Lawn and landscape

        • Watch for chickweed in the lawn and landscape. It is easy to pull when the soil is damp.

        • Dethatch lawns by core aeration if not done last fall.

        • Seed or over-seed the lawn before March 15 to avoid weed competition and moisture stress.

Flowers

        • Sow seeds of hardy annuals as soon as the soil can be worked. These include snapdragon, calendula and sweet William.

        • Clip any brown foliage from Lenten roses as blooms begin to emerge. This cleanup makes a big difference in the impact of this welcome winter bloomer.

        • Plant sweet peas on mild days late this month.

        • Look for blooms of winter aconite, scilla and snowdrops — the first signs of spring.

Fruits and vegetables

        • Prune apple trees. (Prune other fruit trees next month, when buds begin to swell.)

        • Sow seeds of mustard, English peas, radishes, spinach and edible-pod peas in the garden.

        • Start seeds of perennial herbs like lavender, rosemary, chives and thyme indoors.

        • Do not cultivate soil if it is too wet. Squeeze the soil into a ball. If the ball crumbles when tapped, it is dry enough to work.

        Source: Sue Trusty, director of education at the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, 221-0981.

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