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March To-Do

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 at 8:28 pm

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Daffodils and crocuses - just enjoy!

Vegetables and Herbs

If you haven’t prepared your beds yet, do it soon – by turning the soil and adding your yearly amendments, like 1-2 inches of compost, well-aged manure, mushroom soil or leafmold into worked the vegetable beds (as soon as the soil is workable, which is definitely is now). All that turning of soil was best done last fall and if you haven’t done it yet, do NOT do it when the soil is sodden. Crumbly soil is what you want before turning and amending. Oh, and if a soil test indicates that lime is needed, do it at the same time you’re adding the other amendments, using crushed dolomitic lime.
Put up trellises and teepees for peas, pole beans and other climbers.
If you haven’t already bought seeds of cool-season vegs, do it now and sow them. If you’re using old seeds, check their viability first by doing your own germination test. (Place 20 seeds on a moistened paper towel, roll up the towel and place it in a plastic bread bag. Put the bag on top of the refrigerator or other warm location and check after 5-7 days to see what percentage has germinated. Discard seed lots with less than 50% germination.)
Early March: Start seeds of broccoli and cabbage indoors under lights, to be ready for planting outdoors in six to eight weeks. Late March: Start seeds of eggplant and pepper indoors under lights, to be ready for planting outdoors in six to eight weeks.
Start seeds of eggplant, pepper (if not started in February) broccoli and cabbage indoors under lights, to be ready for planting outdoors in six to eight weeks.
It’s still too early to start tomato transplants.
Plant cool-season vegetable transplants of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, etc.
Potatoes, onion sets, onion seedlings, leeks and peas can be planted as soon as the soil can be lightly worked – now. Same goes for other cool-weather crops like beets, Chinese cabbage, kale, mustard and turnips.
In early March you can also start sowing seeds of spinach, lettuce, kale, mustard, sorrel, corn salad and other greens indoors under fluorescent tubes. They’ll be ready to transplant outdoors in 2-3 weeks.
You can also start sowing seeds of spinach, lettuce, kale, mustard, sorrel, corn salad and other greens indoors under fluorescent tubes. They’ll be ready to transplant outdoors in 2-3 weeks and should be protected by a cold frame or floating row cover. Alternatively, you can start sowing spinach and lettuce seed outdoors in cold frames.
Consider purchasing some floating row cover material to protect crops against insects and promote early growth. Floating row covers are made from a spun-bonded polyester material and are available from mail-order seed and garden supply companies. We recommend Harvest Guard brand.
Rosemary, thyme, lavender, sage, basil, and tarragon seeds can be started indoors in late March. Fresh tarragon, rosemary, and mint sprigs can be purchased in food markets and rooted indoors in potting soil and can be grown under fluorescent bulbs. The new plants can then be set outdoors in pots or garden beds in May.
Now is the time to cut back last year’s old perennial herb plants. This will make them look better and make room for new growth. It will also help reduce insect and disease problems.
March is also a good time to divide over-grown rhubarb plants and top dress with a balanced fertilizer or well-rotted horse or cow manure. Weeds in asparagus and rhubarb beds can be difficult to control because they are so entangled with the crop plant. It is always best to hand-pull weeds or cut them off cleanly at the soil line with a small, sharp hoe. Be careful not to cut into crowns or emerging spears. All old asparagus foliage should have been cut down and composted last fall.

Fruit

When your strawberry plants start to grow, remove the mulch over them enough to allow leaves to develop in the light, then leave the mulch under the plants to help reduce weeds. If leaves develop under the mulch, they will become blanched and yellow from lack of chlorophyll, and may burn and die when exposed to the sun.
Small fruits such as brambles can be pruned starting now through the bloom period. Remove the fruited, dead canes of brambles and any flowering canes that are weak, diseased or infested with borers. Fall bearing raspberry plants should have been mowed/cut to the ground, but if they haven’t, do so now.
Now is the time to start routine pruning apple and pear trees. Start your pruning by removing dead, broken and crossing branches and keep younger trees trained with a central leader much like a Christmas tree shape. Peach trees should be pruned after flowering. For peach trees, maintain an open vase shape to encourage good air circulation and fruiting throughout. Shorten all the branches and thin out weak growth.
Peach trees usually require an annual early spring application of a balanced fertilizer (i.e. 10-10-10) at bloom.

