Winter is in full swing, and the snow and ice have kept us in the house a little too much lately. Are you looking for something to break the winter blues? Then come on out to the Carolina Garden Expo today.

The fifth annual Carolina Garden Expo put on by the North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association started on Friday and continues today at the Greenville Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features products available for the home, garden, lawn, and landscape.

The theme of this year’s event is “Beautiful Outdoor Living.” Exhibitors from all areas of gardening are represented. Retailers, landscapers, garden suppliers and nurseries are all showing their gardening best. Remember that Valentines Day is a week from Sunday, so it is the perfect time to pick up a flower, plant, gardening book, statue or accessory for that special someone.

The Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers are at the expo today to answer your gardening questions, give gardening advice, identify plant problems, share information about fragrant plants (which are featured in their booth), and talk about the Pitt County Arboretum. They are selling colorful gardening gloves to support the Pitt County Arboretum and conducting a raffle for numerous gardening-related items. Cost to attend the Carolina Garden Expo is $5 at the door. To get more information about the Carolina Garden Expo, go to www.carolinagardenexpo.com.

If you missed the expo on Friday, I gave a presentation on “Fragrant Shrubs for All Seasons.” Out of the 30 plants I talked about at the expo, here are my top 10 for fragrance in the garden:

Sweet shrub (Calycanthus floridus) — One of the first plants often thought of for fragrant flowers.

Winter daphne (Dapne odora) — Provides the best fragrance from flowers in the winter.

Gardenia (Gardenia grandiflora) — The standard for summer fragrance in the garden.

Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) — Flower fragrance is second only to winter daphne.

Banana shrub (Michelia figo) — Flowers provide the fragrance of ripening bananas in late spring.

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) — Leaves give off a bayberry fragrance anytime of the year you brush by them.

Fragrant osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) — Rules in the fall fragrance category with its small but robust flowers.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis) — Another year-round winner for foliage fragrance.

Sweet mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) — An old standard for late-spring flower fragrance.

Green giant arborvitae (Thuja x ‘Green Giant’) — Only thought of as an alternative to Leyland cypress. However, the foliage smells like fruity candy.

If you have gardening, lawn, landscaping or tree-related questions, call the Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers anytime at 902-1705 to leave a message or e-mail pittcomgv@hotmail.com.

Danny Lauderdale is an agricultural extension agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service-Pitt County.

Garden expo

The fifth annual Carolina Garden Expo continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Greenville Convention Center, 303 S.W. Greenville Blvd. Admission is $5.

Today’s speakers

10-11 a.m.: Bryce Lane, “Landscaping in Small Spaces: Big Ideas for Small Gardens”

Noon-1 p.m.: Nelsa Cox, “Generation Gardening: Past, Present, and Future”

2-3 p.m.: Bob Pries, “All About Irises for Your Garden”