Yup, today is the day to wear green ... unless you want to get pinched! I've always had an ace in the hole if I forget the green as I have green eyes. That's probably cheating, I know.

I see the stores are carrying lots of oxalis plants lately. These are the closest to shamrocks you'll find. I have one with purple triangular leaves. These close at night. As long as the plant receives good light, it will produce plenty of dainty pink flowers. Oxalis make nice houseplants, but aren't hardy for outdoors in our area.

They will sometimes go dormant. If this happens, just put them aside for a few weeks. Then water and return to a bright spot and they'll take off again. To make more plants, divide the little tubers.

Speaking of house plants, now is the best time of the year for transplanting them. The days have grown longer, the sun is higher in the sky and most plants are now "waking" up from their long winter's nap. Once you see new growth, give them a diluted drink of fertilizer using one with a high first number for foliage plants and a high middle number for those that bloom.

A lot of you have already planted seeds indoors. Hopefully, they're up and growing like weeds. Once they get their "true" leaves, transplant each one into a small pot. Be sure to handle these babies by a leaf, not the stem. Water with diluted fertilizer and return to the window or grow light.

Outdoors, there are lots of promises in the making. The tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs are several inches tall. Soon there will be lots of color to enjoy.

Now that daylight saving time has begun, we can enjoy longer evenings. Too bad we have to lose some morning daylight to do it, but there's always a tradeoff.

Here's some long awaited good news ... the 1st official day of Spring is on March 20. This day is also called the Vernal Equinox. Vernal means spring and equinox means equal night. That's what happens when the sun crosses the equator and heads our way.

I almost hate to say this for fear of jinxing it, but this has been a mild winter ... at least so far. The robins seem to think so too as they have stayed around here instead of becoming "snowbirds."

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. Since then, she has always kept a garden of some sort, growing everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and house plants. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.