Shrubs and Trees

March is still a good time to do your winter pruning - click that link for details. Wait until mid or late spring to prune your spring-flowering shrubs and trees, so you can enjoy their blooms this year.
March is a great time to plant or move woody landscape plants, as long as the soil isn’t soggy. Avoid the most common planting mistakes: planting in compacted or poorly drained soil and planting too deep.
Roses should be pruned starting in mid-March. Shrub types (not climbers, generally) should be cut back to about 18” off the ground and tiny canes removed entirely. Prune out any canes that criss-cross each other to ensure good air circulation and healthy stems. A dab of Elmer’s glue on the ends of the cut canes can help discourage rose cane borers, a type of beetle.

Pests Affecting Shrub and Tree

Remove and destroy bagworm bags from affected trees (primarily needled evergreens). The bags contain hundreds of eggs that will hatch out and feed in the spring. Don’t leave the bags on teh ground – discard or destroy them.
The tiny reddish brown eggs of spruce spider mites can be seen with a hand lens on the twigs and needles of spruce at this time. If you notice signs of this pest, apply an ultra-fine horticultural oil spray which will smother and kill the eggs.
Inspect trees for the egg masses of the Eastern tent caterpillar. The look like black Styrofoam and are usually found on the ends of cherry and crabapple tree branches. Both types of egg masses should be removed and destroyed.
If you had a problem last year with scale insects on woody landscape plants spray them with a dormant oil prior this month to bud swell. Spray on a dry day when temperatures are above 40 degrees F. and are expected to remain above freezing for at least 24 hours. March is the last time you can apply oil at the dormant rate because the dormant rate can burn green tissue, so if you notice bud or leaf growth, spray horticultural oils at the summer, 2%, rate. Dormant oil is an environmentally safe product to use and is very effective in controlling scale insects.

Nonwoody Ornamental Plants

This is a great time to plant cool-season pansies, Dianthus and snapdragons for color, but remember not to set out tender annuals (impatiens, marigolds, petunias, salvia, etc) until after the last frost date – the first week in May for the DC metro area.
If you still have unplanted bulbs from last fall, they may still be worth planting. Inspect them carefully and only plant the best quality. Many may be in bad condition and not worth planting. If they were stored where it was warm, they likely will not flower this year but once getting established should do well next year.
Time to clean up your ornamental beds! Cut back your ornamental grasses and the stems of last year’s perennials. Remove dead leaves, weed, and you’re ready to apply 1-2 inches of mulch this month, or later in the spring if you choose. Don’t let garden debris (like dead leaves) stay on top of groundcovers and short perennials, as this can cause foliar diseases in the spring. Trim back English ivy that is invading walkways, turf and garden beds. You can divide perennials as they poke up from the ground this month.
If you start ornamental annuals from seeds, you can start them indoors in March - 5-6 weeks before they are planted outdoors.

Ponds

You may be asking: Hey, where are all the fish in my pond? If so, watch out for Great Blue Herons, which can see the sun’s reflection off the water from a long way off. Bird netting will keep them and any leaves out of the pond. Our Larry Hurley reports that once he removes the leaves from his semi-shaded pond, it’s no longer bothered by the herons.
So, use a net to remove leaves and debris with a net. This will help reduce problems with algae. Small ponds can be completely pumped out, cleaned and refilled. The sooner you can do this the better, because by April many species of amphibians will lay their eggs in the pond and you don’t want to disturb them. If eggs have already been laid be very careful and gentle when cleaning the pond to avoid harming them.

