Time For Planting

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Usually gardeners get this feeling of anticipation back in March as we're waiting for the weather to warm up - it's not often we're wearing sweaters through Memorial Day.

In a lot of ways, the hopeful time before the gardening season really gets started is one of the best parts: going shopping to see what's new; picking plants, choosing colors, mixing and matching, bringing them home and arranging the pots of plants all around in a bed, then stepping back before digging in to see how it all looks together.

At that moment, it's pure potential- everything's fresh, full of flowers and healthy - you didn't go on vacation and forget to water yet; you didn't get lazy and let the weeds take over; diseases and drought and summer heat haven't hit. Maybe this year it will all work out perfectly.

So while our chilly spring kept a lot of gardeners indoors for weeks longer than usual, this is it now - even for procrastinators - it's time to go get armloads of annuals and pretty perennials and get them in the ground already! We really should be past the danger of frost by June. I think.