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A decade ago I filled space in two consecutive issues explaining everything I knew about hydrangeas. Maybe it’s time to revisit the subject.

Much hasn’t changed. There are still several species with large white flowers that form large shrubs or with extra work will grow into small trees. Grandmother left the old farmhouse with two hydrangea trees near the front porch. I remember cutting flowers for my mother and, of course, they were starter trees for a small boy who liked to climb.

For a large shrub I like Limelight. In a dozen or more years at a difficult site, it only faltered once during a six or eight week drought. It was not watered. I’d use one of the larger ones if I was thinking trying to form a tree.

Arborescens and oak leafs are two native hydrangeas. The former will handle almost total shade. The oak leafs like some shade but are tolerant of most conditions. In a cold, windy spot I have seen some reduced growth andan occasional flower bud killed in our most severe winter.

Color makes the mop-heads and lace-caps popular choices in any garden. Here I need to stop and offer a disclaimer. I think we are on the northern edge of their bud hardiness. Over the years I have seen a lot of cultivars that were rated Zone 6 fail to bloom after our winters.There are a few old time varieties that are dependable. They seem to have disappeared from the market place.I suspect you could sneak a few stems and roots from an establishedbush with no impact.The rage in the industry today is the re-bloomers. To my new yard, I have added about eight cultivars that I would judge to be promising. The plants were young (small) so reasonable conclusions are still a year or two away.

However, if they even bloom after this winter they will be keepers.There was an exception.I paid the premium price and got one plant of the cultivar Endless Summer. It was a larger plant and had nice blue mop-head flowers when it went in the ground in June. It never stopped until November. The last few November bloom attempts were on the white side of pink. Was it the cold or was it ph?

I don’t know. My yard is full of oak trees, survivors in a wooded lot, which should suggest rather lower ph. My yard grass, not a high priority yet, suggests the same thing.

Historically, soil ph determined whether a plant bloomed pink or blue. My brain crutch remembers blueberries which like low ph. Thus low ph produces blue and higher ph produces pink. In our soil that makes pink easy and blue requires treating the plant as an acid lover. Does it matter to the new cultivars? I don’t know.

That’s it. In ten years I continue to find that the more I learn (think I know) about any subject the less I really know. Maybe, if I remain a student of the garden,in another ten years I can get this down to a single paragraph.

Almost every gardener wants to know “What’s new?” What beautiful new plant can we be tempted with? I’m just as bad as the rest, over the winter I peruse all the catalogues and greenhouse magazines looking for the new and different. This past winter, I was struck with something I heard at symposium.

Instead of asking “What’s new?” maybe we should be asking “What works?” In a presentation of new plants, the speaker started talking geraniums. I could see everyone’s brain turn off. What is new about geraniums? Discovered in South Africa and brought back to Europe in the 1600s, they have been in our gardens forever. How many of us remember an ancient geranium in our mother or grandmother’s window that was set out every summer?

The presenter showed a dramatic picture of how hardy geraniums are. A grouping of mixed pots in front of his office contained various annuals all blooming beautifully. His co-workers went on a week-long retreat and the automatic water system broke down. They came back and everything was dead– except –you guessed it– the geraniums.

The ubiquitous pot with a red geranium, green spike and vinca vine is almost a cliché– because it works so well. Along with pansies, osteospermums and dianthus, they are one of the most-cold bedding plants. They also stand up to summer heat and days when the watering can was forgotten.

There are two main types of geraniums; ivy and zonal. Ivy geraniums are generally trailing, have smaller flowers heads, and are commonly seen in hanging baskets and window boxes. Zonal geraniums are upright, with larger flowers and a characteristic dark ring or “zone” on the foliage. Zonals are propagated either from seed, or from cuttings, ivies are almost exclusively from cuttings.

All geraniums benefit from sun, and supplementation with liquid fertilizer. If grown too wet, sometimes they can develop root diseases but its not generally a problem. Ivies can get oedema, little raised bumps along the stems when temps are cool, and wet, but it is more cosmetic than catrostrophic.

There are some new genetics. The Calliope and Caliente series come to mind. These crosses between ivy and zonal geraniums are beautiful and share the best characteristics of both. Calliope Deep Red is the best selling red geranium for several years now. Novelties like variegated foliage, or star-shaped flowers add additional interest.

Geraniums may not be new, but they work.

A popular gardening magazine sends me helpful monthly e-mails reminding me what I’m supposed to be doing in my garden. It is a hoot, as it lists zone 3 all the way through zone 9. Those poor Minnesotans can just now begin to start seeds indoors for their cabbage and broccoli. Virgininians should be thinking about tomatoes, and Floridians are behind the 8-ball if their summer gardens aren’t already well established.

