Bitten by the gardening bug as a youngster, Alan Popey is an old hand at sowing, tending and reaping the rewards of homegrown vegetables and flowers.

At 8 years old, his interest was piqued by his grandfather, Joseph Sommer, who enjoyed growing grapes and making wine like he did before emigrating from his native Hungary.

Making "wine and [growing] grapes are a big deal" in Hungary, Mr. Popey said.

A master gardener at this stage of his life, Mr. Popey continues the tradition of growing grapes but tends to the concord variety in his Peters back yard, making jelly from the fruit.

As a youngster, Mr. Popey said he would try his child-size green thumb at raising tobacco and cotton -- exotic in this region -- before realizing tobacco had to be cured.

"It got big, and then I didn't know what to do with it."

These days, Mr. Popey is still experimenting, albeit on a more realistic level, each year focusing on different plants or composing a variety of flowers in beds to colorful effect. This year, dahlias are the stars and are hard to miss by passing motorists with more than a passing interest in horticulture.

Large, nearly dinner plate-size dahlias flop their "heads" under their own weight. One bed features the flowers, known for the late-season display, in white, pale and lemony yellows, a two-tone burgundy and white, an orange and red spiked with yellow, resembling a fireworks display. They sport names such as aitari majesty, inland dynasty, mikado orange and Jessica.

Last year, he said, he won first place for the largest dahlia at the Washington County Fair, where he judges vegetables grown by youngsters.

Other beds are filled with marigolds, which he starts from seed; impatiens, whose demand for more ideal situations make them more difficult to start from seed; dusty miller; daylilies; cleomes; and salvia.

Containers are filled with the same, as well as coleus and petunias. Mr. Popey enjoys seeing what color combinations he can come up with.

Hugging the border of his red brick house are roses, gladiolas, a butterfly bush, cone flowers and calendula, to name a few. An herb bed is stocked with chives, lavender, fragrant licorice basil and dill.

As a gardener, Mr. Popey is very much the do-it-yourselfer, raising some of his plants from seed, building brick boxes to contain his raised beds and a birdhouse to appease winged friends.

In 2001, he became a master gardener through an intensive course offered by the Penn State Cooperative Extension. As a master gardener, he helps plant flowers at the Trolley Museum in Chartiers.

As most gardeners who are into the hobby long enough will find, starting plants from seed is particularly fulfilling and Mr. Popey is no different in that respect. He starts tomato, cabbage, peppers and marigolds, among other plants from seed.

He appreciates the variety and the number of plants he can start cheaply on his own rather than relying on what nurseries offer. Big on tomatoes, Mr. Popey makes his own sauce. He also makes relish from the cucumbers he raises.

Starting in March, he sows seeds in large trays under a sunny window in the den of his house. With the help of a heating pad, kept at 70 to 80 degrees to aid germination, plants begin to sprout.

They remain in the trays until large enough to be transplanted to individual pots, where they continue to grow until it is warm enough for "hardening off," a period during which they are put outside or in a protective area during the day and brought back inside in the evening. By about Memorial Day, plants are ready to be moved outdoors.

The veggies -- this year he is growing tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cucumbers, garlic, cabbage and onions -- are protected from deer by a six-foot fence in a 25- by 25-foot area. Recently, clumps of green tomatoes could be seen hanging from the vines and cucumbers were forming.

To keep abreast of what's new on the gardening front, Mr. Popey attends the Mid-Atlantic convention of Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association in Hershey, Dauphin County. There, he gets tips and information on what's up in the gardening world.

Like other gardeners, the thing that keeps his interest from flagging is the annual rebirth or renewal of plant life. As spring arrives, there's the opportunity to once again see favorite perennials and annuals emerge from the ground.