george oliphant is here. he did a rescue of a deck for a brooklyn homeowner and he's going to be here if you're dreaming of backyard fun with family and friends he will tell you how you can renovate your deck with some beautiful flowers and plants coming up. >> it's always good to have george here. let 's go inside right now. we should mention, al is down in clearwater, florida. we'll check in with him in a second. first the headlines of the morning from natalie over at the news desk. >> all right. good morning, everyone. we begin with an overnight gun battle and place standoff in france with a suspect wanted for monday's deadly shootings at a jewish school and the murders last week of three french soldiers. police say the 24-year-old gunman claims to have trained with al qaeda in pakistan and afghanistan. he told negotiators he targeted jewish students to avenge the deaths of palestinian children. the murders of the paratroopers he said were to protest western military intervention overseas. >>> the family o

have lined up our experts to get you ready for the warmer weather starting with your garden and george oliphantgs will be blooming. you can get out and do some work. >> it will be in the 60s in this area. it's unseasonably warm. get out, get your green thumb on and start getting your yard ready. >> you like pruning at this time of year. >> pruning, shaping, getting rid of the dead branches. it's the time to do it. cut back and let your plants bloom and grow. now is the time to do it. >> is it too early to spread fertilizer? >> no. there is fertilizer for every season. winter, fall. this is spring fertilizer. when you go to the garden store you want a spring fertilizer. get out and get the nutrients into your plants. >> if you put mulch out in the fall you can clear it out. do you put another layer of mulch for spring? >> you can clear out or because mulch decomposes you can cover it with new mulch. it keep it is water in, weeds suppressed and it's a decorative element. we have a red, brown, dark black. it finishes your beds. >> we have had a mild winter and it's starting to get warmer should we