I asked Judy, my wife, if there was anything special she wanted me to grow in 2009.

Now Judy is a good planner. So I wasn't surprised when, within seconds, she produced a detailed list of her favorite plants from previous growing seasons.

But I'm a good planner, too. So I started fine-tuning my own to-do-list for the 2009 growing season.

Agricultural plans are as old as the hills, so vital to the survival of agrarian societies they've been formed and followed by farmers of every continent since ancient times.

On the American continent, for instance, the Aztecs used solar and lunar calendars to time growing seasons, and their calendars were so precise the Aztecs even knew when future solar and lunar eclipses would take place.

On the European continent, ancient Romans were the preeminent garden planners. In fact, their agricultural plans were so complex, the Romans designated a special deity to help bring their plans to fruition: Janus, the same god for whom the month of January is named.

To simultaneously look forward and backward through time, Janus had two faces. And since Janus was also the first month of the Roman year, he was kept particularly busy with requests from folks making plans for an upcoming year.

Mr. Bee's calendar

But I can look backward and forward through time, too, because I keep detailed gardening notes that permit me to make better-than-average decisions with regard to the timing of sowing, transplanting, harvesting, tilling and thwarting pests.

Still, my garden calendar is what actually keeps my gardening plans practical, because I transcribe all pertinent information, such as dates and deadlines, to it. Then I can glance months ahead to create a self-pacing schedule.

I've used a garden-planning calendar for decades, and it's a tool that works well for beginners as well as those with decades of experience.

Remember, you don't have to be a farmer to require a plan. Every backyard gardener should have some good idea of what they want before the growing seasons arrive.

This week in the garden

While shopping at the local garden centers, I was shocked by the exorbitant prices of fresh holiday greenery, even the greenery on sale.

I was so flabbergasted, I no longer take for granted the free and simple-to-make holiday decorations we typically create from our landscape's holly branches, pine cones and evergreen boughs.

These types of displays, by the way, are appropriate and look nice throughout the winter months, not just the holidays.

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