If you’re a gardener, it’s a bit like a crapshoot trying to second-guess the weather these days. It didn’t help that the May long weekend – the traditional garden planting time for annual bedding out plants – fell early this year. Judging from the rush on the area nurseries, that didn’t matter.

You’d have weather history on your side: the average last frost day is May 17. That gives us 123 growing days until the average first fall frost Sept. 22. Our growing season is the same length as in Kelowna, B.C. and Gander, Nfld., according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

The cool weather vegetable seeds have been in for two weeks to a month. Radishes are up and some lettuce and spinach have been harvested. Marlene has stuffed the pots with an assortment of annuals like fuscia, tuberous begonia, super bells, petunias and trailing verbena but, like Andrew down the street, we have been dutifully taking each pot in over night and back out in the morning. After the pot planting, of course, we find out about “inserts’ you can put in pots so if the plants do need to be moved, you don’t strain your back lifting them.

But, because of the incessant overnight frost forecasts this week, we’ve been waffling on planting the seedlings started indoors two months ago. Even hardening off the 50 tomato plants awaiting their space in the garden is taxing: when you get a minus 5 after a forecast plus 3, you’re thankful you didn’t take a chance. Gardeners like the neighbour’s mother who’ve been burned before refuse to fudge on May 24 – the date, not the long weekend.

The way it’s going, though, most of the plants should be in by today or Sunday. I’ve tried to be more organized this year so I don’t jam every square inch of space with tomatoes. Wooden sticks to label the plants give me a better idea than last year of the kind of space they’ll need. As well, I’m trying a new Black Cherry variety, recommended by ­­Karen at Green Haven, to complement the Early Girl, Beefsteak, Romas and an indeterminate cherry which last year spanned about 10 square feet.

Room is also needed for a few cape gooseberries, black beauty eggplant, broccoli, pak choi, red cabbage and asparagus peas. Can’t seem to resist trying something new, especially when it comes with a “guaranteed to grow label” on the seed package.

Also new but already seeded is a purple carrot I first saw in Hawaii, next to a couple of other varieties of the more common colour.

But, most of the yard is in perennials so the yard evolves while the seedlings wait. The coreopsis is split to share at the plant exchange behind City Hall or give to friends, the delphinium is shuffled to make room for the lilac bush that was moved to accommodate two rain barrels, and the last of the backyard grass is replaced with a river stone path bordered by transplanted dianthus and blue grass.

Thank God a gardener’s work is never done: no doubt we’ll still be planting something in late June. And beyond.