Last modified: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 12:47 AM EST Jim Dunn of Briggs Nursery in North Attleboro says making sure your tools are clean and sharp is one thing you should do now to get ready for gardening season. (Staff photo by Mark Stockwell) Get ready to garden BY SUSAN LaHOUD/SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Even though folks have not been able to see their yards in months because of the snow cover, gardeners and others itching for spring can be lay ing the groundwork for their flower patches now. Jim Dunn of Briggs Nursery in North Attleboro has already gotten things underway at his home in Wrentham and offers 10 tips to allow people who long to be outside work ing the earth, to dig in now in antici pation of the bright-colored yields heralding a new season. 1.) It's a good time to trim the trees, says Dunn. Those evergreen and other boughs hanging over flower and vegetable gardens be can be pruned now while the trees -- and the perennials underneath them -- are still dormant. In that way, he says, you can prevent doing damage to the flowers while also bringing the trees back into shape. 2.) Take to those rambling roses -- and don't be meek, says Dunn. Many people don't prune rambling roses, but they should, and you can do that now, he says. Get rid of the old and dead canes. `` You should take out at least one or two canes a year,'' he says. `` Take out the oldest first.'' `` It keeps the plants, especially older ones, healthy.'' The fewer the canes, the more flowers the plant will yield, he says. 3.) While you're outside, bring some spring back in. You can do that, says Dunn, by clipping a few sprigs of forsythia or other flowering bushes. Smash the cut ends (to bet ter absorb water) and put them in a container of water with either -- not all three -- a drop of bleach, or an aspirin, or a teaspoon of sugar. That little extra will kill bacteria. Dunn says a drop of bleach and a teaspoon of sugar, combined, actually makes a good floral preservative. Within a week or so, you'll have blooms. Dunn says magnolia, crab apple, cherry and pear tree sprigs will work just as well. 4.) Make sure your equipment, including shovels, spades and trimmers are in shape and sharpened. Dunn has wood-handled tools that he rubs with linseed oil. `` I have some that are 30 years old, but they look like new.'' 5.) Check those bulbs that you brought in for the winter. Take your lily and dahlia bulbs out of their bags and boxes. If they look shriveled, Dunn suggests soaking them in water for about an hour, then dry them and put them back. By the way, you can pot those canna lilies indoors now. They'll bloom outside about a month earlier by starting them inside now, Dunn says. 6.) Buy your seeds. Get a jump on planting times by starting them in the trays soon to put into gardens after the threat of frost is gone. It will give you something to look forward to and give gardeners a chance to use a little of that pent-up planting energy. Use a sterilized soil to prevent weed growth, Dunn suggests. Otherwise, it could get confusing between seedling and weedling. 7.) `` Don't even think of starting fast-growing plants, like tomatoes, right now,'' Dunn warns. `` It's too early.'' But go ahead, if you haven't already, and plant onion seeds indoors. Dunn started his the day after Christmas. They can be cut back to 2 inches as they grow, and don't throw away the cuttings! They can make some mighty fine additions to soups, Dunn says. And your plants will be healthier once they are transplanted outside. 8.) Now is a good time to review any changes or additions you might want to make to your landscaping and gardens. Pull out the design or flower-and-plant books and guides. Dunn believes there should be something new added every year. 9.) Get your boots on and assess your yard. Check for damage, like bushes and other plants damaged by animals. Dunn has a special brew in which he adds two or three handfuls of the hottest peppers he can find into a gallon of water, which sprayed onto shrubs, like yews, will deter deer from further damaging growth. (Throw in a clove of garlic for insurance, he says.) 10.) While you're out there, surveying the grounds -- just dream of what it will be like in just another month or so.