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" Whether your dream garden consists of an expansive 40 acres or just 40 inches of backdoor deck, once the last hard frost has come and gone, it&amp;#039;s time to get out there and see what you and Mom Nature can whip up. Here are 15 timely tips and promising products that will help your garden grow. Garden Guru As any garden veteran will attest, trying to coax life out of a pile of dirt is a captivating and engaging gamble. A perennial that yielded buckets of blossoms last year may not come up at all this year. Migrations of uninvited bugs may suddenly set up camp in your camellias, and Mother Nature will do whatever she chooses when it comes to rain, sun, and wind.          Gardening is one long lesson in how to handle failure as well as success. That said, nothing feels quite as wonderful as the successes, and to help stack the odds in your favor, get a helping hand from the experts. The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening ($37.80 at Amazon.com) is the hardcover version of a garden guru. &amp;quot;Yes, Grasshopper, you will find many sage pointers in its pages.&amp;quot;  Zone Out          Before you dig into any outdoor garden, check the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to determine the zone in which your garden falls. Although many factors other than temperature contribute to what may or may not thrive in your particular petunia patch, the map, which is based on average low temperatures throughout the country, is an accepted starting point. Plant guides and seed packets list the suggested hardiness zones for which a plant is suited, so if you live in Maine, check the map and don&amp;#039;t shell out for a specimen that&amp;#039;s best suited for a life south of the Mason-Dixon line and vice versa. Let Me Just Jot That Down          Got your zone memorized? Great. Now you&amp;#039;re ready to note some of the other factors that will play a part in your garden&amp;#039;s future. Create a journal in which to keep seed and plant info, notes and photos of successes, snippets of advice from friends, and a general record of the life of your garden. To fashion your own version, compile any of the free, customized Printable Garden Journal pages from HomesteadGarden.com, or use the Seedlings Wire-O Journal ($9.31 from Amazon.com) as a basic binder. If you need a more structured organizer, try the New Three-Year Garden Journal with Regional Planning Guides ($19.77 at Amazon.com), whose handy pockets, monthly reminders, and regional tips will nurture your growth as a gardener. With your journal at hand, jot down the answers to these questions: Does your personal slice of Eden get full, partial, or little sunlight, and for how long? Is the soil sandy or thick with clay? Is it primarily dry or moist? What&amp;#039;s the average heat and humidity of the area in which you live? Is there always a breeze blustering through your backyard?  And yes, it&amp;#039;s very helpful to determine the acid/alkaline level of your soil. Sound scary? No worries. You can find all of the info you need about soil pH testing and adjustment under &amp;quot;Soil&amp;quot; in the Lawn and Garden-Related Projects section of the How-to Library at Lowes.com. Almost all garden centers and hardware stores carry pH testing kits that are simple enough for the greenest of green thumbs. When you&amp;#039;re ready to head for the garden center or open a seed catalogue, grab your journal and all of your pertinent garden stats will be at your fingertips.   Top Tools It&amp;#039;s difficult to resist the dainty, flower-bedecked garden tool sets out there, and shelling out for upscale goods has caused more than a moment&amp;#039;s pause for this girl as she&amp;#039;s stood in the garden center checkout line. But if there&amp;#039;s one lesson I&amp;#039;ve learned from decades in the dirt, it&amp;#039;s that springing for quality tools is not only less expensive in the long run, it will save you hours of agitation, the possibility of physical injury, and the humiliation of my &amp;quot;I told you so&amp;quot; when your bargain cheapies break. A bare-bones roundup of garden tools should include: a long-handled hoe with a flat blade for turning soil and weeding; a lawn rake for clearing leaves and removing grass from newly mown lawns; a round-point shovel or garden spade for digging and scooping; a pair of lopping shears for heavier-duty pruning; a trowel for planting, weeding, etc.; and a great pair of pruning shears. Shop for tools at a reputable garden or home center, and consult longtime gardening friends or store personnel for suggestions. But no matter what&amp;#039;s recommended, give long-handled tools a try in the store to see if they suit your height and build. There are a variety of rakes, shovels, trowels, and hoes, that are sturdy and reliable, but the universally accepted cream of the pruner crop are the Felco #2 Hand Pruners. Not only have these babies been the favorites of professional gardeners for more than 40 years, the Swiss-made blades on the lifetime limited-warranty clippers are replaceable. The primo pruners often list for upwards of $65, but are a bargain that even I can endorse at $36.50 from CSPOutdoors.com. Once you&amp;#039;ve stocked your shed with the best tools in town, extend their lives and effectiveness by cleaning and storing them properly. Visit PlantCare.com for a helpful list of &amp;quot;Garden Tool Storage Tips and Tricks,&amp;quot; then take your tools to task with a jolly &amp;quot;hoe, hoe, hoe.