Just in time for your weekend chore list, here’s the latest Do It Now column from Susan Henry.

Perennials
Weed, weed, weed. It is important to eliminate pests like wild mustard before they go to flower and spread their seeds. Cut back clematis vines. Make sure their roots are shaded and they have a trellis or some other form of support.

Looking for your columbine? They may have perished but spread their seeds elsewhere in the garden. Aquilegias are short lived but prolific.

Here’s columbine in bloom on Wildflower Island in Teatown Reservation, by Peter Carr.

Flowers
If the weather is mild, hardy annual seedlings may be moved to a cold frame to harden off. Close the cover on cold nights — and open it on warm days.

Vegetables
Continue planting onions, carrots, beets, broccoli and lettuce in the garden. Plant potatoes as soon as the soil is warmed and somewhat dried out. Give new seedlings plenty of light. Fertilize with a weak solution. Set out strawberry plants and mulch.

Trees and shrubs
Fertilize and lime fruit trees; finish pruning before bud break. Prune late-blooming hydrangeas. Blue and pink hydrangeas are dependent on the pH of the soil. Alkaline soil produces pink flowers; acidic soil produces blue flowers. White hydrangeas are not affected by soil pH. The new Endless Summer hydrangeas bloom on new and old wood, but it is still a good idea to prune lightly in the spring.

Lawns
Continue cleanup and seeding. The best way to get rid of dandelions is hand digging — a few at a time. It’s good exercise!

Houseplants
Repot oversized plants. Discard any that have become tired or will not survive the summer.

General
Biodynamic sowing is a complex system that takes into consideration the position of the moon, sun and con.

— Susan Henry