  One of the tips for Zone 6 was “divide perennials”. I agree. Now is a fantastic time to divide summer and fall blooming perennials. They are starting to come up, and there isn’t much lush top growth. Spring-blooming perennials like irises and poppies are best divided in the fall or immediately after blooming, otherwise you may lose a season of flowering.

  If you are new to gardening, dividing perennials involves using a sharp shovel or garden spade, and digging well around the circumference of the plant to get all the roots. On some perennials, like daylilies, the “babies” can be teased apart from around the crown into several pieces. Chop other plants like summer phlox or daisies in half or quarters through the center.

  Replant your pieces to expand your flower bed, or better yet, invite a friend to help you and pay her in dividends.

  Unfortunately some perennials don’t really divide well. Those with a deep tap root like baptisia are much happier if you leave them be.

  Dividing perennials now protects top growth from drying out in the hot sun of summer.

  A word of caution. Wait a bit to divide ornamental grasses. Most popular ornamental grasses are warm season, meaning they do best in soil temperatures above 60F and they flower in the fall. Most of them in my garden haven’t even begun to wake up yet. Divide those later- say May -when soil is not as saturated and cold.

  After this long cold winter, we are all anxious to get outside and usher in Spring. Getting out to see what is waking up, and dividing big clumps is a great way to ease into the gardening season.

Memories of last year's disastrous vegetable garden have me plotting revenge on Mother Nature. Unfortunately, I fear that Mother Nature has a few tricks waiting to thwart our efforts and haunt us at the supermarket later this summer.

The asparagus, onions and bell peppers did very well while the green beans with the aid of several dustings of diatomaceous earth fought the bean beetles to a draw. Beyond that there was little to cheer about.

My efforts to grow vegetables within whispering distance of some mature trees was discouraging. In many cases the plants looked fine but the yields were rather meager. That project will be reduced by one half and be limited to some basics in the sunniest area.

Even the short row of spinach planted in August with spring in mind looks dismal. Despite what the calendar says, spring is still just a hope.

Poor spring germination plagued my peas for the second year. Blight limited the tomatoes. Excess summer moisture increased mildew on the vine crops and wrecked the taste of the melons. And then there were the weeds which enjoyed the rainy weather.

And then there was me. Somehow I didn't get the job done. Mother Nature' s first trick is the very late arrival of spring. Peas should be up already but the garden is still waiting to thaw and be tilled. With recent germination problems, I plan to resort to sprouting the peas.

 I may wait to see sprouts or just soak them overnight before planting. I’m thinking about the logistics of the former, since I plant five or six pounds of peas.

For the chewing insects, I need to anticipate and dust before I see lots of action. For the blights and mildews, I will resort to fungicides if we get a rainy rerun. I have no control over taste problems caused by excess moisture or cool temperatures. Temperatures in the upper fifties will effectively end the melon season.

Weeds? Deep tillage will delay the problem of last year’s seed additions but there will be weeds. There will be more plants growing on plastic in my garden this year. Shallow tillage and some serious pulling will also be rewarded.

Mother Nature's second trick relates to the drought in California and Arizona. They are the source of much that is in the produce department in the summer. Reports of hundreds of thousands of acres being idled because of no irrigation water sounds serious to me.

Perhaps 2014 will be a good year to try to have a successful vegetable garden. I'm gearing up for the fight. Are you?

After this winter, I think we’re all ready to get a jump on spring. The trouble arises when we plant tender annuals or veggie starts before the danger of a killing frost is past.

With overwintered perennials or shrubs, for the most part you should be ok to plant soon. Unless there is a lot of lush top growth, woodies and perennials emerging from dormancy are well equipped to handle frost and temps that dip below freezing.

When buying plants from a greenhouse or nursery, the most important step in spring planting is hardening off. Unless the plants are outside at the greenhouse (and not being shuttled back in at night) they will need hardening off. The best way to do this is to put them outside during the day, then bring them in to the garage or house at night. Leave them outdoors an hour or two longer each day.

Another way to harden off young transplants is in a cold frame. Cold frames come in many styles. The most commonly seen ones are wooden with a slanted roof made of an old window or plastic sheeting. Orient the top east-west to maximize the suns rays. Hinge the lid, or make it light enough to remove during the day when it is sunny and warm to expose young plants to the air. Don’t forget to close it at night!

Maybe you exercised patience and waited until danger of frost SHOULD have been past. Anyone remember that Mother’s Day killing frost a few years ago? My tomatoes bit the dust that night. If your plants are in the ground and a frost is forecast, the best way to protect them is to upend a 5-gal plastic bucket over them or if they are small, plastic milk jugs with the bottom cut out.

If you have long rows, garden fabric or row covers braced on metal, bamboo or pvc hoops will afford several degrees of protection from frost, as well as prevent tender transplants from burning in the sun or strong winds. These are most commonly seen over cabbage members planted in early April.

The first day of spring has come, but we are not out of winter’s grip just yet. Exercise caution, a little bit of protection and you will be rewarded.