This is the time of year that I have a hard time being tethered to my computer. The weather is still mild and flower centers are brimming with colorful plants, so all I want to do is be out in the yard.

But with the next issue of Vicksburg Living magazine winding down and all the trips I have been on visiting children, it’s been hard to keep up.

I have, however, managed to get most of my shrubs trimmed back, especially after hubby eradicated the over-sized Elaeagnus bushes. Thankfully, that will be one less job forever taken off my plate.

And to keep things manageable, I decided to keep my potted plants to a minimum. It took a lot of self-control, but with less time to get things planted and recalling how hard it was to keep everything watered last year when the temperatures moved into triple digits, I succeeded.

Also, in an attempt to make my gardening less cumbersome and with the help of hubby, I re-did my raised beds. I wanted to make them taller to help keep weeds at bay, so I tore the old ones down and hubby put in new ones. It was a killer project for both of us, but I’m hoping in the long run, this will not just be easier to keep up, but also a more aesthetically pleasing way to grow herbs and tomatoes.

As for edibles, I am also trying my hand at growing a citrus tree. Last year, I bought an orange tree when I was in Austin. I couldn’t help myself. The smell of the blooms reminded me of the Hawaiian vacation I went on in the 70s. I was even able to harvest three tasty oranges, but somewhere along the line something happened to the little darling and it didn’t make it. Therefore, I bought another this year when I went to visit my son, but this time I planted it in a clay pot. Some guy on a YouTube video said they do better in a clay pot. We’ll see.

I am also trying my hand at growing Peggy Martin roses for the first time. I have been seeing these roses everywhere and picked up a couple at The Flower Center. Surely, if they can make it through Hurricane Katrina, they can make it in my yard.

If you haven’t heard the story of the Peggy Martins, Google it. It’s just remarkable how, out of devastation, this beautiful rose was able to survive.

In my English Garden — it’s not really an English garden, that’s just how I refer to my haphazard flowerbeds where I put perennials and annuals — this year I found a new variety of vivid Vinca. That’s just fun to say: variety of vivid Vinca. The colors are deep oranges and pinks and they really pop amongst my other plantings. I just hope the bugs and bunnies don’t like them as much as I do.

Gardening is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience and skill, of which I have neither. But I still have fun toodling around in the yard and look forward to having more time to dig and plant.

Terri Cowart Frazier writes features for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.