Gardeners: Are you ready for spring?

"I'm not a gardener," the nice lady said, "I read your garden column because it's funny."

I've tried to remember a garden happening that might have been laughable only to conclude that when it comes to plants, there's little that is funny. I do remember that years ago I wrote about our New Jersey garden, the peonies mother sent me from her garden in the Missouri Ozarks, and how husband Larry, in a burst of helpfulness, planted them for me

They were planted upside down. He was henceforth banished from the garden.

A clever plan on his part? Perhaps so. Still he does show up to help pick the ripe fruit from citrus, fig, and kumquat trees.

As I write this, fruit trees and vegetable plants are wearing protective covers and nonhardy plants in pots are in the garage. The camellias and early flowering azaleas in bloom have limp and falling petals. Due to our mild weather in January, there are swollen buds on March and April flowering shrubs. We have our fingers crossed they did not suffer from bud blast.

AZALEA UPDATE

In answer to a reader's question: we have had many winters with temperatures lower than those of last month. The weather difference in early 2015 is the milder months of January and early February.

The native azaleas are not a concern. Their flowering time is in late March. Unlike the more familiar azaleas of foreign origin, native azaleas are deciduous and prefer cool, shady sites with moist but well drained soil. I've three, in colors pink and yellow. They're show-stoppers and when mine bloom, I hope there will be no damaging wind or rain storm.

Native azaleas are woods plants and prefer a location with filtered sunlight and damp but not soggy ground. I don't feed my azaleas but allow a light layer of oak leaves to do this for me. Any pruning should be done immediately after flowering. If your plants are newly planted, you may want to feed them with an organic fertilizer designed for aid soil loving plants.

BOTANICAL GARDEN VISIT

It's all very well to read about the care and feeding of Lowcountry plants, but better to see for yourself.

And March is a good month to do it.

Members of the Hilton Head Island Garden Club recently visited the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the historic Bamboo Farm in Savannah. There are many gardens: a rose garden, a water garden, a camellia garden, and a Xeriscape garden. There are berry fields and an orchid house. Garden director Norman Winter told me a new formal garden will open soon.

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Hilton Head Island Garden Club President Sissy Haskell tells me the group has a membership drive underway. The club is a member of the Hilton Head Island Garden Council, the Garden Club of South Carolina, and National Garden Clubs Inc.

Meetings are held the second Monday of the month from September through May. Call me for more information.

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Gardeners: Are you ready for spring?."