Now, there's no one right way to get your gardens ready for spring.

 Each person is sure to find his or her own individual way of growing a fine floral array or an assortment of exceptionally delicious vegetables.

 But there are some general tips that can help you get started on a great growing season.

 In the early spring, if you have a large vegetable garden in your backyard, it's a great time to begin working with the soil.

 Get out your rake and shovel and work at turning over the existing soil early in the spring.

 At this point, it's a great time to add a preliminary layer of compost or fertilizer, depending on your choice, up to 12 inches in depth to help breathe life into your garden.

 Levelling off your soil is a great idea to ensure that when the typical Maritime springtime rains do come, you won't be left with any lingering pools of standing water.

 And, if you know certain parts of your garden or flower beds are prone to collecting water, it may be an ideal time to look at raising the overall height of your bed by mounding the soil.

 It's also a great time to look at getting a pH testing kit to confirm the acidity of your vegetable garden's soil.

 The best pH is between 6 and 6.5 for optimal growth, so if you need to alter the pH of your existing soil, it's the right time to get to your local garden centre and purchase some lime.

 It's also never too early to start keeping your eyes open for weeds.

 They can begin growing at any time and are resistant to temperature changes, so for those who are looking at keeping their gardens weed-free in the most natural way - by hand - it's a good time to get ahead of the game by yanking out those early-season invaders by the roots.

 In future years, a good, hearty layer of mulch can help to make sure that weeds don't get the space they need to propagate during the next growing season.

 From a planning standpoint, if you're tired of the same crop of vegetables, it's also not too late to begin doing some research to figure out what you may wish to plant before the spring season gets too much further along.

 There's plenty of information available on-line at great gardening resources, such as http://www.evergreen.ca.

 This is also a great point to do some of the more practical things for prepping yourself to take care of your garden.

 If you're going to need a water supply, say from a backyard hose, then it's time to get the hose and spraying nozzle out from storage and turn on your outdoor water source again to make sure everything is operational.

 If your watering equipment is wearing out or showing signs of stress, say by leaking at joints, then in order to save yourself money and effort in the long term, it may be time to make the trek to your local gardening centre or supply store to buy replacement items.

 And remember - you can do a lot for nature by making sure that you're not wastefully leaking water, so think green and check your taps and hoses before the season gets into full bloom.