The sweet aroma of freshly cut hay wafts throughout our yard and “back 40” as our neighbors make their first cut of the year.

Tiny yellowish blossoms on my two, huge burning bushes, which will turn a brilliant red in the fall, are appearing, as are the small blossoms of wild strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. The azaleas, tulips and daffodils have already passed, and taking their places are the huge pods of perennial poppies, the green, tall Asian lilies, and an abundance of purple and white violets and bluets.

While these lovely wildflowers can be seen clearly, try transplanting some of them into a perennial flower garden. Even if they don’t blossom again this year, the roots will be there for next year and that garden will get an early start.

Clusters of future daisies can be found everywhere along the edge of the field and woodland.

Even better, start a new wildflower garden for some wonderful native surprises. Prepare the soil well, as you would for any plantings, then place a good portion of soil with the plant into it. Again, plants such as daisies, buttercups, violets, bluets, yarrow and Queen Anne’s lace may not blossom this year, but next year they will produce a really wonderful wildflower garden.

And my vegetable garden is nearly all planted.

These past few sunshiny days have been a blessing, despite the cold nights. Everything I have put in has come up, and frost didn’t attack the tender tomato or pepper plants as some forecasters had warned.

The first plantings of spinach and lettuce are almost ready to harvest, and we have been eating tender, green asparagus spears for a couple of weeks now.

The rhubarb is ready to be harvested, cut up, then made into jam, pies and puddings.

As I’ve planted each vegetable or herb, I’ve noticed that some of last year’s sunflowers have reseeded themselves in often the most inappropriate places. Although starting sunflowers inside is not recommended because of poor success, I have found that digging them up very gently with lots of soil and immediately planting them in a large hole where I want them, has worked very well. As a bonus, I do get some of these spectacular, tall yellow flowers a little earlier than those I plant directly by seed.

The growing season has truly begun. Now, if Mother Nature will just be cooperative and not give us too little or, worse, too much rain, the magical earth should produce each vegetable according to its time.

At least that’s the hope. Each growing is season is different, presenting us with some pleasant surprises and some not-so-pleasant challenges.

One of my possibly pleasant surprises comes from a pumpkin I had left on some granite steps. It thoroughly deteriorated over the winter, but amazingly, two pumpkin seedlings have emerged from the core of the original pumpkin. I gently picked them up with a spade and planted them. I don’t remember which variety that particular pumpkin was. If it was a hybrid, the fruit that is produced will not be a pumpkin, but some version of a huge gourd. If it wasn’t a hybrid, I may get another pumpkin. This will be something to watch, and is one of the joys of paying attention to all my plants.

According to my gardening journal, despite the several feet of snow we had piled all over our yards and gardens into May, the planting and growing are no later than usual. That’s surprising. And I have heard that many people are putting their gardens in a bit later this year.

One of my self-made challenges is my goose flock. Unless I fence in the lettuce, the cruciferous plantings like broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, and, especially, the pak choy, the geese make a beeline directly for them when they leave their pen. So now, without the garden fence completed, they are allowed out only when I can watch them.

Some things to consider doing if your garden has been in for a couple of weeks:

—  Although we have had plenty of rain recently, remember that water is crucial to developing plants, both seedlings and direct seeded. Most plants need about one inch of rain each week. If nature doesn’t provide it, then we must try to.

— Now is the time to mulch those tomato plants. They need a couple weeks to establish strong roots when first planted. Then, we usually cover the soil all around each one with newspapers, then top with hay. This mulch helps keep the amount of grass and weeds down and retains moisture. And try to remember to water tomato plants from the bottom, and not onto the leaves. This tactic could help fend off early blight.

— If the compost pile has turned into rich compost, mulch some plants with that, or mix some into the soil when you are planting.

— Start searching for insects now and remove them before they have a chance to breed.

— By mid-June, a second crop of lettuce and spinach should be planted, then every few weeks thereafter. This ensures fresh, garden-grown lettuce all the way into October. Of course, once we have to return to buying grocery store lettuce, our taste buds will be disappointed for a while.

— Try to get out into the garden every day to do a little weeding. This is as important for seedlings as for direct-seeded plants. The more nutrients that feed the weeds, the less there will be for the plant. Also, a daily walk through the garden can show when insect pests start appearing. Get them early, rather than when they have spread.

— If the daffodil and tulip leaves are not yet brown, don’t cut them. The bulbs need the nutrients produced by the leaves for next year’s crops. To perk up the section of your flower garden that now features passed tulips or daffodils, plant marigold, zinnia or other showy flower seedlings. Buy some extra, too, to plant once the leaves turn brown and they can be cut.

— If mint is part of your herb patch, try to keep a very close watch on it. Mint loves to spread to lots of places you may not want it. Same with wild horseradish. If possible, grow mint in large containers so the roots will be restrained. Grow horseradish as far as possible from the main part of the garden. One year, we thought we’d make it a part of the regular garden. Not a good idea! It overtook several rows, then took us what seemed like forever to pull it up. Horseradish has very long, strong roots.

Whenever I think about tiny seeds and what they become, I am always amazed. Our magical Earth gives us so much.

Happy gardening!

Eileen Adams has been gardening for decades and loves watching seeds grow into full-fledged plants. She believes it’s still a miracle.