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I'm antsy to get back into the garden. But we have social things to do tonight and tomorrow -- maybe tomorrow afternoon. If it doesn't rain. In the meantime, here are a few things I've learned the hard way about gardening:

• When buying perennials, big plants in big pots are no better than little plants in little pots. In a month or two the little plants will catch up to the big ones and you'll wonder why you spent extra for the big ones. In this case, you don't get what you pay for.
• Perennials hand grown by small nurseries are usually healthier, and will do better once brought home, than perennials from big box stores. Plus you can get to know the people at a small nursery and get advice you'll never ever get from a big box store. In this case, you do get what you pay for.
• If you have patience, perennials grown from seed are the best bargain of all. They might not bloom for 2-3 years but you can get dozens of plants from one seed packet, as opposed to $6 or more per potted plant.
• Just after a rain is the best time to weed. Weed roots come out of wet soil so easily. Sometimes you can pull out an entire dandelion taproot; it just lifts right out.
• Just after a rain is the worst time to dig. Digging damages the integrity of wet soil. Plus wet soil is heavier. The only except is hard clay, which can be impossible to dig when dry. It will be heavier but at least you can get a shovel into it. Besides, you're just digging it out and replacing it with nice garden soil, so who cares about damaging its integrity.
• Don't plant something that needs a lot of water out of reach of your hose.
• Take lots of breaks to sit down and drink water. Put yourself on a regular break schedule; for instance, a break every half hour, or for every three wheelbarrows of mulch. It's best to start with more breaks than you feel like you really need, and increase frequency of breaks the longer you work. Do not make breaks a reward which you have to push yourself to get to (i.e. "I get to take a break after I finish weeding along that whole section of fence"). This is one I screw up all the time, and end up working too hard and wiping myself out. Don't be like me!
• Try to schedule your yardwork around the weather and the sun. In other words, don't go out in mid-afternoon when it's over 80 and try to do heavy digging in the full sun. I have times of day that are best for working in the shade; jobs I save for cloudy cool days; and really hard jobs I only do in late fall to early spring when it's downright cold.
• Gypsy moths are evil.
• Garden design books written by people living in radically different climates from you are next to useless. The books will be full of plants you can't grow. Same for books that tell you when to do gardening tasks.