Q: I love to garden and will be making a huge garden this spring. I want to grow mango, pomegranate and other exotic fruit trees. I might be getting a greenhouse this fall to care for the heat loving plants. I am interested in joining a garden club in my area and thought you might know of one.

A: I love gardening enthusiasm! You need to join the intrepid band of gardeners known as the North American Fruit Explorers. Their organization has a southern sub-group called the Southern Fruit Fellowship (www.nafex.org/sff.htm). In addition, the California Rare Fruit Growers group (www.crfg.org) has a great series of factsheets on tropical fruits.

You should also attend a meeting of the Georgia Perennial Plant Association (www.georgiaperennial.org) and ask about local garden clubs. Different groups have different agendas and the folks at GPPA can help guide you to a convivial group of friends.