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So you want some vines to plant around a fence, trellis or front porch. What should you get?

Vines come in two or three varieties- annual or perennial. Perennial vines like clematis, false hydrangea vine, trumpet vine, wisteria, hardy jasmine and honeysuckle come back every year, and may even stay somewhat evergreen over the winter. Like regular perennials, they have a limited bloom window, then quit.

Our Amish friends tend to grow the best-looking clematis I've ever seen- their secret is to add a small handful of lime to the soil at planting and then every year afterwards. Clematis come in three pruning groups- the ones that bloom on old wood and then are done, the ones that bloom on old wood, then get a second flush later in the summer and the ones that bloom on new wood, later in the summer. Knowing your bloom time, tells you when to prune.

One of my new favorites is Carolina Jessamine. It is a fragrant evergreen vine that blooms about now. It's great if your eyes can stand more bright yellow after the forsythias and daffodils. We have one planted below the deck and it has grown about 20 feet in the last 5 years. It is all budded and I am anxiously awaiting the bloom. It is evergreen, and the foliage bronzes over the winter.

Annual vines, like morning glories, cypress vine, hyacinth bean, sweet peas or scarlet runner bean bloom their little hearts out all summer, and then die. You could try to bring them in, but would most likely not be rewarded for your efforts. Besides, which, getting them untangled would be a mess.

They may, however, reseed themselves (check out a fencepost near our driveway in July, the Cypress vines come up by the thousands). They are spectacular in September.

The third kind is tropical perennials- not hardy here, but perennial in the south. These are the ones you can bring in year after year- Mandevillas, bougainvillea, candy corn vine, and passion flowers. They tend to bloom most of the summer.

I like vines because they grow quickly and can hide things you don't want to see. Your porch railing needs painting? Your neighbors chain link fence an eyesore? Plant a vine.

Do you want some height in a mixed container and don't want to do spikes again? Add a hoop or small trellis and a vine.

Unfortunately most vines need sun. About the only one I can think of for shade is Schizophragma- false hydrangea vine.

Annual or perennial, ornamental vines add color and visual interest to most landscapes, and don't have to eat your house.

I love my job- people are always bringing me flowers. Granted, it is usually to identify, but still.

I’ve gotten a lot of branches of flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa, in the last few days. It is kind of an old-fashioned shrub often seen in the borders of old farm houses. They get quite tall and twiggy in the center. There is a huge specimen on Little Britain Road just below Fairmount with bright scarlet flowers that slows my car down as I drive past.

Quinces are members of the rose family, and many have sharp thorns. When pollinated, they produce large hard fruits that are often shredded for jelly. Branches of quince are used in Japanese flower arranging where the thorns and large fruits are key components of the design. They grow best in full sun.

Me, I like the flowers a lot more than the thorns and fruit, so I was very excited to see three new introductions– Double Take Scarlet Storm, Pink Storm and Orange Storm. These three shrubs boast larger, sterile flowers and NO THORNS. The sterile flowers mean no fruit- but the benefit is a much longer flowering window; more than six weeks instead of the usual three.

Another plant that is blooming now that we get a lot of questionsabout is pasque flower or Pulsatilla vulgaris. It is a lowgrowing perennial with deep purple flowers that starts blooming with the daffodils and keeps going well past when they are spent. Even better is the after show- fluffy seed head that look like wisps of smoke dancing above the clumps of ferny green foliage. There are newer varieties with red and pink flowers, but to me the deep purple is still the best.

The last plant that is blooming now that I’ve seen a lot of stems of in the last few days is candy tuft or Iberis sempervirens. Often confused with mountain pink, candy tuft is an evergreen, low-growing perennial with large white flowers that blooms the same time as the mountain pink. It loves full sun, and thrives in rocky, dry soil- excellent for banks and rock gardens, or the front of the perennial borders.

Spring has really popped these last few days. I love to drive around and see all the large magnolias, redbuds and cherries blooming. Bleeding hearts are blooming and hostas are waking up. Daffodils are finishing but tulips are coming on strong, fern fiddle heads are opening up. The spring ephemerals -trout lily, Virginia bluebells and blood root are blooming on the road sides and woods- and trilliums are coming on soon.

Take a walk around your yard and see what’s coming up. If you don’t know what it is maybe we can help you.

Is this the year you plant tomatoes just a few weeks after the peas come up? I know it is risky, but the urge is growing. The transition from winter to spring was rather abrupt and the extended forecasts seem favorable.

My preference is to get peas in early but to wait until the soil is workable and the temperature reflects that spring may come. This year I didn’t move until early April. That’s late by most accounts but over many years I have found that planting in mid March only nets a three or four day earlier harvest.

Early seeds are usually most successful if only scratched under the surface. That’s a tradeoff between benefiting from surface temperatures while risking losing moisture in that top layer. That happened this year but I was able to irrigate before the rains returned. Some suggest soaking the seeds for a few hours or overnight before planting and I believe that would help.

For seeds, planting depth is important. As the season progresses and the soil warms, I go deeper to grab moisture. Of course seed size is important, with fine seed always planted shallow.  As of now we are getting late to plant peas, lettuce or spinach from seed and potatoes.  

