I can't wait for the next warm afternoon so that I can head to the creek in back of my house for a long leisurely soak.

No I'm not crazy, I'm just trying to get the attention of the few of you who will be tempted on the first warm day to rush to a nearby greenhouse and rush some tender annuals into your garden. Your garden soil is probably the same temperature as my creek and those tender annuals will react about the same as my body would to a long leisurely dip in the creek.

You can find plenty that can be planted now but there are also lots of plants that won't be happy in the garden until warm temperatures are a bit closer. One suggestion when you visit the greenhouse is to observe where the plants are displayed. If they are outside and have been there a bit they are ready for the garden, If they are in a warm greenhouse, pause or at least ask for advice, before you rush them to the garden.

Recently I was reading about phenology. That's the study of the relationships between plants and animals and their local climate. As a kid I remember my father and grandfather suggesting that you don't plant corn until the leaves on the white oak were the size of a squirrel's ear.

That was a long time ago but there are more. Transplant melons, eggplants and peppers when the iris blooms. You could add flowering vinca, tropical annuals and maybe even impatiens and begonias to that list.

Another one is plant peas when the forsythia blooms. Here add pansies, venedium, nemesia and cape daisies.

Or how about, plant beans, cucumbers and squashes when the lilacs are in full bloom. Most annuals are safe by that time too.

One more, plant lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, beets and carrots when leaves first begin to appear on the lilacs. On the flower side add at petunias, lobelia, snapdragons and most likely geraniums.

Before you dismiss phenology, an increasing number of computer programs being used for growing or predicting insect problems are based on this type of research and knowledge.

Phenology may have been one of those things that our grandparents depended on before we had fancy hybrid seeds and modern weather forecasting. Regardless, when you are playing with the weather you must always expect the unexpected.

Right now there is plenty ready to plant. Just exercise a bit of caution and always ask for advice. If you don't, join me at the creek. We'll throw your plants in. They probably won't be able to tell the difference from your garden soil and we'll be a lot warmer than if we went in ourselves.