Gardening With Gutner: Time To Plant Spring Flowers

BOSTON (CBS) - Spring is finally here and it's the perfect time to start your early season planting.

What flowers are best to get your spring garden going?

WBZ Garden Expert Mark Saidnawey answers the question:

After what seemed like the longest winter in years it's finally time to start planting in your garden! I for one have been waiting a long time for this spring to come and am ready to get my hands dirty.

Although it is officially spring we must proceed with caution when planting tender annuals and only set outside plants that can take a frost and cold nightly temperatures in the 30's, which we will surely get more of for a while.

So what can we plant now? Well, gardening can be tricky and changes weekly. This week certain plants can be planted and by next week the list will double and so on throughout the spring. So for now it's the hardiest of plants! As I've said many times, "Nothing says spring in New England more that Pansies" and you can bet your favorite garden center is loaded with them now.

Each micro climate allows for it's own selection of plants that can be planted outside now and for Pemberton Farms in Cambridge we are lucky as we are always on the higher side of the nightly low temperatures. If are not sure what you can plant now, watch Todd's nightly forecast, I do and I always look for the what the low temperatures are going to be. You can also bet that if your local garden center has it outside, then it is more than likely safe in your neighborhood.

Below are the Annuals that we have out and so far haven't needed any nightly protection:
Pansies, osteospermum (African Daisy), nemesia, linaria, bacopa, vinca vine, dracena spikes, primrose, snapdragons, alyssum, dusty miller and our full complement of cold crop vegetables like, parsley, lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, collards, celery, and a few other. You can, without hesitation, plant perennials, trees and shrubs, rose bushes, fruits and and other perennials that you can get your hands on.

Happy planting and if you have any questions feel free to email me directly at mark@pembertonfarms.com