&amp;quot; Garden Gold          Merriam-Webster describes compost as &amp;quot;a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter used for fertilizing and conditioning land,&amp;quot; which is a dandy, to-the-point definition. But those of us who curry favor with the gods of agronomy refer to it simply as &amp;quot;garden gold.&amp;quot; The rich result of regular old rot provides a host of nutrients, helps ward off plant disease and pests, assists in the removal of industrial volatile organic chemicals in contaminated air, can up your crop yield, is cost effective, and is one of the easiest and most reward-reaping forms of recycling. This garden goody is composed primarily of yard trimmings and food scraps, and though most of your kitchen and garden castoffs are fine candidates for the compost pile, you should generally avoid tossing diseased plant remains, pet poop, items that have been sprayed with toxic chemicals, fats, dairy products, and meat or fish bones into the mix. For an explanation of the process, lists of dos and don&amp;#039;ts, links to product sources, and a detailed 411 on all things compost, visit CompostGuide.com. A Hinge-Topped, Filtered, Kitchen Composter ($19.95 from MasterGardening.com) can get you started on the road to garden gold, and if you&amp;#039;re up for building your own outdoor bin, visit EDF.org for instructions. Ready-made composters vary greatly in complexity and cost, so consult a composting pal or garden center before shelling out for one. But of course you don&amp;#039;t have to make your own compost if you&amp;#039;re not into it. Bags are available at garden stores and home centers, and many community dumps offer free compost to locals. When you&amp;#039;re compost-ready, work it into your beds or window boxes before planting; use a 2- to 6-inch layer as rich mulch around plants, trees, and shrubs; or scatter a coat at the end of the growing season to boost next spring&amp;#039;s soil nutrient levels.  Plant-Buying Basics          I know, I know. You&amp;#039;re thinking, &amp;quot;Enough with the journals and tools and compost, already. When do I get to plant something?&amp;quot; Well, now&amp;#039;s the time, and with your newly gathered garden stats you should be able to visit any home or garden center and pick out seeds, seedlings, or established plants without too much trouble. Never hesitate to ask questions right then and there as they arise, but here are some plant- and seed-buying basics: Many, if not most seeds lose viability over time, so check dates on seed packets to make certain you&amp;#039;re getting the freshest of the fresh. Remember that growing plants from seeds takes at least a month or two longer than starting a garden with established plants, and seedlings need specific attention to warmth, moisture, and care. If you&amp;#039;re not up for the extra time and effort, go for already growing specimens, but watch out for these danger signs: Never buy a plant that has diseased stems or leaves or shows signs of insect infestation. Not only will the poor thing probably go belly-up on you, it may pass its problems on to other plants once you get it home. Always inspect the bottom of plant containers. If roots are growing out of the drainage holes, the plant is root-bound and not as good a candidate for transplanting into your bed as a younger sprout. In general, yellow leaves indicate a plant that&amp;#039;s been overwatered and whose health has been taxed by the extra agua. Look for pots and flats of plants that are moist, not sopping, and definitely not dry as a bone. If you&amp;#039;re buying plants, bulbs, or seeds online, stick to reliable sources. Longtime gardeners will tell you that among the most esteemed are WhiteFlowerFarm.com, Burpee.com, and BrentandBeckysBulbs.com. And if you&amp;#039;ve decided to plant a tree or two, be sure to tell your nursery expert what other sorts of trees will be near the new addition. Some trees simply don&amp;#039;t thrive in proximity to each other. Also remember that trees with deep root systems can wreak havoc if planted too close to sewer lines or septic tanks, and shallow-rooted trees can disrupt driveways and patios.   