Many vendors set out plants for attendees to purchase at the Alameda Park Spring Garden Market-Home Show.

It’s that time again. The time that gardeners dream about all winter. The time for gardening and planting.

Bloom time for dogwoods and tulips and magnolias. Time for the annual Spring Garden Market & Home Show.

On Saturday, Penn State Master Gardeners and Butler County Parks & Recreation will host the 17th annual Spring Garden Market & Home Show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alameda Park in Butler Township.

The pavilions, shade trees and curving road of Alameda Park provide the perfect atmosphere for the marketplace of vendors with plants, crafts and home improvement ideas.

This welcome to spring includes food, treats, children’s activities and even a little taekwondo. DJ Sammy will complete the festive atmosphere with music.

Vendors will offer plants, both ornamental and functional, such as perennial and annual flowers, vegetables, herbs, roses, shrubs — even small trees. Crafters and food vendors will also be on hand.

Admission, parking and shuttle service to and from surrounding parking lots are all free.

The Master Gardeners’ plant sale will again be in and around Holly Shelter.

This is the third year the Master Gardeners have partnered with Ken and Kathy Metrick of Harvest View Farm and Market to bring a unique selection of flowering perennials. You’ll find flowers for even the toughest spot in your yard, unusual specimens and a choice of tried and true favorites, along with tomatoes and peppers, annuals, herbs and succulents.

Don’t know what to plant in that shady spot in your yard? Tired of fighting off the deer? Master Gardeners will be on hand at the Garden Hotline booth to help you find solutions to your gardening problems.

Master Gardeners and Alameda Park staff working the market will be easy to find in lime green T-shirts with navy lettering. If you need help or have a question during your visit, look for those T-shirts.

Butler County 4-H’ers, in bright green vests, will again be on hand to help get purchases to your car. There will be a place to keep your selections safe as you shop throughout the park.

There will be free activities for children around the Children’s Pavilion. Home Depot will have projects the children can build and take home. Party Pony will have a petting zoo with a pony ride, and cute critters like goats and rabbits. Early Years Community Learning Centers will have face-painters on hand.

At 2:30, Master Connell’s Taekwondo Demo Team will provide a half-hour demonstration of martial arts techniques, weapons and board breaks, and a brief comedy routine. Team members, ranging in age from 12 to 25, will present this Korean martial art form.

Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Butler County are volunteers in the Penn State Master Gardener program. Their mission is to support Penn State Cooperative Extension by utilizing research-based information to educate the public on best practices in consumer horticulture and environmental stewardship.

For more information, visit the website at http://extension.psu.edu/plants/master-gardener/counties/butler or call 724-287-4761.

Susan Struthers is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener of Butler County.