Kill weeds now

If you added compost or topsoil to your garden, you may be seeing a carpet of weeds emerging. Use a rake to rough up the ground and kill these emerging weeds while they will still die easily. Once they have established a good root system, they can be difficult to eradicate. A good layer of mulch over fresh compost or topsoil will prevent the majority of the weed seeds from germinating.

Still time for grass

If you didn't get your turf looking good last fall, there is still time to put down some grass seed. For best results, rough up the existing soil or put down a thin layer of compost so the grass seed has something to root into. Keep the new seed well watered while it establishes. In many cases, watering twice per day will be needed. Cover the new grass seed with a light layer of straw. This will help shade the tender young grass, discourage feeding birds and break up raindrops. For a quicker but more expensive alternative, put down sod. Make sure the existing bare soil is well roughed up with a landscape rake, lay the sod in strips with the edges tight against each other. Start every other row with a half piece like masons do with bricks. Water the sod in well and continue to water it once or twice per day. Try to stay off of it for as long as possible.

A touch of gold

Add some gold to your garden by planting brightly colored shrubs. Some gold-leafed performers include Golden Spirit TM smokebush (Cotinus coggygria 'Ancot'), which won't burn even in full sun, Fiona Sunrise TM jasmine (Jasminum officionale 'Frojas'), a vigorous vining shrub with brilliant foliage, Sunny Foster holly (Ilex xattenuata 'Sunny Foster), a pyramidal evergreen shrub which is electric when it produces its red berries, and the smaller Golden Gem holly (Ilex crenata 'Golden Gem'), whose mounding habit and bright color light up the landscape.

Grow your own

For those gardeners who do a lot of entertaining, consider planting a cutting garden with your vegetable garden. Bulbs make excellent cut flowers - gladiolus, lilies and begonias work well. Plant gladiolus at various depths for a succession of blooms. Flowering shrubs like roses, hydrangeas and pussy willows will provide stems during the spring and summer. Evergreen and fruiting plants will provide interest in fall and winter as well as a backdrop for flowers during other seasons.

Mark Weathington is the assistant director of the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, N.C. Reach him at crazyplant@msn.com.