There is no reason to wait to plant lettuce, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower plants. String beans, radishes, red beets, sweet corn, and carrots are fine now. In fact, I plant beets when I go with the peas. They are up nicely already. Honestly, I am not impressed with the radishes and the carrots our soil produces so I get them at the supermarket.

Onion sets usually go in early but there is no reason to think that planting now won’t work.  

Some things need to wait until early May. That list includes peppers, eggplants, squash, melons and cucumbers. They do not like cold soil, period.  The planting window for beans, squash, melons, tomatoes, red beets, sweet corn, melons, and cucumbers continues into late June or early July. Study the days to maturity and figure that vine crops seldom fail until early September while the rest are good until frost.

Mid July and early August is the time to think about a fall garden. Broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts actually are better as fall crops. Turnips are, too. Lettuce, spinach and radishes will grow in the fall. Again use days to maturity as a guide. Peas planted in early August are kind of fun. Don’t expect spring yields, but fresh late September peas are quite tasty.

I’ll keep my tomato decision to myself. That way nobody can laugh at me if I add to the long list of garden mistakes I have managed in the last six or seven decades.

Several days ago I scanned the weather section of the daily paper and spotted temperatures approaching 70 degrees for the previous day. In truth it was for the same date a year ago. What a difference a year makes.

I know everybody is tired of winter and impatient for spring’s arrival, but let’s think about it for a second. Somewhere in my mind sticks the fact that May 7 is the accepted frost-free date in our area. If you believe that, I think I know what color your natural hair would be. Normal or late frosts have occurred but the last time is lost in that hazy section of our memory.

So when do we know that spring is here? Let’s start with the soil. It will warm more slowly than the air so slow down, or select plants accordingly.  Secondly , wait for the soil to be workable. If you pick up a handful of soil and it remains a ball when you drop it, you would be wise to wait.

To date I have done a bit of cleanup and spread lime on a yard that obviously has a low ph. A bit of fertilizer will soon follow because I really would like to grow enough grass that I could mow once in a while. I have also laid out the spot where I will challenge the shade with a vegetable garden.  At the first opportunity I will get pea, spinach and lettuce seed in the ground as well as onion sets.Pansies will stand up to the cold if you wish some early color.

Planting in the next three weeks should focus on perennials, shrubs and trees.One bit of caution is that many of the trees and shrubs that show up at garden centers are grown in the south and thus may be more advanced. Locally grown shrubs may have had some winter protection and are also a bit advanced. Plant as you wish, but exercise some judgment.

There is nothing wrong with waiting for our season to catch up with what you see in the marketplace.With the exception of warm season ornamental grasses, planting perennials is quite safe now.So here are my rules.

Use the first few warm days to clean up and get ready. Usually that’s in March.

The first two thirds of April are for trees, shrubs and perennials.  Usually by the 25thof April I start studying the weather reports. If it’s smiling, I can get rather bold. If it’s unhappy I try to remember that we are still two weeks before our official frost-free date and defer until I see a happy report.

Also, when you are buying plants, ask about their cold tolerance if you aren’t sure.  Some common annuals will handle a light frost while others will be unhappy until the soil warms, which usually doesn’t occur until almost Mother’s Day.   By the time you read this, the weather forecast suggests a few added degrees or another small step toward spring. Garden wisely, and that may mean be patient and wait.

Overheard: “I need some pansies to make it look like spring around here”. Are there any other flowers, with the possible exception of daffodils, that are more a harbinger of spring?

Those upturned, painted faces hide a tough interior. When planted in the fall, pansies and violas usually bloom well past Thanksgiving and survive the winter to keep blooming in the spring. When planted in the spring, they’ll take almost frozen ground and night temperatures well below those that would make any other annual swoon.

Violas, often called Johnny jump-ups, have smaller flowers, but bloom earlier than pansies and keep on going longer into the heat of the summer. Pansies are a mixture of viola species and come in a wider variety of colors and have larger faces.

This season, I’m really excited about the Cool Wave pansies. These plants, from the breeders of the Wave petunias, boast early flowering and very vigorous spreading habits. This makes them great for hanging baskets, and they fill in flower beds quickly. Regular pansies tend to be more upright than spreading. The color range is limited to yellow and blue- but that’s enough for me.

The flowers of both pansies and violas are edible- they can be candied in sugar for cake decorating, or put in salads for some spring flair. I’ve never done this, but I don’t eat dandelions, either.

Pansies and violas do well in sun to part shade. Deadheading spent flowers and developing seed heads will keep your pansies blooming longer. When shopping for pansies look for nice compact plants with dark green leaves. If they have grown too leggy at the garden center, give them a good haircut to encourage branching.

When temps start to soar in June, and pansies are looking tired, they can be dug and relocated to a shadier location, given a good shearing, a shot of liquid fertilizer, and they will give a good show in the fall.

Even though we had snow on the second day of spring which had many shaking their fists at the groundhog, the pansies are blooming- it must be spring.