Now is the time to be sowing the seeds of this year’s garden

Take a deep breath, because gardening season is about to get underway.

Although I’ve done nothing in the yard other than prune hydrangeas — you still have plenty of time to do this — garden preparation is in full gear both from a planning side and a growing side.

The next few weeks are prime time for starting many flowers and vegetables from seed indoors to get a jump on growing.

Basil and parsley — the two herbs I use the most — should both be sown as soon as possible if you’re starting them inside. Tomatoes should also be started soon, although I prefer to wait until the second week of April because in my experience plants that are 8 to 10 inches tall transplant better than those that are 2 feet tall, and the smaller plants only need to be potted on once.

It’s perfect timing to sow many annual vines as well. Since these tend to grow quickly, I usually sow them in deep 3-inch pots filled with regular potting mix at the bottom and seed-starting mix at the top. Most annual vines are heavy feeders, and the added nutrients in regular potting mix can be helpful.

Most of them are native to Mexico and South America, so they won’t grow with great vigor until we have warm summer nights, but growing them in a warm spot with lots of bright light will give them a much-needed head start to ensure you see flowers in our short season.

Cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit), Spanish flag (Ipomoea lobata) and purple hyacinth bean vine (Lablab purpureus) are all on my list for this year, even though I don’t know where most of them will go. It seems like I always find a spot to put them, so I sow a few extra.

There are several flowers that are great for cutting that should be sown soon as well. There are many varieties of amaranth that are great additions to bouquets, but the draping types are particularly stunning in bouquets. Emerald Tassels, Coral Fountain and Dreadlocks all offer dramatic blooms from mid-summer on.

Celosia is also a good addition to the cutting garden, and some of the spiked varieties such as Asian Garden or Flamingo Feather are excellent garden plants as well, offering a flower shape that is difficult to find.

Mid-April is the time to start some vegetables that don’t need a long time indoors before they can be planted out. Cucumbers are at the top of that list, and recently I’ve switched to growing just a couple varieties — Suyo Long and Chelsea Prize — both thin slicing cucumbers with very few seeds.

Winter squash is also on the list at this time, but my only must-grow in this category is Honeynut, a super sweet, mini butternut type squash, perfectly sized for serving as a side dish for two people. Conveniently, it’s also less susceptible to vine borer than many other winter squash varieties.

Of course, plenty of early season crops should also be direct sown in the garden in April (if not before), including peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, chard and more.

It’s a lot to do, but there can be few jobs more satisfying after a long winter of garden dreaming. It’s go time.