If there is any room available in your vegetable garden, fill it with early spring vegetables. Use either transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, parsley, peas, and Swiss chard, or seeds of beets, carrots, lettuce, peas, radishes, and turnips.

Artichokes, asparagus, and horseradish can be bought bare root. Horseradish is well worth growing, but needs ample water plus plenty of room to grow. Confine it in a special place, such as a raised bed, or it can become quite invasive.

This is the best time of the year for lettuce. It's easy to grow and a money saver. Plant either from transplants, which will give you faster harvest, or from seeds, which will give you more lettuce over a longer period of time. Lettuce seeds germinate within a wide range of soil temperatures, but sprout more quickly at cooler temperatures than warm ones, so this is a good time to plant.

Growing from seeds also gives you more interesting varieties to choose from, such as "Rouge d'Hiver", a red Romaine, or mesclun, the French-termed mix of red and green lettuces with herbs, especially pleasing to the gourmet.

Regardless of whether they are created out of desire or of necessity, rock gardens provide a unique opportunity to tame difficult landscape terrain or add interest to a garden setting. Whether they are set in naturally rocky terrain or in a man-made area, a couple of considerations will add to your overall success.

Because of the relatively shallow pockets of soil, water can drain away very quickly. The most exposed and shallow places are excellent sites for planting drought-tolerant creeping or trailing plants, especially where they can cascade over a ledge. Plants that prefer a little more moisture will be happier around the base of the rock garden, where water will not drain or evaporate so quickly.

Many rock garden plants are beautiful bloomers, so you can enjoy loads of color throughout your rock garden. The plants suggested below are mostly sun lovers. If your rocky site is in a woodland or other shady area, our staff of nursery experts will be happy to make suggestions for substitutes.

Every rock garden is a unique setting. The rule of thumb is to plant single plants of separate varieties for smaller space gardens, and groupings of three or more of particular varieties for larger areas. Any time is great time to plant a rock garden, so we invite you to come into the nursery and get started today. We promise you'll have a rockin' good time!

Click here to see our collection of great rock garden plants!

Choose some of the easiest and most dependable evergreens as the backbone of your indoor displays.

Many of them are tough enough for the more difficult positions around the home, and most of those suggested here are bold enough to be focal point plants, too.

The glossy evergreens such as dracaenas, fatsias, ficus, scheffleras, palms and philodendrons generally make excellent stand-alone plants, but they can also be used as the framework plants for groups and arrangements. They will be far more robust than plants with thin or papery leaves, feathery and frondy ferns, or even those with hairy leaves.

You need these other leaf textures, as well as flowering plants, to add variety of shape and form and a touch of color, but it makes sense to use the toughest evergreens as the basis of your houseplant displays.

When a tough plant is needed for a cold or drafty spot, such as a hallway or near a back door, consider using some of the hardy foliage plants that have to cope with frost and gales when planted outdoors! Fatsia japonica is a glossy evergreen with fingered foliage, rather like the palm of a hand. Others to look for are variegated varieties of Aucuba japonica and Euonymus japonicus.

Ivies are also ideal if you need a tough climber or trailer. There are lots of varieties to choose from with a wide choice of leaf shape, size and color.

A great way to shake off the winter blues and get a jump on spring is to start plants from seed indoors. It's not only fun and easy to do but also rewarding, since it allows home gardeners the opportunity to grow plant varieties that may not be available from local plant growers. The opportunities are endless with many unique varieties of flowers, vegetables, and even ornamental vines available in seed form.

To get started, come visit our seed department. Once you have made your selections, look on the back of the packet for basic information such as germination time and an estimate of how long to grow the plant indoors before transplanting into the garden. Find out the average safe date for transplanting your plant in our area, and then count backwards to find out how early you can start your seeds. If you have a greenhouse or cold frame to transplant into, adjust accordingly.

The best containers to use are shallow seed starting trays with covers. Another option is to use peat pots, but plastic or clay pots will do just fine in a pinch. If using containers from a previous growing season, wash them with a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water to sterilize them. This helps prevent the transfer of disease.

For good germination results, fill your containers with a light soil mix that has good drainage and moisture retention properties. Do not use garden soil. Make sure to wet your soil mix and allow it to drain before sowing the seeds into your containers.

