"When the forsythias bloom..."

The gigantic forsythia shrubs in my garden are in full bloom right now, their cheerful yellow blossoms outshining any poor plant in a twenty-foot radius. Really, how can a yew bush, or a neat, respectable boxwood, possibly live up to the showy exuberance of a forsythia?

It's a good thing that forsythias are impossible to ignore. Their blooms are an indicator that the time is right to take care of several important gardening tasks. This "gardening by nature's calendar" is known as phenology, and it can be very useful in making sure you accomplish tasks at the proper time.

In the case of those show-off forsythias, once they bloom, it's the perfect time to do the following tasks:

• Remove mulch from irises and other perennials that you may have mulched heavily to prevent frost heaving.
• Install floating row covers over cabbages if you have issues with cabbage worm.
• Prune your roses. By the time the forsythias bloom, evidence of winter kill on your roses will be easy to spot. Healthy canes will be a greenish-brown color, and dead canes will be black. You can prune to remove this dead wood, as well as to generally shape and open up the plant.
• Direct sow seeds for cool-season crops such as lettuce, greens, chard, peas, radishes, and carrots.
• Plant potatoes.

None of these are set in stone, obviously. For example, many of us try to have our peas planted by St. Patrick's Day. But this provides a good general guideline for figuring out when the time is right to take care of certain tasks.

Of course, besides being handy garden chore calculators, forsythias are beautiful ornamental shrubs as well. To learn more about growing these useful beauties, check out this article by About.com Landscaping Guide David Beaulieu.