I was driving over to Orlando for a meeting the other day, when just ahead of me on the road I saw a car with no one driving it. It was a Waymo – a self-driving car. I’ve certainly heard plenty about self-driving cars, and it seems like as the years pass by, they will become more and more commonplace. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about them, though. Would I ride in one? I guess so? The one I watched was on a large, busy road, and it carefully changed lanes from right to left, got into the turn lane, and looked kind of like it was dropping someone off at a doctor’s office. I couldn’t tell if there was anyone in it, or if it was a test run, but it was still sort of fun to see one in person. It definitely was driving more carefully than many drivers on I-4 here in Seffner!

So – would you get in one? Are you Team Waymo or Way-no? In the end, we can’t fight all progress. Change happens whether we want it to or not. In the horticulture industry, many of the large growers are using AI to plan plant production and identify pests, and there are even automated weeding systems. I could probably get on board with a little weeding robot to help out around the yard, as long as it didn’t pull out my pretty flowers!

But you don’t need any technology or AI to help you have fun in your garden. This weekend is Spring Fling at the Nursery, which is really all about celebrating the beautiful colors of spring. New flowers, shrubs and trees are rolling in every day, and with the weather turning nice and warm, it’s time to start cleaning up your yards from the cold winter we had and making them bright, colorful, and full of joy again.

On Saturday this weekend, Quail Run Coffee (9 am – 3 pm) and Spellbound Sourdough (10 am – noon) will be at the Nursery, and at 10 am, we are having Yoga in the Garden (or let’s call it Yoga in the Flowers for this weekend!). Tickets for yoga can be purchased here. And of course, we are open all weekend long, ready to help you find the perfect flowers for your garden. No robots here, we are real, live people who can’t wait to talk gardening with you. We’ll leave it up to you if you want to let a Waymo drive you here. Happy Spring!