and dusty miller.

The survey among the professional growers asks each one to write which bedding plant was his best seller. In 1976, when the surveys began the response ranked petunias number 1, tomatoes, geraniums and other vegetables in that order. Over the years consumers' desires have changed. The 1990 survey ranked impatiens number 1, then petunias, geraniums, marigolds and vinca in that order.

The above research clearly shows that today gardeners are enjoying flowers more than vegetable gardening.

Today species growers plan to grow more impatiens, geraniums, begonias, petunias, marigolds, vinca and lobelia, says Penn State University statistics researcher for the Plant Growers Association located in Lansing, Michigan. It was also stated that 70 percent of all bedding plants are purchased by women.

It has been observed that while annuals have always been popular, what makes them "trendy" is how they are now being incorporated into landscapes.

Many of today's gardeners are busy people, with little time, but two incomes. The time they do have for gardening is reserved for weekends. These "weekend gardeners" want uncluttered, more sophisticated looking gardens. They want flower beds and borders that bloom from spring planting until frost in the fall. They also want a garden that requires only basic gardening knowledge. For these reasons, they choose to start with ready started bedding plants.

Soon it will be planting time but do not try to rush the season. Personal records show that there have been temperatures in the 20's the latter part of March, and on March 24, 1965, there was an ice storm with ice staying on the trees for three days.

It is good to plan your flower beds, now but make sure the weather will co-operate.