Lawn

Now is the second best time to seed your lawn to cover thin or bare spots. (The best is late August through October.)
Also, spring is not the best time to apply fertilizer to lawn unless it’s weak and thin and you didn’t feed it last fall. Fertilizing in the spring encourages rapid succulent growth that is more susceptible to attack by insects and disease. If applied, use slow-release or organic fertilizer only.
If you had a crabgrass problem last year consider applying a pre-emergent herbicide later this month when the forsythias are in bloom. They tend to bloom about the same time that the soil is warm enough for crabgrass seeds to germinate. Best control of crabgrass is achieved by splitting this herbicide treatment into two applications – first in mid-March in late March and the second half in mid-May.
Chickweed, dead nettle, henbit and other broadleaf winter annual weeds are starting to grow again at this time – they germinated last fall and were dormant throughout the winter. They can be treated with a labeled broadleaf weed herbicide when they’re more actively growing later this month or throughout April. Small infestations can be pulled by hand. However, fall herbicide applications when these weeds are germinating often produce better control.
Don’t do any aerating of your compacted lawn during the wet spring conditions; digging and disturbing the soil then will just make it worse. Wait for it to dry out.
This is the time to sharpen your lawn mower blades and service your mower. Dull blades tear turfgrass and can lead to damage and disease problems. Remember to sharpen your mower blade a few times throughout the mowing season.

Indoor Plants

Now is a good time to begin re-potting and dividing houseplants that are outgrowing their containers, moving them to the next-larger pot. Use only lightweight soilless potting mixes, never garden soil. If a houseplant is already in a very large container and you can’t move it up to a larger one, you can remove the plant and prune its roots. Fill the outside with fresh potting medium. Pruning some of the roots may set the plant back a little but it will recover and it will have more space for the roots and improve pot drainage.
As new growth appears, resume fertilizing houseplants on a monthly basis. Also gradually increase watering to the regular spring-summer amount, remembering that overwatering is the most common cause of houseplant death.
Keep an eye out for signs of pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If addressed promptly, these nonchemical methods work: spray of plain water, insecticidal soap spray, or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip.

Wildlife

Empty bird boxes of old nests.
Many birds are now actively scouting our landscapes for places to nest this spring, so this is a good time to put up a birdhouse (nest box) to encourage nesting. Some bird species that use birdhouses (nest boxes) are bluebirds, purple martins, tree swallows, and wrens.
Apply deer repellents as your perennials begin to grow. Deer will begin to switch to their warm weather feeding patterns (from shrubs to more tender plants), and repellents applied early on are the most effective.

Final Words from Larry Hurley

If you have pathways that are mulch covered, March is a good time to add more mulch.
And his favorite tip? “Call in sick on nice days, and spend time in the outdoors. Shop first.”

Photo credits: daffodils, crocus, pansy, tree swallow.

September To-Do

Monday, September 5th, 2011 at 10:41 am

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Lawn

September is THE month to grow grass seed! That includes: overseeding or patching an existing lawn, and starting a new one. Those links take you to our up-to-date, earth-friendly lawn care articles. We also recommend this article from the University of Maryland about caring for newly seeded lawns.
September and October are the best times to feed your lawn, and one application each month is best. (Remember, turfgrasses need 2 pounds of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each year to stay thick and relatively weed-free). You can then seed right over the fertilizer. Click here and scroll down to Fall for details about which fertilizers to use.
You can also apply lime this month if a soil test indicates it’s needed. Apply after fertilizing but before the ground freezes.

Vegetables and Herbs Garden

Plant cool-season vegetable crops now – cabbage, turnips, kale, mustard, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, collards, carrots, and beets. Keep seedlings and transplants well watered and mulched. (The seeds will need at least 2 weeks more time to grow to maturity now than they did in the spring due to reduced light.) You can cover fall garden crops later in the month with a floating row cover or cold frame to further extend the harvest period.
Brassicas all taste better after they have been touched by a frost or two and if covered (even just with leaves), most vegetables will survive the winter to provide an early spring harvest.
Feed your fall vegetables weekly. Mary Ellen in Behnkes’ Potomac store recommends Miracle-Gro for Vegetables and goes on to say, “When feeding, it’s fine to wet the plant foliage, but be sure to soak the soil around the plant, too. It’s easy to mix the powder with water in a watering can, or simply attach the LiquaFeed sprayer right to the end of the garden hose and water as usual.”
If you continue to feed them weekly, rosemary, thyme, and basil will continue to produce leaves until frost.
Garlic cloves can be planted up until Thanksgiving for harvest in June. Choose the largest cloves from the largest heads, plant the cloves root end down, spaced 4-6 inches apart, and cover with 1-2 inches of soil. Use your own home-grown garlic rather than store-bought, if possible.
Dig storage potatoes on a cloudy after the plants begin to die back, then let them dry for a few hours before bringing them inside – but don’t wash them! Store potatoes in a dark, cool location. Sweet potatoes should be harvested the same way, except that it’s best to cure the roots for 10-14 days in a warm, dark location and then store them for the winter in a cool, dry location.
Harvest your onions, once their tops have withered, by lifting the bulbs and drying them in a warm, dry, sunny location for 10 days. Then store them in a cool, dark, dry place.
To harvest herbs, remove individual leaves of tarragon, rosemary, basil, sage, etc. and dry them indoors. Herb leaves are most flavorful right before the plant blooms. Snip foliage in the morning after the dew has dried. To dry herbs for storage, tie the cut stems together and hang them upside down in a dry location. Cover with a paper bag to avoid losing the shattered leaves. Store dried herbs in glass jars away from light and heat. Fresh basil can be processed into pesto or frozen in plastic containers for winter use.

