Didn’t snow just take the jump right out of spring? Well, my enthusiasm is still holding on. If you are in the mood to push spring a little, cut some lilac branches, or apple or plum branches, set them in a vase of water in a sunny window, and watch them develop into lovely flowers. Cutting a few branches for forcing is OK, but you don’t want to be pruning lilacs, forsythia, weigelas, chokeberry, or bridal wreath spireas now … any wood you cut off now is blooming wood, so you want to wait until they have finished blooming to prune them. Generally that will be late May to mid June. As the days are getting longer, and the sun brighter, tulips and spring bulbs are starting to show up in areas where they are protected … rabbits are just as eager to find them as you are … nothing beats a fresh meal after scavenging all winter. Blood meal is effective as a repellant but has to be reapplied frequently. We have other repellants that work, too, as long as you beat the rabbits to the draw! Gardeners are getting the itch to start some of their favorite vegetable and flower seeds indoors. I suggest you wait until the first or second week of April … your plants will still get a head start without getting long and gangly. Our homes stay warm at night as well as during the day, so the plants just end up growing too fast, and later, the shock of getting planted outdoors is almost enough to do them in! So instead of getting out the potting soil, grab a pencil and a piece of paper and plan your garden now. If you have limited space, consider more compact varieties, or plan to "trellis" plants instead of doing a row. Pole beans are an excellent example, plus you don’t have to stay stooped over to pick them.Planning ahead gives you a chance to make sure you have space for what you really want to grow, and gives you a chance to get a shopping list of what you are looking to buy instead of impulse planting … which can be fun also, but often is disappointing later in the season.