As temperatures climb and winter gives way to spring, the thing on the minds of many people will be getting the garden ready. A crucial part of that is proper planning and working with the variable weather experienced during this time of year. 

 Ronnie Cornell, manager at Cornell Design and Landscaping recommends gardeners hold off on planting until there is no risk of frost, but says you can start sprouting certain plants indoors, such as herbs and tomatoes. She advises waiting to start things such as squashes or other quick sprouting plants, however. 

Another thing to consider is Moose Jaw’s plant hardiness zone. These zones represent the range of climate conditions relevant to the growth and survival of plants in that region. In the case of Moose Jaw, the thing to consider is the maximum temperature low.  Sitting at the intersection of zones 3a and 3b means that perennial plants will do best if they can weather temperatures of –30 to –40 degrees.  

“It really just depends on what you are wanting. There’s so many different varieties of so many different things. So, for hydrangeas the Annabelle hydrangea tends to be very hardy here, whereas you get into (Tuff Stuff hydrangeas) it's a zone 4 and it’s not as hardy so definitely go with the Annebelle over the Tuff Stuff,” says Cornell. 

She also recommends waiting a little while to remove leaves and begin aerating your lawn. 

“I would give it a little bit still because the bugs are an important part of our ecosystem, and we definitely want them to be ok. If we clear that leaf litter right now they’re not going to have a home and if it gets cold again, then they’ll just die,” 

She says that it's a little early for gardening trends to be set in stone for the year but says last year was the year of the garden with the most popular colour being purple.