Time to get to work

April 1 marks opening day for most of our local greenhouses. It's great to have places where we can buy plants that are grown for our area. Too often the big box stores have plants for sale that are either offered too early in the season to survive here, or my personal favorite: plants that may be perennials elsewhere, but will not live past the summer months here. Remember the old adage, "let the buyer beware."

For those novice gardeners, there is a big difference between an annual and a perennial. The former will live only one season, which is May through October here. A perennial plant will die down in late fall, but put out new growth each spring, and live for many years.

Last time, I mentioned putting out your hummingbird feeders. If you haven't done so, be sure to do it soon as they usually arrive in this area by mid April. Don't bother buying ready made hummer food. The red food coloring is not good for the birds. As long as there is some red on the feeder, they will find it.

The other thing is cost. You can easily make your own by boiling one cup of water to which you add a quarter cup of sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, let it cool before filling the feeder. Hanging it out of direct sun will make it last longer.

While we're on the subject of birds, some of them nest quite early. We need to have those birdhouses cleaned out right away. If the old nests are left inside, most birds will not move in. We have a pair of tree swallows who use our backyard birdhouse every spring. They're such fun to watch.

With our unseasonably warm weather, we're seeing all the "spring signs" well ahead of normal. Flowers are blooming everywhere.

Try not to panic when you realize how much moss has taken hold in your lawn. This easy winter with all the rain has brought out a bumper crop. Most of it will die off once warm weather hits with lots of bright sunshine. Trying to grow lawn grass in shady areas is a lesson in futility. It's best to try something else there.

Then there are the bugs ... People have been seeing many of these lately. There's not much we can do about most of them, but there is something we can do about the wasps. Most overwintering wasps are queens. Hang out those traps now as we need to stop them in their tracks; before they have a chance to nest and start producing lots of baby "stingers."

Once again, I'd like to extend an invitation to come to our monthly River City Garden Club meeting on the 15th at 7 in the Post Falls Sr. Center at 1215 Third Ave. in Post Falls. Our speaker will be the hilarious Phyllis Stephens.

Taking a walk recently, I was enjoying all the blooming trees and spring flowers popping out here and there. Then, out of nowhere, I saw them in full flower ... the dreaded dandelions! Is that a sure sign of spring, or what?

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently serving as secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column appears in The Press every other Sunday from early March until late October.