Time to tiptoe through the tulips!

Some of the early perennials are in flower now. I'm enjoying a nice big clump of "Jack Frost" brunnera. The blossoms are similar to the sky blue flowers of forget-me-nots. This plant has beautiful variegated foliage which stays nice all summer. Another favorite is bleeding heart. These are full of flowers right now, too. The solid white variety is a real show stopper. Another type that's fun to grow is the fern leaf bleeding heart. It has different shaped flowers and pretty foliage. These plants tend to stay much shorter, but have a longer blooming period.

This is an especially good year for tulips. Many types began blooming in late April. Others are in bloom now. You can have tulips blooming for at least six weeks if you plant early, mid and late types.

Too bad we have to wait for fall to plant more of them, but that's the only time the bulbs are available, whether in stores or by mail order. There is something you can do though. Decide where you want to plant some new ones and mark the area with a stake of some sort so you will know where it is next fall.

If you want to move some of your tulips to a different spot, you can do that now. First, cut off the flower stalk, then dig up the bulb. Mix a bit of bulb fertilizer into the new hole, and plant. Experts used to insist that we wait until all the tulip leaves turned brown before cutting them off. It's good to know they really only need three weeks to build up their reserves for next year's flower. At that time, you can go ahead and remove that sad looking foliage.

Now that it finally says May on the calendar, we can clearly see the "starting line." You know, the one we have to cross before gardening season actually begins. I know it's hard, but we have to wait just a bit longer to plant those annuals. May 15 is the average date for the last killing frost in our area. Once we get there, we're off and running.

For the tender garden plants such as peppers and tomatoes, you'll need to wait until the end of May. They insist on both warm soil and warm air temperatures.

Jumping the gun will usually just make you sad and the retailers happy as these plants will often be cut down with a late frost and you'll be headed back to the nursery to buy new plants.

The lawns seem to have a bumper crop of young dandelions this year. An application of a weed and feed product should take care of them. Just be sure to keep the granules out of your flower beds as weed and feed can't tell the difference between weeds and your favorite flowering plants. Stay away from trees too.

The birds have been arriving right on schedule. The tree swallows are having their annual battle with the sparrows as to who gets to nest in the birdhouse. The swallows win every year, but the sparrows make them work for it.

Several bright yellow and black goldfinches arrive to dine on the sock thistle seed feeder every day. They're quite the acrobats, seeming to enjoy eating upside down.

Hopefully, they'll stay around for a while as they don't nest until late summer and prefer being out in the country then, where there are lots of their favorite thistles to eat and use for nesting material.

Here's a famous old riddle. What does a good gardener put in his garden every day? Answer... his shadow. Can't argue with that, can we?

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. Since then, she has always kept a garden of some sort, growing everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and house plants. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.