Are you one of those truly intrepid gardeners who store some plants over the winter? For gorgeous blooms and lush growth this summer you need to be addressing their needs now.

You have them stashed away in a cool, dry and dark area. Hopefully, you have checked on them as the winter progressed, giving them a bit of water every now and then. Or, you are like me and completely ignored them. Intrepid I am not.

I like to hold over the red geraniums that a very dear friend gave me. But this fall, when it was time to bring them into the house, they were loaded with aphids. Usually I will take the hose and wash them off, but the hoses were put away for the winter. I refused to bring them into the house to shower them, so they went into a corner of the basement and I decided that they were done for. Over. No more red geraniums. Wrong.

They are such tough plants. They are just leafing out like crazy, and I don't see any aphids on them at the moment. Plus, I now have a short hose and will take them outside and blast them. It certainly is warm enough to take them outside long enough to accomplish this chore. I also will take them out of their pots and put them into fresh soil. It looks to me like I still have red geraniums.

If yours were stored properly, they will be needing more tender attention than mine received. If you kept them in as sunny a window as we have here in the Far North, you probably have been getting blooms but leggy growth. Now is an excellent time to cut them back. This will eliminate the weak growth and give the plant some shape. Two jobs dealt with at once. But get serious about cutting them back. You can be left with about six inches and the plant will thank you. Truly. It will come back lush and bloomy.

Now that the cutting is taken care of you can put it into the sunniest window that you have, water and feed it. Keep a keen eye out for aphids. They are insidious.

Choose your outside site for geraniums carefully. They do not like to be blown about. And lots of sun comes in quite handy. I tend to let mine go outside too early. The leaves turn red and growth comes to a screeching halt. Then the plant starts all over again. This can most certainly slow down the bloom time.

They now have a transition period in the greenhouse. I will set them outside for a few hours each day, completely out of the wind. I diligently bring them back and forth until the end of June. Of course, this depends on the season.

Then I am rewarded with their signature blooms that nothing else quite compares to. Geraniums are such salt of the earth plants. They are satisfying like nothing else. If you are not sharing your life with these plants, do so. You will not be sorry.

Then there are the fuschias. If you have ever gone into one of our commercial greenhouses when they are loaded with these lovelies you can't help but be impressed. There would have to be something wrong with you. I always feel the need to own at least one of these just because they are so dazzling. Their dual colored ballerina blooms just call out to grace an entryway.

There are purists who say the fuschia must be planted alone in a container. But I really think a ton of lobelia mixed in makes a stunning presentation. But then I certainly am not a purist.

Once again, they do not like to be bandied about in the wind. Pick your spot carefully. An entry is a natural choice because everyone who comes and goes will have the full benefit of their loveliness.

If you held yours over, take a good look at it. A pyramid is a nice shape for a fuschia. It allows it to reach its full potential. Any leggy, white, weak growth can be cut off, benefiting the plant. Again, give it a good soaking, food and sunlight.

If you are one of those who is having a hard time cutting off the growth of your stored plants, get over it. This growth is weak and will not make a stunning plant. If you allow it to stay it will make for an unfortunate looking plant, and that is just not the point. Get tough and cut.

Take a look at your dahlia corms. Are they nice and firm? Good. Get them planted up into some nice soil. This will give them a head start to either be transplanted into your garden beds or into containers. But if they are soft and/or moldy, toss them, you are fighting a losing battle.

If you stored your tuber begonias I hope they are showing little pink sprouts. Plant them into four-inch pots with the concave side up and the sprouts just peeking up. Water thoroughly, attempting to keep the water from pooling up. Or you can plant them into a large container and leave them for the summer.

I like to plant calla lilies every year in a terra cotta pot. There is just something Mediterranean about it. I have some that are pink and others that are burgundy and I mix them into the same pot and I just love them. Pure and simple. Same goes with Japanese anemones. I will start both of these in the containers that they will spend the rest of the growing season in.

Don't pass up unusual tubers/bulbs/corms to fill a pot. You may be pleasantly surprised and rewarded for your effort.

Note: The Homer Garden Club will meet March 20 (that's the third Sunday of the month, a break from the norm) in the council chambers at City Hall at 2 p.m. The speaker will be Janice Chumley, the integrated pest management technician from the Cooperative Extension Office in Soldotna, followed by a short slide presentation by Teena Garay: "Color in the Garden April through October."

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 26 years.