What to plan for your spring garden during shelter in place

WHEN WE LOOK OUT THE WINDOW, LIFE SEEMS PERFECTLY NORMAL. Whipped cream clouds march across the sky, spires morphing in stature, mirroring the shape of our thoughts in this new reality. The hills are painted in tints of pink and rain has washed everything clean; leaves sparkle in the sunlight.

Color is alive in the landscape, too, and brilliant magenta redbud flowers boldly celebrate the beginning of the growing season. Many vineyards are carpeted in white or yellow with wildflowers and cover crops. In our gardens, blue-purple wisteria flowers are poised to burst open, waiting for warmth to release their scent.

Akebia vine flowers perfume the air of cloves on warm afternoons and early evening, and the last daphne flowers can still be cut to perfume the house. Birds gather nesting materials and court each other with heartwarming song. The essence of spring and the continuance of life is expressed in small details all around us.

The outdoor world is poised to burst into a welcome of life. Yet we are basically confined to our homes and feeling helpless against an unseen threat. Activities like gardening can provide comfort and a sense of progress and possibility. In creating and nourishing another thing or a garden, we care for ourselves.

My first garden as a child were six small marigolds planted in regular formation in a small shipping box. I can still vividly picture it 50 years later - the white pine box with dwarf, very double marigolds in russet and red.

This small garden was the first thing I had made myself and the sense of accomplishment and possibility is with me still. Watching the small plants grow seemed miraculous. In every plant we grow we touch life and possibilities. Each act of planting is an act of optimism and imagination. In our minds we can see the leaves unfold, the flowers unfurl. We hurtle into the future carried along by one small plant. In a garden, whether vegetable, flower or tree, each plant contains this possibility. It is spring and planting time. Gardening is a perfect way to occupy some of the hours we're spending at home right now. Spring is the perfect time to plant most plants and to enjoy the magnificent California spring in the security of our own home.

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A NUMBER OF NURSERIES ARE STILL OPEN and are filled with a large offering of plants. With appropriate social distancing they can be a potential outdoor trip. A number have check-out and payment systems in place to minimize social interaction. For those unable to go out, many mail order possibilities exist, even for vegetable starts.

A few seed catalogs have mail order vegetables available. Check with your favorite catalog to see what they offer. Annie's Annuals and Perennials Nursery has a large variety of vegetables and flower starts available to order on the phone or online. 888-266-4370; https://www.anniesannuals.com

Preparing the soil for plants to thrive is important. When planting pots or containers keep in mind the nutrients in bagged potting soil last about one month. It pays to incorporate some fertilizer and compost in the soil when planting.

Fertilize pots about once a month during the growing season. A really easy way to help ensure healthy container plants is to top containers with about 1-inch of good quality compost. Succulents generally need very little fertilization. Many nurseries and farm supply stores have a variety of organic fertilizers to choose from.

Vegetables and annual flowers require fertile soil. We are fortunate to have excellent local compost that can be incorporated in the soil, raised boxes or used on top of the soil as a mulch.

In many situations using compost as a mulch is better than digging it in, and far easier. For this no-till method to work, excellent quality compost needs to be used. Bagged compost is convenient for many people and an excellent local choice is Pt. Reyes Compost Co.'s organic composts that are offered in many nurseries and at farm supplies. For bulk amounts, Sonoma Compost is still open and making bulk compost for delivery. Check out their website http://www.sonomacompost.com. For vegetable gardens, the Sonoma Compost Hi-Test Compost is excellent, but other area landscape supply businesses sell high-quality compost also. Shrubs and perennial flowers also greatly benefit from a spring application of compost used as a mulch. This also dresses up planters and really highlights foliage. Mulch will also help retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.

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GROWING YOUR OWN VEGETABLES is more appealing than ever. A popular heirloom seed company is reporting an unprecedented volume of orders. There is nothing more pleasurable and satisfying than picking vegetables from your garden and making them into a delicious meal.

A home-grown salad, a dish of sautéed greens or mashed potatoes made from vegetables lovingly planted and tended feed the soul as much as the body. They are far more than just utilitarian nutrition. Now is a perfect time to bring extras to neighbors and friends. Gardens are gifts that keep on giving.

We have a wonderful climate for growing vegetables and area nurseries carry an amazing variety of starts and seed. A rainbow of nutritious color awaits purple carrots, broccoli, kale and Chinese greens, lime-green and orange cauliflower, red carrots and tomatoes so beautiful they could be in a museum; there is much to choose from.

March and April are the perfect time to plant spring greens like lettuce, spinach, Chinese greens and orach. Sugar snap and snow peas also grow well now.

Long-lived greens like chard and kale benefit from spring planting as well as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Celery and parsley can also be planted now. Nurseries have a large variety of potatoes available, from gold fleshed to purple and fingerlings to russets. Warm season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are generally planted after the last frost date which is usually around the first week in May.

But in many years and in some areas, mid-April planting may be safe. Summer squash, cucumbers, melons, watermelons and pumpkins and beans are very cold sensitive and waiting to plant until early or mid-May is best. Make sure to water in all new starts well and keep moist. Bait for snails and slugs with nontoxic Sluggo if needed.

Gardening is often described as work or a chore. Now, experiencing gardens as safe havens of outdoor activity, places to express creativity and feed our bodies and souls, places to connect with nature and watch wildlife, places to listen to the cooing of doves while reading a book on a quiet bench, can change this concept into a new appreciation of them as outdoor extensions of our homes. Gardening activities each and together hold rich potential to enhance our daily lives in difficult circumstances.

Kate Frey's column appears every other week in Sonoma Home. Contact Kate at: katebfrey@gmail.com, freygardens.com, Twitter @katebfrey,Instagram @americangardenschool