Is it too soon to sow?

Sunday is Mother's Day. If the day somehow sneaked up on you and you're looking for a gift idea, may I suggest a gift card for a local garden centre?

When the time is right, mom can pick up something to admire or eat all summer long.

Now if you do have seedlings ready for the garden, don't be intoo much of a hurry to put them in the ground. It's still very early, in fact, too early in most cases.

When it comes to last frost dates in the spring, we are dealing with average dates and they do fluctuate from year to year. So instead of telling you when the delicate posies should go outside,

I'll let you decide based on the 30-year average last frost dates across the region:

NOVA SCOTIA

Yarmouth — May 1

Halifax — May 6

Kentville — May 16

Shelburne — May 14

Sydney — May 24

NEW BRUNSWICK

Saint John — May 18

Bathurst — May 19

Fredericton — May 20

Grand Falls — May 24

Moncton — May 24

Edmundston — May 28

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Summerside — May 9

Charlottetown — May 17

Tignish — May 23

NEWFOUNDLAND

Deer Lake — May 22

St. John's — June 2

Grand Falls — June 3

I can't stress this enough, these dates are averages. To be safe, I would plant or transplant temperature-sensitive plants 10 days after these dates.

Don't like having to wait? If you lived in Thompson, Man., your wait would be far from over. There, the average last frost date is June15 — four days later than it is in Whitehorse.

Even if it's too soon to pretty up your garden, it's a perfect time to prep and plan ahead! Happy gardening!

Farmers and gardeners won't soon forget the devastating spring frost that destroyed so many crops. This photo was taken in Summerside, P.E.I., by Matt Compton on June 3, 2018. The average last frost date for Summerside is May 9.