Give your seeds a
jump-start indoors.

Start Seeds Indoors -- As a rule of thumb, start most seeds six to eight weeks before your region's last frost date. Get a general idea from our last average frost date map but to be sure, give any garden center a quick call.

Start Seeds Indoors

Last Average Frost Date

Pruning Trees and Shrubs -- On those occasional nice days this month and next, take the opportunity to prune trees and prune shrubs. Be careful with flowering trees and shrubs -- you don't want to trim off developing buds. As a rule of thumb, prune flowering trees and shrubs within a month or so after they flower. And wait on oaks and walnuts. They should be pruned in July to avoid wilt diseases.

Pruning Trees

Pruning Shrubs

• On those same nice days, once again go outside and check on your perennials. Temperature extremes of highs and lows tend to create frost heave and some shallow-rooted plants are slightly uprooted. Press them down firmly with your foot, something old-timers call "the February stomp."
• If there has been little snow or rain, take advantage of nice, relatively warm sunny days to water dry plants. Try to water early in the day so the water can work its way down into the soil before freezing.

Storing Tender Bulbs -- Check on any stored plant roots or corms, such as dahlias or glads, for shriveling or decay. Throw out any that are damaged.

Storing Tender Bulbs

Houseplant Basics -- Houseplant growth this month continues to be slow, so don't fertilize and keep watering to a minimum. For more information, check out our houseplant basics.

Houseplant Basics

Forced Bulbs -- Check any bulbs forced last fall. As a rule of thumb, when the foliage is about an inch high, it's time to take them out of the cold spot and into the light and warmth.

Forced Bulbs

• Before the spring rush, take the lawn mower in for a tune-up and blade sharpening, or do it yourself. Be sure to change the oil and change or clean the filter. A great tip is to buy an extra mower blade. They need to be sharpened three or four times during the growing season, so you can always have one on hand while the other is at the shop or on your workbench.
• Consider building a cold frame. You'll be able to plant radishes, spinach, lettuce and other cool-season crops in it next month.
• Cut branches from forsythia, redbud, pussy willows, and other spring-blooming shrubs and trees to force indoors. Simply cut branches of flowering woody plants once you can spot the tiny developing buds. Submerge the branches in cold water (like the tub) for a couple of hours or up to a full day. Then stick just the ends in a bucket of cold water about a foot deep for a week in a cool (no warmer than 60 degrees F) spot. Arrange in a vase, put in a warm room, and watch the buds open over the next few days.

Garden Projects -- Now is an excellent time to start some of those garden hammer-and-nail projects you've been wanting to do -- windowboxes, planters, arbors, and more. Check out BHG.com for a list of dozens of garden projects.

Garden Projects

What To Plant -- Tuberous begonias are an excellent choice for pots, planters, and window boxes in the shade. You can buy them in pots later on, but save money and get exactly the colors you want by starting them now indoors. Plant the tubers stem side up in potting soil and keep evenly moist. Grow in your sunniest window indoors and plant outdoors once danger of frost has passed. Then, if you're really thrifty, save the tubers from year to year.

Bird Feeding -- If you've been feeding birds, continue to do so. And check feeders to make sure they haven't clogged.

Bird Feeding