A waft of border phlox and suddenly I'm 12 years old again, looking for a tennis ball among waisthigh perennials, writes Nigel Colborn.
For British gardeners, it's a busy time, even if most work that needs to be done now won't bring rewards until summer or later, writes NIGEL COLBORN. But, if you're an impatient gardener, try speedy salad leaves. You can grow these in containers or beds. They're nutritious, delicious and can look pretty. Flavours run from bland baby lettuce to spicy rocket, or aromatic coriander.
Has your lawn suffered from an excessive amount of winter wear or have your border edges eroded? Then this is a good time for repair work.
Like guardsmen trooping the colour, beds of big tulips are a stirring sight. But you'd never call them subtle. Little wild tulips, though, have a simpler and more endearing charm.
Perennials bloom riotously from May to October. But in February they skulk under ground, refusing to show off their beauty until the warmer weather returns. Thank heavens then for hellebores.
Were snowdrops to flower in August, you'd hardly notice them. But when they appear in mid-winter - pure white among the gloom - you know that spring must be coming soon.
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Get outdoors this weekend and enjoy the carpets of crocuses and daffodils on display.Soon there will be tulips, too, and - loveliest of all - wallflowers. These are already budding in places and by the end of May, they will still be flowering, even as they are being pulled out for composting.
Poinsettias are wondrous. In the tropics, they can grow 3m high with masses of huge red blossoms. If you want an easy, dependable house plant for Christmas, poinsettia is probably the worst choice.
Long-term container plants may need re-potting. Shrubs such as camellias and rhododendrons can become root-bound and will begin to languish.
Ask people to name their favourite winter bulb and most will say: 'Snowdrops.' But a plant that makes my heart leap for joy is the winter aconite.
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