Find a warm location in your home with plenty of light, or an area where you can mount a light above the plants. Most plants need only moisture and warmth to germinate, but will need the light to grow once they sprout leaves. Plain fluorescent light bulbs are fine when starting seeds but consider using at least one "grow light" tube if you are going to keep the plants under lights for an extended time (if you are trying to get full-sized plants by transplant time, you'll need a grow light or a very bright window). Remember that seedlings will quickly become weak and leggy plants if they don't receive enough light.

Seeds generally need a soil temperature above 65º to germinate. If you have trouble maintaining that temperature, consider using a heating mat. Covering your containers with plastic will help hold in moisture and create a humid environment that encourages the seed to germinate. That's why covered seed starting trays are the easiest containers to use.

Make sure your plants don't get too hot under the plastic, especially if you have the containers in a sunny area or under a warm light. Remove the plastic as soon as you see any signs of germination. Keep the soil mix evenly moist, and use lukewarm water if possible. Water very gently to avoid disturbing the tender seedlings.

When your seed germinates, it will send up a sprout with two seed leaves called cotyledons. After that, true leaves will follow. Begin feeding your seedlings weekly with a half-strength solution of fertilizer (ask us which is best for what you are growing) when the first true leaves develop. Continue feeding the seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. The plants will be ready when the entire root ball is held together by the plant roots.

Make sure to harden off your plants before transplanting them into the garden. ("Hardening off" is the process of acclimating plants to the light, humidity, and temperatures found outdoors.) Start by placing your seedling containers outdoors in a shaded, sheltered location for a couple of hours per day. Gradually increase the time spent outside by an hour each day for at least a week before transplanting the seedling. With the exception of tomatoes, plant the seedlings at the same level they were grown in their pot. Tomatoes can be buried deeper than they grew in the pot--they will grow roots from the buried portion of the stem.

After transplanting, if your neighbors ask where you bought all those wonderful plants, just tell them, "They're truly homegrown!"

Product Spotlight: Gardener's Gold Potting Soil

If you're looking for a great potting soil for all your containers, consider Gardener's Gold Potting Soil. This water saving formula is rich in long-lasting plant nutrients and provides excellent drainage making it perfect for all indoor and outdoor container plants.

Gardener's Gold Potting Soil contains a rich, all natural blend of finely screened, composted fir bark fines, worm castings, real topsoil, redwood peat moss, chicken manure, and sand. Its also pH balanced with dolomite and oyster shell limes. So give your plants the potting soil they've been screaming for, the soil they truly deserve!

How can I tell if a plant is fully rooted?

Answer:

Stand back, look your plant straight in the eye, and ask it! No beating around the bush (forgive the pun); simply ask it in a straightforward manner.

No, seriously, most plants take at least 3-4 months--sometimes a complete growing season in colder climates--to become rooted and established.

If you pull up gently on an established plant, there generally will be no "give." New growth on the plant tips is another sign that your plant is safely on its way.

Incorporating a starter fertilizer into the backfill of the hole and then watering in with a rooting hormone will give your new plants an added boost to help them set down good, solid roots in their new environment.

By Tamara Galbraith

Ask rose enthusiasts what one plant disease they would vote off the face of the planet, and their answer will inevitably be Black Spot. It is the bane of the rose growing world, and has been for many years.

Thanks to the introduction of many new rose cultivars with built-in Black Spot resistance, this problem isn't what it used to be. But what if you are nursing a rose that isn't quite so sturdy?

As the name suggests, this fungal disease appears as circular black spots surrounded by a ring of yellow on infected leaves. Remove and destroy infected leaves and canes, and take these actions to prevent Black Spot from completely owning your rose:

1. First, don't irrigate late in the evening before water has a chance to evaporate from leaf surfaces. Better yet, water at ground level and don't wet the leaves at all. Also, make sure there is plenty of air flowing around and through each plant. Fungi love to grow in moist, stagnant air, so prune your roses periodically, especially after each bloom period.

2. If you do find yourself with a case of Black Spot, act quickly, as it can take over an entire rose bush in no time. A teaspoon of baking soda per quart of water is an effective fungus fighter. Some say milk works well. My personal preference is Neem oil, which boasts both insecticidal and fungicidal qualities, and won't harm beneficial insects.