Trees, Shrubs

September is an excellent time to plant or move trees and shrubs – just be sure to keep them watered if there isn’t sufficient rain. (Click here for more about watering new plants.) But don’t plant when the soil is wet – it ruins the soil structure, making poorly draining clay soils even worse. (Rain IS great for buying plants – you’ll have the store more or less to yourself with abundant staff.
Keep shrubs and trees watered through the first hard frost so that they can survive the winter. Evergreens especially need to go into winter well hydrated. They’re the plants that rarely wilt, giving us the sign that they need watering.
Do NOT feed or prune this month – both stimulate new growth, which wouldn’t have time to harden off before it gets really cold, and all that new growth would quickly be killed. It’s fine, however, to remove dead, damaged, diseased branches; also, suckers and water sprouts.

Perennials and Annuals

September is also a great time to plant or move perennials. Just keep them watered if there isn’t regular rain. BUT, don’t plant when the soil is wet because it ruins the soil structure, making badly draining clay soils even worse.
It’s also a great month to divide perennials, and large clumping ones with dead centers are definitely due for a little surgery (a cheap steak knife will usually do the job). Just be sure to keep them well watered if it doesn’t rain. Peonies especially should be moved or divided now if they need it, not in the spring or summer.
Remove ratty leaves on perennials that are done (like hostas) but leave the coneflower seeds heads alone until late winter because the birds (especially goldfinches) love them. More good candidates for leaving the seedheads in place are coreopsis and black-eye susans. Ornamental grasses can also provide needed cover for over-wintering birds. Also if you want to encourage self-seeding, leave the seedheads up through this month (e.g., Nicotiana, alyssum).
Larry Hurley’s perennial advice for September: “Some perennials will begin to go dormant as fall approaches. It’s not unusual for hostas to begin to take on a golden color, and for summer blooming plants to go out of flower. Look for fall-blooming perennials at Behnke’s: consider Asters, Tricyrtis (or “toad lilies”), and Japanese Anemones and Solidago, the goldenrods. One of the best asters for butterflies, assuming you have a sunny area that drains well, is Aster oblongifolius, the fragrant aster. Cultivars include ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ and the shorter ‘October Skies’. Shortness is relative as they both tend to lay down… Blue flowers in October feed migrating butterflies when not much else is in bloom. My favorite Goldenrod is Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, which is (of course) yellow, and looks like a cascade of fireworks with arching and cascading flowers.”

Annuals

Plant hardy mums now so they will become well established prior to cool weather.
Pansies, violas, ornamental cabbage and kale can also be planted this month. More great plants for fall color include sweet alyssum and dusty miller.
Continue to fertilize your annuals this month – a liquid fertilizer gives them the boost they need and is fast-acting. Alex Dencker at our Potomac store likes Espoma’s Gro Tone. It’s a fish protein-based liquid fertilizer that doesn’t smell as bad as most fish-based products. He says “It’ll maximize your annuals’ lifespan and increase their vibrancy and color.”

Bulbs

Buy spring-blooming bulbs as soon as they’re in the stores for the best selection. Select healthy, disease-free bulbs.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs this month or next – except for tulips, which should be planted from mid-October through November. Add bone meal or bulb fertilizer into the planting hole as you prepare the soil.

