It took me 41 years to have my own house with my very own yard. I spent another year learning what was good and bad in the yard before I began aggressively cutting away. This year, I started gardening in February to avoid my mistakes from last year. Look to your left, you'll see what happened to me last year. I stupidly let things grow until the green stuff took over.

So, our first warm weekend, to day, as a matter of fact, we headed out to the yard before the sun rose too high to provide a little shade here and there. Wearing gloves and long sleeves, armed with chain saws, pole saws, two new trash cans and several pairs of clippers, my husband and I ventured out the back door. Oh, and coffee. Yes, I took my coffee along, and the dog.

We are by no means professional gardeners. One glance and it's fairly obvious. We did much better in the front yard than the back. By the time the Vinca grew, we had a bed full of color.

My favorite reason for gardening is collecting gnomes. After only a couple of years, my collection is filling out nicely. These two gnomes guard my back flowerbeds. The hedge behind protects them from the wind and weather. They have been known to drink and carouse, we suspect.

So, the first warm weekend with the sun shining in the sky, brave the outdoors, greet your yard. Plant something or tend what you already have. Before moving here, I could never imagine myself spending hours in my yard, but I do. I don't do it so that others ooh and aah; I do it for me. To watch the things I've planted come back again, and to watch the things the previous owner planted long ago is more than satisfying. To all my fellow gardeners, I raise my rake in your honor.