Get Wet Ah, water. It&amp;#039;s the elixir of life, and you&amp;#039;ll find that your garden is going to need a steady supply of the wet stuff. But did you know that how and when you water can affect your garden&amp;#039;s health? Delivering a drink in the morning allows plants to take a good guzzle before sun-fueled evaporation sets in, and an a.m. spritz also affords the sun plenty of time to dry plant leaves. Watering late in the day or at night without that needed drying time can promote damp-driven diseases. Think you can&amp;#039;t possibly overwater an outside bed? Well, even too much of this good thing can be a bane. To know when and how much to water, read up on plant specifics, but following these rules of thumb is a good place to begin: Poke a finger in the soil adjacent to a plant. If it&amp;#039;s an established garden occupant, don&amp;#039;t water until the soil is dry to a depth of 4 inches. Garden newcomers should get a gulp when the soil is dry to a depth of 2 inches. This may sound like a contradiction, but once you&amp;#039;ve determined that your bed needs a bath, don&amp;#039;t scrimp on the H2O. You don&amp;#039;t want to wash your wisteria away, but the agua should make it all the way down to the root zone. A wimpy watering will encourage roots to stay near the top of the soil, where they&amp;#039;re subject to damage from foot traffic and exposure. How you distribute the wetness is also important. Seedlings and delicate plants such as lettuces should be given a soak from a watering can vs. the hose-delivered shower needed by established plants, trees, and shrubs. Metal sprinkling cans may cost and weigh a bit more than their plastic counterparts, but a classic like the Behrens galvanized, 8-qt. Sprinkling Can ($17.57 from Amazon.com) will stand up to years of use. And when it comes to hoses, a single inevitable kink is all it takes to spring a leak in a cheap hose. The Flexogen 25&amp;#039; hose ($29.95 at Yardiac.com) is the best of its breed, and its sturdy design is worth the higher price. Add the Gilmour 794 6-Pattern Metal Nozzle ($12.50 from Hechinger.com), with its easy-squeeze trigger and mist-to-flood spray options, and you&amp;#039;re ready to get wet without going wild. By now you may have detected an unrepentant antiplastic bias on my part, and here I go again: To coil or hang your hose, go for a metal stand or reel. Again, it may be more expensive, but something like the Rapid Reel GH164-PD 150 Ft. Parallel Wall Reel ($75.99 at Amazon.com) will perform better and last longer than any petroleum-product wannabe. On Your Toes          Now that you&amp;#039;ve been given the skinny on both compost and water, you might wonder how you&amp;#039;re supposed to muck through the combination of these two without trekking great clods of gook into the house. The solution is simple: Head for the back forty in a pair of comfy, waterproof, easy-to-remove, clean-&amp;#039;em-with-the-hose garden clogs. RedHillGeneralStore.com offers Ladybug Blue Butterfly Garden Clogs and Ladybug Yellow Ladybug Garden Clogs for $16.99 a pair, both of which will give you a boost come rain or shine. Glad-Handed          I admit it. I&amp;#039;ve never had a manicure. It&amp;#039;s just never seemed worth the dough considering what I put my paws through. But even this ham-handed gal has come to see the value of a fabulous pair of garden gloves, and these lightweight, breathable beauties transformed not just the condition of my cuticles but my ability to gently coax weeds out of the soil and slip seedlings into it. The palms and fingers of the Atlas 370 Nitrile Garden Club Gloves have a helpful gripable coating, while the stretchy body of the gloves is flexibly snug and cool. What can I say? I loved the little suckers from the moment I slipped them on. A one-color four-pack of these cover-ups is only $15.95 at PalmFlex.com, and a three-pack of blue or black versions is only $11.97, also from Palmflex.com. Grab a pair and you&amp;#039;ll find that you can get down and dirty without having your hands reveal what you&amp;#039;ve been up to. Much Ado About Mulch          Mulch is the full-length sable coat of garden bed outerwear. Whether made from wood chips, paper, plastic, sawdust, fireplace ashes, compost, hay, or even colorful bits of tumbled recycled glass, a layer of mulch can put the kibosh on weeds, keep your dirt at a toasty temp, slow evaporation, enrich the soil, and say &amp;quot;ix-nay&amp;quot; to nasty erosion. For the multitudinous benefits of this simple spread and advice regarding its use and application, visit the USDA&amp;#039;s Natural Resources Conservation Service site. As with compost, many municipal dumps will provide free mulch to locals, so check to see if you might be able to cash in on the gratis goods. Once you&amp;#039;re stocked, get stoked and spread the good word. Rubber Soul          If you&amp;#039;re like me, even the sound of the sprinkler rotating can become downright musical when you&amp;#039;re elbow deep in humus. But occasionally even the purist in me craves a bit more beat to motivate my motions. Happily, the Tykho Rubber Radio is not only a MoMA-featured design dandy, but its colorful waterproof coating means that a wayward spritz from the sprinkler won&amp;#039;t end your outdoor concert. And your mini musicale can continue all the way through a cleanup shower or soak in the tub, if you desire. Find pink, lime, turquoise, and green versions for $55 each under &amp;quot;Mxy Pix&amp;quot; at Mxyplyzyk.com.  