Houseplants

September is the ideal month to bring houseplants indoors after they’ve spent the summer on your deck or patio, rather than later in the fall when the difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures would stress them unduly. Treat houseplants with horticultural oil and neem oil to control aphids, mites, mealy bugs and scale.

Wildlife

September is when the birds start their winter migration, so it’s a good time to send them off with a full energy source.

Lawn photo credit.

More about gardening with deer – and we have a winner of the deer-resistance book!

Sunday, July 10th, 2011 at 4:25 pm

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The winner of our give-away of this terrific new book is Beltsville customer Kathy Kircher – congratulations! But we can’t withhold such great information about gardening with deer from the rest of our readers. So here are Ruth Clausen’s top picks for deer-resistant plants:

Perennials: Monkshood, Bigroot Geranium, Black Snakeroot, Baptisia australis, Euphorbia polychroma, Hybrid Astilbe, Dicentra eximia, Hybrid Sage, Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), Hellebore orientalis, Epimedium grandiflora, Brunnera macrophylla and Yarrow.

Shrubs: Caryopteris, Boxwood, Bush Cinquefoil, Lavender, Spirea, Beautyberry, Russian cypress, Lespedez and Weigela.

Grasses: Fountain grass, Hakone grass, Acorus, Carex morrowii, and Switchgrass.

Bulbs: Daffodils, Leucojum, Colchicum Waterlily, Snowdrop, and Allium moly.

Ferns: Autumn, Christmas, Cinnamon, Ostrich and Japanese painted.

Herbs: Basil, Greek oregano, Rosemary, Sage and, Thyme.

And here are more tips from an interview with the author on Ken Druse Real Dirt

Wind chimes often spook deer.
Clean up fruit that’s dropped onto the ground.
Wrap the base of young trees during rutting season. It’s easy to do and generally works.
Raise hanging baskets and bird feeders high enough so the deer can’t reach them. Ruth said she once caught a deer standing on its hind legs casually eating everything in the hanging basket on her front porch. (Oh, yeah, she’s got ‘em bad!)
This may sound too obvious, but she insists that it needs to be said: Keep your deer fence closed!

You might ask, what about sprays? She says that “Spraying things isn’t my gig.” Me, either, but I DO spray my 8 shrub roses that are growing where the deer sometimes roam – because I don’t want to lose them. I spray monthly when there are leaves on them, and it just takes 5 minutes so I don’t really mind.

Posted by Susan Harris

May To-Do List

Sunday, April 10th, 2011 at 10:52 pm

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Got something to add, or a even correction to suggest? Help the gardeners of the Metro DC area and leave a comment!

Ladew Gardens in May

Perennials and Flower Borders

Continue planting perennials and moving your extras to better spots in the garden – just be sure to water them every day for the first week (if it doesn’t rain) and water them weekly for the rest of the season (again, if it doesn’t rain).
Deadhead spring bulbs as they fade, but don’t remove the foliage – the bulb needs to withdraw energy from the leaves to make new bulbs for next year.
Give borders a nice new edge (if you didn’t do it last month) for a clean, neat look and easier weeding. (Here’s how to edge naturally.)
Apply 1-2 inches of mulch (if you haven’t already), and we recommend shredded hardwood.
There’s still time to divide perennials IF don’t bloom in spring and IF they’re still relatively short (no taller than 5 inches).
To prevent flopping of taller perennials, especially the ones receiving too much shade, cut them back by half in May. Prime candidates for this are Asters, tall Sedums, Monarda, Garden Phlox, and Purple Coneflower.
Start pinching your mums (and other tall perennials that bloom in late summer) to produce fuller plants and prevent flopping.
Stay on top of the weeding!

Annuals

Time to buy and plant summer annuals, and start watering and feeding.
Time to plant tender bulbs like cannas, elephant ears, dahlias and caladiums.

