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[quote=Anonymous]If this will be your first spring and summer, the best thing (and hardest) to do is wait and observe.

When plants emerge and bloom, take photos. Start a garden photo journal.

Get to know your weeds -- lots will come up and for some you will wonder -- is this a weed or a perennial I can't identify? Once you figure it out, note it so you can pull the weeds early and leave the plants. Lots of trial and error at first. Take photos of the earliest emergence and the full form.

Watch where you do and do not get sun and draw a map of it.

Take walks around the neighborhood and note what is in bloom and doing well in neighbors yards and when they are in boom, where it is (sun/shade, N/S/E/W). Take photos.

Observe areas that are wet/dry/rocky/clay/fertile in your yard. See how long after a big rain it takes for various sport to dry out. Take photos. Different kinds of plant have different levels of success in various soils, so you need to get to know your soil, or you will waste a lot of time and money.

If you see neighbors out doing their own gardening, ask about issues with deer and rabbits.

While you wait and observe your yard's existing rhythm and learn about neighboring plants that do well in your area, satisfy your green thumb with container plants, invest in compost to improve the soil everywhere in your yard, and take care of existing trees and shrubs, which will be the foundation of your landscape. Plant annuals in spots where you have no evidence of plants growing by mid-May.

In the winter, gather all of your data and garden catalogs and start to plan where to add additional shrubs, perennials, and fill in areas for annuals.

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