Excellent Extras By now you should feel ready to march toward the nearest arable spot with eager anticipation. But before you dig in, there are a few extras I must mention. First, unless your garden is itty-bitty, investing in a sturdy wheelbarrow to haul plants, soil, and detritus is worth every penny saved on visits to the chiropractor. Opt for a metal barrow that can handle whatever weight and size load you intend to tote in it. If your garden is devoid of tree or shrub, feel free to skip this next tip, but a simple pruning saw is worth its modest cost for the amount of elbow grease it will save you the next time that cedar needs a trim. And speaking of things that need trimming, it was only after a wayward forsythia branch gave my unprotected peeper a &amp;quot;hospital-here-I-come!&amp;quot; wallop that I truly understood the folly of removing my safety goggles before a task was complete. Not necessary if you&amp;#039;re merely tending tomatoes, goggles are a must-have if you plan to saw, lop, or come within an inch of a weed whacker. An array of styles and price points awaits you at home centers and online, but if you wear glasses, choose goggles that fit comfortably over your specs. I prefer antifog versions, and any pair you select should protect the side as well as the front of your eyes. With or without goggles, one thing that you&amp;#039;ll see a lot of in the garden is garbage. Weeds, trimmings, and twigs must be consolidated before being carted away, and I&amp;#039;ve found that a Portable Collapsible Trash Can ($24.99 for a 22&amp;quot; x 28&amp;quot; Green Extra Large one from Amazon.com) weighs next to nothing, transports easily through the garden as you weed, and folds into a skinny, hangable circle when it&amp;#039;s been emptied at the end of the day. And last, but not least, remember to slap on the sunscreen or slip a chapeau on your noggin. Even if the day seems harmlessly cloudy, those sneaky UV rays are out to get you. Contain Yourself          Having just a smidge of space doesn&amp;#039;t mean that you have to forgo a garden. Anything from an old coffee can to a terra-cotta terrine, a wooden window box, or an abandoned sink can serve as a container-garden element as long as the chosen plant repository has plenty of room for roots and provides sufficient drainage. I&amp;#039;ve yet to find a really good-looking plastic pot, but I&amp;#039;ll begrudgingly admit that plastic is lighter and more able to withstand extremes of hot and cold than terra-cotta. But clay and ceramic pots are so much more lovely that I think they&amp;#039;re worth the effort to haul indoors when Jack Frost hits town. Painted steel planters and painted or stained wooden boxes will eventually succumb to the elements, but most will provide years of service before retirement. Do make sure, however, that if your wooden container is to be used for vegetables, herbs, or anything edible, it hasn&amp;#039;t been made with chemically treated lumber. Once you&amp;#039;ve found the container of your dreams, get the inside poop from the pot-growing poobahs and consult Gardens to Go: Creating and Designing a Container Garden by Sydney Eddison and Steve Silk ($23.72 with free shipping from Buy.com). Syd and Steve serve up lovely pix and detailed advice regarding well-suited plants, potting soil, drainage, and watering. But generally speaking, remember that all of your container gems will require more religious tending than their in-ground counterparts to keep plants from dying of thirst, getting too soggy, or struggling to get by on richness-depleted soil. Oh, and if you plan to post a pot or two on the fire escape, check local regulations before doing so. Even the glories of a mini-garden aren&amp;#039;t worth risking the safety of yourself and others in a speedy-escape-necessitating emergency. Swing Time          Other than a great kiss, the birth of a baby, or a clean bill of health, there&amp;#039;s not much better than the well-earned R&amp;amp;amp;R that comes at the end of a day in the garden. Taking the time to listen to the birdies go tweet, watch the butterflies stop for a nectar cocktail or two, notice how crisp that back bed looks without the weeds, and yes, smell the roses is perhaps gardening&amp;#039;s most treasured payoff. So toss your work-weary bones into the durably soft embrace of a weather-resistant Pawley&amp;#039;s Island 13DCOT Large Duracord Rope Hammock-Oatmeal ($99.99 plus free shipping from IraWoodInc.com) and serenely savor the fruits of your labors. You&amp;#039;ve earned a little swing time. The Gift (Wrap) That Keeps on Giving          Now that you&amp;#039;re on your way to becoming a dig-in-the-dirt diva, you&amp;#039;ll find that sharing the joy of gardening is a natural by-product of the activity. When that urge to share strikes, wrap any of the aforementioned goodies in a length of Blooming Wrapping Paper and keep your eyes peeled for the look of love that&amp;#039;s bound to grow on the recipient&amp;#039;s puss. This biodegradable wrap is embedded with annual, perennial, and wildflower seeds, and when plopped atop a bed and given a sprinkle will transform itself over time into a blanket of blossoms. Available in coffee or chartreuse sun graphics, three 24&amp;quot; x 40&amp;quot; sheets are $20 from UncommonGoods.com. Ah, gardening. It&amp;#039;s the greatest. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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