If there is any bright side to this pandemic that has completely turned our lives upside down, it’s that gardening is one of the few allowed excuses for being outdoors right now. Now that spring is finally here, we can get out in our gardens, tend our plantings and even plant something new. Gardening is for many, and certainly for me, an excellent free form of therapy. In my garden I turn off stress, forget the madness around me now, and focus on nature.

Getting into gardening in the spring reminds us that winter is over. In addition to the lovely early spring bulb displays, this is my favorite time of the year when perennials miraculously rise up through winter-long empty areas. A few of the early spring bloomers already in full color in my gardens are pink and white bleeding hearts, Virginia Bluebells, burgundy and yellow primrose, orange geum and yellow Celandine poppies. Self-seeded annuals are making themselves known with blue and pink Forget-Me-Nots and pretty new growth on Nigella (Love in a Mist) seedlings from last year that have never gone dormant. Fresh curly fern fronds are popping up and heuchera (coral bells) colors are outstanding with dark maroon, lime green and orange foliage.

Luckily I do not have to do a lot of weeding, but even weeding is therapeutic because it truly is a mindless activity. My other favorite mindless activity is ironing. That may sound nuts, but I actually love to iron. Back to gardening, gardening this year has a heightened significance as many gardeners cultivate new plantings and even try their gardening skills at creating a Victory Garden to provide family food. Online plant vendors, local nurseries deemed essential, and seed sellers report a surge in sales this season. Luckily, plants can still be purchased locally.

Master Gardeners are staffing our Hot Line over the phone and by email from home. Many Extension Services across the country report a big increase in questions, especially from first-time gardeners. Questions are about deer control, plant ID and early spring plant diseases.

Now is a good time to consider planting for summer. Gladiola bulbs are a great and easy way to get fabulous color and great cut flowers. These bulbs come in vibrant "Crayola" colors and will certainly bloom this summer if you buy good quality bulbs. I have a lot of old time biennial digitalis (Foxglove) in my gardens. I am dying to get the new hybrid ‘Arctic Fox Rose’ that blooms the year it is planted and is considered quite hardy even surviving Chicago winters.

It has been ten years since beloved shade-loving impatiens succumbed to a terrible fungal blight. Now new disease resistant Impatiens varieties are making a comeback.

Salvias are my favorite reliable plants. (See photo) There are perennial and tender perennial "annual" salvias. I fall for as many different perennial ones as I can find, especially any new varieties. Pests do not bother them and deer do not eat them. Pollinators favor their blooms that come more than once if cut back after the first blooming. Colors range from white to light and dark purple, lavender, red, peach and rose in my gardens.

Early blooming giant Alliums (Purple Sensation) are just now showing color. Their large dark purple softball-sized blooms are pollinator magnets. Dried blooms decorate the garden all season long. Floral designers prize the dried blooms for arrangements. Later in the summer season there are Allium senescens varieties that bloom in golf-ball sized purple and lavender blooms. Their advantage is the foliage stays a pretty upright green all summer as opposed to the giant Allium foliage that fades and flops while the plant is in bloom.

I could go on and on about the great spring plant awakenings in our gardens. Go outside and see for yourself. Walk around your gardens with a notebook. Take stock of which plants returned well and which ones did not. Make notes about what needs to be replenished, moved or even removed. Planning is as much fun as doing in the garden and do not forget the garden shopping.

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