BATON ROUGE - Spring is officially here, and with the warmer weather comes a surge in business at nurseries.

Now that winter is officially over, Geraldine Walker said she's ready to get back to gardening.

"It's beautiful, it's warm, the weather's getting right for plants to get transplanted into bigger pots. I've got some green bell peppers. They've been in the house from the freeze last week," said Walker.

Walker was part of a wave of customers heading to Clegg's nursery off Greenwell Springs Road Saturday, kicking off the busiest season of the year. Manager, Zane Mercer, said spring brings a major boost in business.

"I've got empty spacing on the tables already, that's pretty much from yesterday afternoon and this morning," said Mercer.

He said vegetables, herbs, and colorful flowers are flying off the shelves after a much slower winter.

"Spring is our busiest time. We may have 100 transactions during the winter on a winter day. Here, it's going to be much more than that. It will probably be 10 times that," said Mercer. 

Merger said it takes weeks to prepare for the spring rush.

"I go down to Florida to order plants. I tour nurseries and come back with orders," said Mercer

For shoppers like Walker, it's not just about what's in the cart but where it comes from.

"I was gonna go to Lowe's or Home Depot, but something said, 'No. Go to a nursery.' Supporting the locals so they can stay in business. Plus, they have better plants and deals anyway," said Walker.

And while the seasonal rush helps the bottom line, Mercer said it's about more than just money to him.

"I really like the customer interactions and customer relationships. I've met a lot of people that have really impacted my life," said Mercer.

Nurseries here in Baton Rouge say now is the perfect time to get planting. They're also encouraging people to shop with local businesses.