Editor: The Garden Guide published May 5 contained some errors. A corrected version follows:

 Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience. 

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

For me, spring planting is one of the best times of year in the garden. My peonies are finally blooming and I know now what didn't survive winter and look forward going to the garden centers for replacements. I have also been busy moving a few things that have gotten lost under larger plants. Voles have eaten all of my Cast Iron plant roots, so I have been digging them up and replanting them with Perma-Till around and under the roots.

Remove the red berries from Nandina and crush them in the ground with your foot and new plants will emerge. Pansies will need to be removed by the end of the month and replaced with summer annuals. With the nice weather, take the time to walk through your garden and see what it needs and what needs to go.

As we get into our gardens, make sure you follow some basic principals:

• Prepare your beds well by tuning over the soil and adding compost. Turning over the soil will expose weed seeds and make the seedlings easier to pull. It also loosens the soil so the new roots have space to grow.

• Harden off new seedlings by gradually exposing them to outside conditions. Tender seedling planted directly into the garden can be shocked and die. It is best to move them to the garden on a cloudy day or late in the day. That way the seedlings can recover overnight before their first day of full sun. Add a little time release to each seedling as they are planted.

• Stay ahead of the weeds by applying mulch after the beds are prepared and plants are set in and watered.

• As we start up the lawn mowers, remember to mow high and mow often. Keeping the grass relatively tall and removing less than a third of the length encourages a thicker lawn. This will also crowd out weeds. Let the clippings stay on the ground. Not only are they rich in nitrogen they are about 85 percent water and will decompose quickly. Change the direction you mow each time and after mowing, clean the underside of your mower.

 A new study suggests that deadheading daffodils is not recommended any more. I have always done it, but may skip some this year to test this. It is now believed that not many develop seed pods, and those that do there is little weakening of the bulbs. It is still recommended to leave the foliage on the bulb until it turns brown.

 If you haven't pruned your spring blooming shrubs you still have a few weeks in order to do so. Azaleas especially respond to some pruning of long leggy limbs. Go deep inside the plant to cut off limbs so it will bush out from there.

 If you don't have the room or the energy to plant your own vegetable garden, then please buy local produce. With gas and food prices rising, the trend is for communities to become more self-sustainable. Strawberries are available now until early June at Dail’s in Conetoe and the Morris Farm in Macclesfield. You can pick or they can.