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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.

It's been more than 60 years since I made my first visit to a greenhouse. Located about halfway between Quarryville and The Buck it was the only greenhouse I knew about for another decade or so. The mission was vegetable plants. Buying flower plants was not common then.

If I remember correctly, you descended a few steps unto a narrow dirt floored structure. On top of maybe four or five courses of cement blocks set a wooden structure with a peaked roof. Glass panes covered the roof. There was no evidence of electricity or fans to circulate air and heat. A coal stove sat at one end.

Fast forward to today. Greenhouses are either single hoop houses or multiple connected bays with peaked or round roofs. I have seen units that cover several acres. Coverings include plastic sheeting or some hardened acrylic sheets.Often two sheets of plastic are inflated with air to conserve heat. Glass is ancient history due to its poor heat retention and cost. Today's greenhouses depend on heated air or water for heat. External and small internal fans circulate heat and air to provide uniformity in the greenhouse. Some large units have amazingly complex controls systems.

On my first visits I remember getting either bare root plants wrapped in newspaper or a homemade wooden box of plants. If you took a box you paid a large enough deposit that you took it back. Unless you are retired, your memories do not exceed the revolution plastic made in the greenhouses business.With cheap plastic containers, mass production was possible and today's industry was born.

By the early 1970ies, buying starter flower plants began to rapidly expand. We growers started our own seed and kept stock plants from which to take cuttings for new plants. We had cookbooks on how to start seeds. One for perennials outlined at least 20 recipes depending on the variety. I remember fussing with red florescent lights to get impatiens to germinate.

Today it's a brave new world.  Nobody starts every plant they sell. In fact, the industry now has three legs. One starts the plants, one grows the plants and one sells the plants. Fortunately, in this area many growers do both of the latter and may also propagate a few plants. However, it is more economical to buy starter plants than to grow them.Your local greenhouse will be buying standard flats of starter plants from countless sources throughout the country. The flats could contain anywhere from 32 to 512 starter plants. Large operations rooting perennials are nearby in Smoketown and Chester County. Annuals from seed often come from New Jersey or Florida. Annuals from cuttings, which are becoming a larger part of the pie, often come from northern Lancaster County, New Hampshire, New Jersey or Michigan.

I could make this list much longer, but you get the idea. Right now starter plants are zipping around the country. With the harsh late winter weather many suppliers of tender starter plants have delayed some shipments, making greenhouse operators scramble to be ready if winter changes to spring quickly. It's indeed a brave new world out there.