HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Marie Ruester's crocus'still showed a bloom after the recent freeze.

Daffodils bloomed despite cold temperature.

Whether the ground is covered with snow or greening beneath sunny skies, today signals a new beginning.

Regardless of what that famous groundhog said a few weeks back, spring is here -- the calendar says so.

Besides, certain tender, green plants have been poking through the soil for days. Some have already bloomed, others are well on their way.

Flowering spring bulbs herald the changing season with great individuality. "Every one is different, unique," observed Marie Ruester. "Just like people, you don't have any two exactly alike."

Ruester of Jackson took advantage of recent warm days to begin clearing winter covering from her bulb garden.

As does Ruester and countless others, Anne Foust of Cape Girardeau enjoys spring gardening activities.

"It's time to start looking at our lawns and deciding what we're going to do with them this year," said Foust, owner of Green Gardens Interior Plant Service. "We should be putting our crabgrass preventer and our fertilizer down. All those leaves that collected on our flower beds in the winter, it's time to get that out," she said.

"The perennials need pruning, the dead stalks from last year need to be cut down," she added. However, Foust noted, mulch should not be added yet. "We want the sun to warm up that soil," she explained.

Plus, flowering spring bulbs can benefit from bulb food this time of year, noted Dortha Strack of Sunny Hill Gardens in Cape Girardeau.

While flowering spring bulbs, like daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, require a fall planting, some flowering bulbs can be planted soon, explained Joe Touchette, manager of Plants Plus on South Kingshighway. Lilies, gladiolus, caladiums, dahlias and elephant ears are among the local favorites that typically can be planted as the ground warms in the days ahead.

Flowering annuals, however, are safer planted after the last cold snap, which Touchette noted usually occurs about mid-April.

But there are other ways to bring color to early spring gardens. Pansies can take dipping temperatures, plus flowering cabbage and kale can be planted now, Strack said.

And there are plenty of other gardening activities that can be tackled now. "It's time to plant your cole crops, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli; it's also time to plant onion sets and seed potatoes," Touchette said.

Trees, shrubs and perennials can also be planted this time of year.

In Ruester's garden, crocus colors the early spring landscape and other bulbs hold promise of things to come.

"When the daffodils are blooming, the tulips are right behind them. Daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, they overlap a lot," she noted.

A little later in the spring, azaleas, irises and peonies will color Marie and John Ruesters' gardens, along with roses and assorted other flowering plants and greenery.

"My garden, really, is just a conglomeration of a little bit of everything. I usually have something blooming from spring through fall," Marie Ruester said.

While nature's wonders make themselves known throughout the year, for many, spring holds special appeal. Touchette likened the anticipation he sees among customers to the excitement sparked by Christmas. Likewise, he noted, interest in working out-of-doors seems to begin earlier each year.

"Spring just makes you feel better," Marie Ruester asserted. "When it starts getting green and things start popping up, you can look out and think about what God created."