With a strong Wisconsin accent and unending enthusiasm, avid gardener and television personality Ciscoe Morris offered tips to South Kitsap merchants on how to brighten their store fronts.

Morris was the key speaker at this month’s Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, and greeted a crowd of fans of his radio programs, television spots and his book “Ask Ciscoe.”

Businesses, he said, can really improve their storefront with a container garden, and the process is similar to regular gardening. Stick by some of the same rules, and he said a storefront’s appearance can really be improved.

“Little touches like this can make your business just pop out,” he said.

With a long slideshow of photos from gardens in Seattle and Europe, including his own home garden, he offered a number of tips for making an attractive, healthy garden:

• Pack in the plants. Make it look full.

• Showcase contrast in color, shape, size and texture.

• Don’t be afraid to experiment.

He said it not only beautifies a storefront, it will make the gardener feel good in the process.

“Anybody that gardens is a happy person,” he said. “I’ve never met a murderer or a perjurer that likes gardening … that connection to earth is something we really need.”

Following the talk, Morris greeted an endless line of fans and signed their books with a few of his favorite and oft-quoted phrases, such as “Oh la la!” and “Eat your brussel sprouts!”

Morris hosts a radio show on KIRO Radio Saturdays, appears on KING 5 News and is the author of “Ask Ciscoe.” For more information on Morris, visit www.ciscoe.com.