Trees and Shrubs

After Azalea blossoms fade, it’s time to invigorate the full-size ones with renewal pruning. That means removing one-third of the stems completely – to the ground, or close to it, choosing the oldest for removal. If you need to reduce the overall size of the shrubs, the remaining, more vigorous stems can also be shortened. Small stems (less than pencil size) should be removed. Other shrubs that benefit from renewal pruning include Abelia, Deutzia, Forsythia, Mockorange, Spirea, and Weigela. With all of these, wait until the blooms have faded.
For maximum blooms next year, remove the faded lilac blooms.
Prune away dead, damaged and diseased stems and branches when you notice them.
Feed your roses once this month (then again in June and July and once in October).
Plant new shrubs and trees, watering well and continuing to water weekly through their first season in your garden, unless it rains (and thunderstorms don’t count!).

Edibles

In early May, do your garden prep if you haven’t already. For most gardens that means adding compost (Leafgro is great), turning it in gently rather than tilling it.
Mid-May is the traditional time in our region to plant summer vegetable seedlings . Click here to see a list of heirloom and unusual varieties of tomatoes and peppers offered by Behnkes.
In early May plant woody herbs now – like rosemary and thyme.
Seeds and tiny seedlings of fleshy, nonwoody herbs like cilantro and basil are good eating for birds, so keep them protected from birds until they’re larger.
If you haven’t already planted your potatoes, do it now.
Time to direct-sow beans in the ground.
Beans need really warm soil, so wait until late may to plant them – or in early June, depending on the kind of weather we’ve been having.
Weed, weed, weed – they compete too darn well with your desirable edibles. You can just snip off the annual weeds, but perennial weeds really need to be dug up.

Lawn

It’s a big month for mowing – and the good news is if you leave grass clippings on the lawn, they’ll feed your turf (literally, about a third of its yearly requirement of Nitrogen!)

Plants that scoff at the chance of frost

Sunday, April 10th, 2011 at 12:27 pm

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by Mary Ellen Gaspard, Behnkes in Potomac

Last week’s night-time temperatures in the low 30s had the Potomac store staff scrambling to tuck in our tender young plants under their blankies! We’re not out of the cold weather woods yet, either; our frost-free safety date here in zone 7 is around Mother’s Day.

However, while summer annual plants may suffer from a hard frost (temperatures of 32F or below) without a light cover like an old bedsheet or even newspapers, there are many cool weather loving plants in their prime right now.

Flowering color is a major desire after a long winter, and we have a wonderful assortment of beautiful pansies (if someone calls you a pansy, that’s a real compliment since these prolific bloomers have been known to bloom through light snow!), dianthus, ranunculus, snapdragons, Pot n’ Patio asters, Easter Bonnet alyssum, diascia and more, in full blossom and ready to bloom for you for weeks to come.

Perennial phlox is in full, gorgeous spring bloom in a carpet of color. Also flowering for you are camellias, ornamental cherries, and other spring trees and shrubs. All these can be planted NOW, even if spring temperatures seem more like winter from time to time.

If edibles are on your spring wish list, lettuce show you our awesome selection of cool weather veggies, including Brussels sprouts; broccoli; white and yellow cauliflower; white and red cabbage; an assortment of greens including collards and mustard greens (which have pretty red veining); and a variety of lettuces including Butter Crunch, Red Sails, Salad Bowl combination, and Mesclun Mix. Greens you grow yourself taste so much better than the bagged and boring stuff from the grocery store!

This is also a good time to plant our hardy herbs, such as chives, parsley, rosemary and thyme, but wimpy basil wants to sit on a sunny indoor windowsill until outdoor temps remain at 50F or above.

Fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and grapes are growing fast and are also ready to plant now! Strawberries can perform for you right from a pot in the sunshine on your porch or patio, or out in the garden. Blueberry bushes are leafing out and will give you fat, juicy berries in early summer, then provide colorful foliage in fall. Blackberry and grape vines are looking for your fence or one of our classy trellises to climb up.

Limited space? Try combining edibles with flowers in your pots! Red sails lettuce complements pansies, ranunculus, and dianthus in the pot shown.

Don’t forget to pick and eat the lettuce, so it will keep producing for you, and use a pansy flower for a lovely spring ornament on a dinner plate or serving platter.

So don’t let cloudy days and chilly nights make you run for cover. Many plants love our cool, damp spring weather, so grab your jacket and enjoy them!