Memorial Day weekend is the traditional time to plant your garden. But there are factors that need to be considered. Elevation is a big one. The higher you live, the longer it will take for the ground to dry and warm. You will need patience. But the positive side is that we all end up making a harvest about the same time.

Think about your microclimates. These are areas around your house that are warmer than the rest of your property. Usually close to a wall or in a corner are the favored spots, and it is here that you want to place that special plant that you think you really can't live without.

Back to removing mulch. Just give it time. Let the ash melt into the ground; it does contain touches of trace minerals that are a wee bonus. If we get a few good rains, the job will be done for you. Be sure to wear your dust mask until all sign of ash is gone -- nothing blowing in the wind when you pull the mulch or that your feet kick up as you walk along. Be careful. The mulch still has work to do.

I have a few bulbs showing signs of life and I can hardly wait to see what's going on. If you have yet to get out to your garden, take a look and see what signs of life are presenting themselves. The lilac buds are fat. Iris, day lilies, doronocum, violets, forget-me-nots are showing life. Much fun is to be had just walking around out there -- not touching anything.

When the ground is still somewhat frozen and very wet like it is now and you start pulling at plants, you can pull the whole thing out of the ground and be very sorry for your enthusiasm. Give it time. Let things dry a bit.

The greenhouse is cooking. The tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and lettuce that are planted into the three foot square, eight inch deep boxes are very happy indeed. The flats of vegetable seedlings are looking as happy as can be. The begonias are so grateful to be out there and no longer in the guest room. My heart is singing.

Garlic is planted in flats. I have found this to be a sure fire way to get nice heads of garlic. Planting in the fall has proven too iffy, even with mulch. When I start the individual cloves in the greenhouse and set them out when the weather settles a bit, they have developed nicely. I am thinking about doing the same thing with onion sets.

The shallots and leeks are potted up, one to a cell in a four pack. I haven't gone to the trouble to do this before. Usually I just broadcast the seed in a shallow container and pull the mass of seedlings apart and put them directly in the garden bed. But now that I know how well these plants do here, and how much I use them, I want to give them every advantage to reach their potential.

But I need to warn you and anyone who will listen: Unless you are an avid gardener, unless you have the time, don't get a greenhouse. They are a lot of work. Yes, I have been "gardening" since February, first under lights in the house, then in the greenhouse. Yes, we will harvest lovely tomatoes and cucumbers. But unless you have the time and money, take advantage of the Farmers Market.

One thing that I have done outdoors is thin the Theresa Bugnet roses. These are so lovely and took a good four years to establish. I have not touched them at all since I planted them 10 years ago. I am, simply, afraid to. But there I was, lopers in hand, hoping I'm not going to deeply regret my actions in a few months.

I took stock of the thicket of canes and chose the ones that looked the oldest and cut them out. Just like that. Just like I read about in books that have nothing to do with gardening here in the Far North. I ended up with quite a pile of canes and a rapidly beating heart. Time will tell; I will keep you posted.

The other roses around here are much tougher and I don't fret over them. The Hansa rugosa, Heidi and rosa glauca (rubrifolia). These are going to make it no matter what. They may suffer winter damage and get trimmed by the moose, but they will survive. I will wait a few more weeks before I tackle them. Roses bloom on this year's wood so you will do your pruning in the spring. Wait until you can really and truly tell what is alive and what needs to be removed. My roses are not pruned to shape, they seem to make their own shape and I agree with them, makes that easy. Cutting them back about one-third will thicken up the whole bush, which translates to more blooms.

Get ready. Floating row cover is a huge boon to us. Not only does it warm the soil, it also protects our cole crops from the fly that lays the cabbage worm which can destroy the whole crop. Believe me, broccoli grows so well here. I would question your sanity if you didn't plant it. And if you don't like it? Learn to.

Note: Still have questions about composting? You must need a tome, of which there are one or two at the Homer Public Library.

Note: Homer Garden Club meets at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 2 p.m. Sunday. Janice Chumley, pest management technician with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service in Soldotna, will offer a presentation on pest management and identication, as well as an update on new pests on the Kenai Peninsula.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 30 years. This year marks the 19th anniversary of her column.