DOWN IN THE DIRT: GARDENING IS NUMBER ONE HOBBY IN THE U.S.

Mary Blue loves to play in the dirt. So does G.H. Reglow and Anne Foust. They are among many area residents who love gardening, communing with nature amid the cucumbers and the crocus.

"I am a dirt gardener," says Blue, a Cape Girardeau resident who has been proclaiming the joys of gardening in her "Ladybug" newspaper column for the past 30 years.

Her husband, former Southeast Missourian newspaper editor John Blue, grows vegetables. Mary Blue spends her leisure time tending to the flowers.

"Gardening changes all the time. There are new methods and new products and new introductions all the time," she said.

Blue enjoys the early spring flowering bulbs -- the crocus, daffodils and tulips.

"Those are my favorites. Then I plant a lot of annuals for quick color," said Blue.

"All gardeners like the perennials that come back year after year."

The spring flower bulbs will "grow and bloom if you do nothing to them," she pointed out. "All it has to do is have nature water it so it gets roots."

Blue admits that it takes some manual labor and the right fertilizers to have a really good garden.

In this area, there are some well-known gardeners. Carl Penzel of Jackson is known for his thousands of azalea plants.

O.D. Niswonger of Cape Girardeau is known internationally for the irises he grows. Varieties of Niswonger's irises are now grown in a number of foreign countries.

But you don't have to be a gardening expert to enjoy digging in the dirt.

Blue said that nationwide, gardening is the number one hobby. "More and more people become gardeners every year because it gives them relaxation from their every-day work."

Eighty percent of American households are involved in gardening of some sort, says Charles Korns, a horticulture professor at Southeast Missouri State University.

"In this area, I think you will find the biggest interest is in flower gardens," said Korns, who spends a lot of his work week in the university's greenhouse.

"If I've got a day off, I will still come out to the greenhouse," he said.

Korns also finds time to grow a few vegetables and flowers at his home.

There's nothing like homegrown tomatoes, he said. "They have a lot better flavor."

A lot of gardeners used to grow plants from seeds. But today the average gardener generally buys starter plants, he said.

All this gardening is big business. "Trees, shrubs and flowers are the fastest growing segment of agriculture," said Korns. Ornamental horticulture comprises 11 percent of the nation's agriculture business.

Flowering plants sold every spring -- everything from hanging baskets to geraniums -- annually generate more than $1 billion wholesale in the U.S. alone.

Korns said gardening can be a relatively inexpensive hobby. "If you've got a spade, shovel and a hoe, you can end up doing quite a bit of gardening."

A good gardener has to have a keen interest in plants. Also, said Korns, "You've got to like playing in the dirt."

"People that wear rubber gloves aren't real gardeners," said Anne Foust, a Cape Girardeau horticulturist.

Foust and other gardeners say they love being outdoors. "I can't stand to stay inside," said Foust.

"I think with the high-stressed world we live in, gardening is about the best thing you can do," said Foust. "Just going out and pulling a few weeds helps."

Foust is a member of a local garden club. There are five such clubs in Cape Girardeau.

Foust is heading up this year's state convention of the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri. About 525 gardeners from around the state are expected to attend the convention, which will be held April 12, 13 and 14 at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau.

"I started out in a garden club knowing nothing. That peaked my interest and I went back to school 12 years ago and got a degree in horticulture," said Foust.

"I started out in flower gardening, but now I (also) have a large vegetable garden."

Foust said she grows all sorts of vegetables. "I like it all -- tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, beans, sweet potatoes, strawberries and asparagus. I usually try one or two new things every year."

When it comes to vegetable gardens, it's hard to compete with G.H. Creglow. The Cape Girardeau resident grows just about everything imaginable on an approximately one-and-a-half-acre site just west of Interstate 55, near the Fruitland interchange.

He has a berry patch that includes blackberries, red raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries and strawberries.

His garden also includes flowers and vegetables. "I grow ornamental gourds for the (Jackson) Men's Garden Club.

"I grow pumpkins, cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons," he said. The garden also includes broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and spinach, not to mention tomatoes.

"I start some of mine from seed because there are different varieties that I like to try.

"I am only going to grow seven varieties of tomatoes this year," said Creglow.

He said he grows so many different vegetables and berries that he's generally harvesting something from the garden from May to November.

Creglow, 81, has been faithfully gardening since retiring from Wetterau 15 years ago. "It is something to do. It is a hobby."

While gardening is traditionally thought of as an outdoor endeavor, it doesn't have to be.

Most of Vernon R. Meyr's plants can be found indoors. Meyr, who is president of the Jackson Men's Garden Club, estimates he has about 90 potted plants in his Altenburg home.

Meyr said his house is home to everything from jade plants to ferns, a palm tree to a Norfolk pine.

Meyr said he has "a little bit of everything."

He has two crown-of-thorns, a spiny, vine-like desert plant. "They just get tiny red flowers that look like blood drops."

Meyr said he obtained sprigs on a trip to Mexico in 1976. He ended up planting them in two pots and keeping them indoors.

"I am tickled that they are still both growing," said Meyr.

"I just enjoy working with plants and everything," said the retired banker.

With all those potted plants, Meyr spends a lot of time watering them. He waters different plants on different days, generally spending a half hour at a time on watering duty.

"It is a fascinating thing for me to see plants grow and bloom, and I enjoy it," said Meyr.