Spring is just around the corner, and that means the Nansemond River Garden Club will soon be hosting its annual “Step into Spring” event.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 1. It will include lunch, a featured speaker, a silent auction with gardening items and more.

Lisa Mason Ziegler of The Gardner’s Workshop will be this year’s featured speaker.

“Lisa shares the steps she follows in her own garden to produce thousands of stems of flowers a week in season on just three-quarters of an acre,” said Kim Raines, publicity chair for the event.

Ziegler spoke at the event last year, and the club enjoyed her speech so much that members invited her back. This year, Ziegler will speak on the topic “Roots of a Great Garden.” She will explore preparing the soil for spring gardens and give advice on growing plants organically.

She also will share tips that she uses in her own garden.

The silent auction will include more than 50 items, including pottery by artist Bill Pinkham, a painting by artist Les Hall, facial and massage sessions from Bombshells, four complimentary guest and cart fees at Cedar Point Country Club, plants, jewelry, a ceramic birdbath, purses from A. Dodson’s and more.

Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the event will go to the organization’s civic projects, including its work at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

After the program, club members and anyone attending the event will have the opportunity to purchase items from The Gardener’s Workshop catalogues. The Gardener’s Workshop will be donating 15 percent of its sales to the club.

In past years, the event was for club members only, but the event did so well last year by being open to friends of club members that the club decided to open it up to anyone who wants to attend.

“Bring a friend, and you can come and enjoy a nice lunch,” Raines said.

Tickets cost $20. For more information, contact Mary Hart Darden at 539-2907 or maryhart.darden@verizon.net, or Linda Consolvo at 539-4244 or LLC510@verizon.net.