Colorado garden to-do list for May 23-29

Whether the phrase "burning daylight" was first used by Shakespeare or Jack London, gardeners know it is important to fully utilize spring days to get the landscape prepped and planted for the summer season, which unofficially begins this Memorial Day weekend. You ready? Get out there you're burning daylight. But first ...

TAKE A WALK

Before you do any garden chores this Memorial Day weekend, take a walk. If walking isn't doable, drive or ask someone to take you for a drive. The reason is simple: Spring is here and summer is close behind. Don't miss it. Take it in with your eyes, your nose: leafed-out trees, flowering and fragrant shrubs like daphnes, mock orange, and viburnums. Spring-blooming perennials are doing their best despite the late snow: iris, peonies, salvia.

Play I-Spy with wildlife you haven't seen in a while or ever (squirrels don't count). American white pelicans are a sure conversation starter, and they're usually hanging out at West Quincy Lake and Barr Lake. You'll also find them right now at Smith Lake (the north one) in Washington Park, along with the mostly jet-black, pre-historic looking double-crested cormorants and the all-white egrets that seem to float in the air when viewed from afar.

Look westward and check the snow coverage over the high peaks. I try to guess what day in June the snow will be gone from my view (this year, my guess is June 6).

VEGETABLES AND HERBS

If you've never grown vegetables before, try it this year. It doesn't take much space to plant a tomato or two, and they grow well in containers. You'll need amended soil and at least six hours of sun, but it can be three hours in the morning and three later in the day. Root crops like carrots and leafy greens will do fine with four hours of sun. More: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/ Gardennotes/719.html

Bare-root strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus are still available in garden centers; if you want these edible perennials, get them and plant them now. Container-grown strawberries can also be planted now. For a continuous crop, plant a mix of types: June bearing, everbearing and day-neutral. More: http://www.ext. colostate.edu/pubs/garden/ 07000.html

Other small fruits to consider: Raspberry, elderberry, currants, gooseberry, grapes, blackberries. More: dpo.st/1tbqwEm

Once nighttime lows remain in the mid-50s, you can begin direct seeding of beans, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, pumpkin, corn and melons.

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Colorado garden to-do list for May 23-29