This is the time of year to start planting tomatoes, especially if you have a cold frame, EZ-wall, or cloche that can protect your starts against any late frosts. But if you’re like me, you probably have some questions about the whole tomato process.

Not to worry: Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden has you covered. Over her many years of blogging she’s developed tomato FAQs, how-to articles on getting started, and guides to preventing tomato troubles. Head on over and have your tomato questions answered by an expert.

One more tomato tidbit: If you’ve ever wondered what people mean when they tell you to snap the suckers off your tomato plant, Fern Richardson of Life on the Balcony shows you just what that means with the fastest tomato tutorial in the West.

Next up, gardeners on the coast often find it tough to get connected with great information on the best plants to choose, and generally just how to design for the coast. The huge, sweeping vistas and the rolling motion of the sand dunes and ocean call for an entirely different landscape design style than a forested or mountainous setting, for example. And the fast-draining soil and salt wind also present some serious challenges.

Over at Landscaping Network, I interviewed Syracuse, NY landscape architect Mariane Wheatley-Miller about the dos and don’ts of coastal landscape design. As an architect who is passionate about plants and gardening with nature, she gave some fantastic tips and perspectives about designing for the coast, and beyond that, she was just a delightful person to get to talk with.

Then, I just published two articles over at the design site Houzz about coastal landscape design. The first focuses on some delicious photos of coastal landscapes and examines what makes them so successful. The second is about the ornamental grasses that work best on the coast.

Lastly, my Garrett Wade contest went so well (I got a lot of emails from people who picked up either the lopper or that awesome saw) that they wanted to extend a discount to you: 10% off your entire purchase with no order minimum! Just click here to activate the offer and start shopping, or enter the code NCGARDEN at checkout to get the discount.

Even though they sent me some free tools to test out, I’m going to be using the offer code myself to pick up two more 12.5 inch saws/ scabbards and two more professional digging knives, both of which have become indispensible in my business. It’s become clear if I ever want to use my own Garrett Wade tools again I will need to get extras for each of my employees so they don’t snag mine!

Anyway, I’m off to P Allen Smith‘s Garden2Blog event for the week – I’ve never been to the South before, so expect some dish when I get back about how the South does gardening!