It's the busy season for gardeners

Go ahead and plant your warm season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.

• Prune back any unshapely growth on your shrubs to improve their appearance and encourage the development of a fuller plant. It is a good time to prune back lilacs, if needed, as they finish flowering.

• Gradually move houseplants outside to protected areas when temperatures begin staying above 40 degrees. Prevent any damage to the plants by gradually acclimating them to the sun and outside growing conditions.

Start by putting them in a shaded location outside on warmer days, and bring them inside when nights are predicted to be cold. Increase the time outside and exposure to sun over a period of ten days or so. Large houseplants in plastic pots should be slipped into larger, heavier pots to prevent them from falling over in the wind.

• If gardens are still running dry and without any substantial soaking rains, it is a good idea to water any plants you installed over the last couple of years to help them establish. Newly installed grass seed needs frequent (daily to twice daily), light watering for it to germinate

• Use a mulching mower that leaves the grass clippings on the lawn. This means less work for you and it recycles those extra nutrients back to your lawn. Regardless of which mower you choose, you need to mow more frequently during spring, due to rapid grass growth. Most lawns that are not getting irrigated have been growing more slowly than in typical springs due to the dry weather.

Mulching mowers, in particular, do not work well in tall, wet grass. Rake out any wet clumps of grass that remain on the lawn. Keep the blades on your mower sharpened for a better cut. A good general rule to follow is to sharpen them after every eight hours of use.

Mow grass at 2 ½ to 3 inches in height, and frequently enough so that not more than one-third of the total height is cut each time. Most lawns are cut too short. Maintaining lawns at a taller height promotes a strong root system and helps choke out weeds. In hot weather, short lawns can turn brown more quickly and weeds are more likely to move in.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.