Looking for inspiration while waiting out the rain

We made it to spring, only to find winter wasn’t ready to leave. The good news, however, is that no matter how hard winter tries to hold on, spring already is gaining ground with longer, and warmer days.

• It’s a good idea to stay out of the garden when it’s raining, and until the soil has had a chance to dry out. Walking on the wet ground compacts it, which isn’t good for all the wonderful micro-organisms living there.

• Because you’re banned from the garden during the rainy spells, spend your time productively by making a list of the new plants you plan to grow this year. Draw a sketch of your beds and plant them on paper. Think about your existing plants and what needs to be done to them this year such as pruning, fertilizing, and adding or replenishing mulch in the beds.

• Pull out your garden books or look for new titles and spend some quality time with them, looking for inspiration and instruction.

• Do you have a bed that has performed poorly in the past? Think about why that might be. Is it an irrigation issue or do you have the wrong plants in the wrong places? If you have a bed that receives mostly shade all day, pull out the plants that need full sun and explore the world of shade-loving plants.

• Do you love tulips and other bulbs but don’t know how to work them into your garden? Meet Rich “The Bulb Guy” Santoro, who every year fills his entire backyard with thousands of tulips, paper whites, hyacinths, muscari, daffodils, anemones, ranunculus, California and pink Shirley poppies, asylums and blue Salvia greggiis, and then invites the public to stroll through. This year’s bulb show is today through April 1, noon to 5 p.m. daily, 850 Gateview Court, San Jose. Admission is free, but donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, collected in memory of Santoro’s late son, Boom, will be appreciated.