But there are things to be done right here in the greenhouse before the outside gardening takes over.

The flower seeds that you broadcast the first part of April will be demanding your attention. Thankfully. I am so glad to turn my attention to plants than feeding the woodstove and applying wax to my cross-country skis. Enough is enough. Even Paris, the terrier, is ready to spend time in the greenhouse with me. It has become one of her favorite hangouts.

There you are, faced with a mass of dianthus barbatus that you broadcast about a month ago. No problem. You are ready. You have your bag of fresh Whitney Farms potting soil. I do like this soil but I have decided that I want this year's batch and not last year's. Ask. This is organic soil and I think something not very beneficial happens to it if it hangs around in a warehouse all winter.

You have either bought new four-packs or you have disinfected your old ones and are ready on that front. They are filled with moist soil and set into a flat with drainage holes. Now you will take the mass of tiny seedlings out of their container and lay them on a sheet of newspaper (or something). Start teasing the roots apart and separate them into individual plants. Make a hole in each cell of soil and gently put the new plant into the hole and firm the soil around the tiny, new, delicate root. If the stem of the plant has gotten leggy, just go ahead and bury it so only the leaves are showing. This will make for a sturdy plant that will be able to withstand the wind that it will most certainly encounter once it is introduced to the great outdoors in the Far North. Gads, what a thought.

You will be able to determine just how many of each plant you will want. I am hoping that you have already figured that out. But, of course, you will have too many. It seems to be the law of gardening, if there is a law. There is always too much of something. Fine. You will keep filling four-packs until you are overwhelmed and then, when June 1 rolls around, you will have something to contribute to the Homer Garden Club Plant Sale. Or you can give them to friends, lucky souls. You may think you can never have too many flowers but that will change once you are confronted with the reality of three flats of digitalis.

Keep in mind that some seedlings need to be clumped into one cell. Lobelia and alyssum are good examples of this. They need company to make an impact. Take a little clump of four to six seedlings and let them share space. You will be thankful for this.

Your geraniums will need to be potted up. They are probably cuttings that you took earlier and now they will want to go into something pretty. This is your opportunity to use a found container. Put drainage holes into the bottom, nestle the geranium into the pot and fill with nice potting soil. You may need to pinch back the stems if it has gotten leggy. Have no fear, it will bloom if you provide plenty of sunshine and keep it out of the wind.

Your tuberous begonias should be looking good right about now. I am so looking forward to my window box stuffed with these beauties. They love a north side, out of the wind and direct sun. I like to plant pansies and lobelia to keep them company. All of these plants do well on the north which is sometimes a tricky spot.

This is the year that I did not use any additional mulch on my perennials. The dead foliage was allowed to remain in place or bent over the root crown of the plants. I am hoping for excellent results. My fingers are still crossed.

I cut back my raspberries last fall, the first time I have ever done this. I was hoping to free up valuable time in the spring (now) and that has proven worthwhile. Don't wait for your raspberries to leaf out before you give them a much-needed trimming. Cut out the dead canes (they are very obvious, very dead) and cut what is left down to about three or four feet. I need my plant to be somewhat short because I am short and when it comes time to pick my favorite berry I really appreciate being able to reach them.

You may need to thin these out. The bigger the clump, the less productive the bush will become. I like to use a sharp spade and dig out chunks of the main plant. Thankfully, this year, my son and daughter-in-law want raspberry plants. Doesn't that just make you tear up? I can hardly contain myself: I have a son who gardens in Homer. What more could I ask for? Well, since you ask, my daughter could garden here instead of Bellingham but life is never perfect. The fact that both of our children turned out to be gardeners is amazing unto itself.

This year I am going to seriously address the issue of containing these raspberries. They are flopping all over the place. So far none of my great ideas for preventing this has worked. Methinks they need something of a structure. They are really huge plants that are a force in the garden. Keep this in mind when you plant yours.

Note: The Homer Garden Club meets April 25 in the council chambers of City Hall at 2p.m. Paul Castellani will speak on organic vegetables, a topic very near and dear to my heart. Do not miss this.