The transitional month of March has finally arrived. Soon it will be time to crank up your lawn mower and begin manicuring your warm-season turfgrass.

However, right now, as the bright yellow flowers of the forsythia shrubs are welcoming the new growing season, they are signaling another important lawn care activity, the time to apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent summer weeds.

As the soil temperature rises, warm-season weed seed will begin to germinate.

If you are hoping to have a pristine lawn this summer, a pre-emergent herbicide application now will help to prevent the germination of unwanted weed seeds.

Treating your lawn now will kill many nasty weeds before they have a chance to begin growing properly. If you wait another week or two, it may be too late for this type of treatment as it is not effective once the weeds are actively growing.

Do not apply a pre-emergent herbicide to any areas where you plan to sow seeds of a warm-season grass soon.

Now is when you will really begin reaping the rewards of planting cool-season flowers last fall.

For those of you that did not plant a fall flower garden, but suddenly begin noticing all of the wonderful colors of the pansies, violas and dianthus as they really put on a show, take notes so that you can introduce these beautiful plants into your landscape this autumn.

The next couple of months will be filled with the beautiful hues that make spring in the Miss-Lou so special.

Take note of how lovely the spikes of delphinium and larkspur are. Look for magnificent poppies flowering in various shades of red, purple and pink.

Enjoy the spectacular sight of calendula, hollyhock and foxglove. Once you realize that these classic flowers can be grown easily in the Miss-Lou, you will make sure to plant some every year.

Transitioning from the cooler temperatures and shorter days into the warmth and longer days of spring make many of us want to begin planting periwinkle, impatiens, cockscomb and other heat lovers.

Spring fever is a very real thing for gardeners. Sit back and relax. Drink in the sights during March. Wait until later this month, at the earliest, to begin planting most warm-season garden plants. We could still have nighttime lows in the 30s or less, so don&8217;t get in too much of a hurry.

Help to prolong the flowering and health of your cool-season plants by deadheading them on a regular basis and giving them an application of fertilizer if you have not recently. Snapdragon, sweet pea, bachelor&8217;s button and annual phlox are just some of the species that will benefit from the removal of spent flowers. By doing so, you will encourage them to continue producing flowers rather than using their energy in seed production.

If you are looking for some &8220;instant color&8221; for your landscape, consider geranium, Marguerite daisy, osteospermum or creeping lobelia. All of these plants will brighten any area and are able to withstand the fluctuations in weather we will no doubt have during the near future. Check your local nurseries to see what other options are available and combine a few different plants in a container to welcome guests at your front entrance.

Marvel in the floral parade this month. You deserve it!

Traci Maier

can be reached at

ratmaier@bellsouth.net

.