It helps to know what to plant — and when to plant it

habitat.

native plants.”

When to plant?

“The best time of year to start a garden would have been in the fall, but it’s not too late to start planning now.

“While the soil is too saturated to work in this early in the season — the worst thing you can do is work on garden beds when the soil is waterlogged — it’s ok to get a jumpstart by maybe adding compost or defining the garden space.

“Sometimes we get lucky by April when it may start to dry up and can get some work done.”

What to plant?

“Unless you’re hiring a professional to do the heavier work, I wouldn’t advise planting more than you can take care of yourself and avoid plants that need a lot of fussing over. I prefer natives. To me, a plant has to ‘pay the rent’, it’s got to offer nectar or pollen, that can be worked into a garden, like a mini

“In building a garden I recommend starting with structural plants, like deciduous, viburnums or winterberry shrubs. And from there I work in different herbaceous plants.

“One of the books I highly recommend is ‘Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants,’ by Douglas Tallamy. It’s a great book for beginners and those gardening for years, as a useful primer on creating a beautiful garden with plants native to your area.

“I try to tell people not to get too fussy about their gardens. I like to let things kind of be natural, if you don’t have luck with a plant, there’s probably a reason for it. People love coneflowers for example, but they’re finicky, they don’t like sitting in wet soil.

“Sometimes flowers are telling you they don’t like where they are so move on and find another type of plant that’s going to be happy and thrive in your soil and environment.”