By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Spring finally is here, which makes it a great time to start thinking about things to do for the home and yard.

It’s a fine time to get ready to fertilize lawns in preparation for the growing season, according to Scott Pracht, store manager for Marion Ace Hardware.

Planning for a lawn or garden is a good early-spring project, he said.

Starter seeds are coming in and plants soon will come to the greenhouse.

“We should be getting our plants in,” Pracht said. “We’re telling everyone mid-April. I had a professional landscaper look at our order list instead of a bunch of guys looking at flower names.”

The store wanted plants well-suited to the local climate.

It’s also a great time to tackle spring cleaning — washing windows and airing out the house.

People might want to think about things they could do to improve outdoor living spaces, like getting a fire pit.

He recommended putting root killer down toilets to clean out sewer pipes and prevent plants from blocking pipes during active growing season.

He recommends starting small engines started now so homeowners don’t have to take lawnmowers for engine repair just when grass needs to be mowed.

The same goes for chainsaws, leaf blowers, and other motorized law equipment.

“Some people like to prune back trees in the spring,” he said.

Water hoses also should be checked before they are needed, he said.

Barbecue grills, lawn and fishing chairs, and fishing equipment can be planned now.

“We’ve actually extended our fishing section,” Pracht said. “It’s getting bigger every month. Slowly we’re starting to get more in.”

Decks may need to be resealed before summer, he said, and if smoke alarms didn’t get new batteries, it’s time to take care of that.

Bomgaars in Hillsboro also offers an assortment of items to make outside time more pleasant.

The store offers hammocks, spring chairs, lawn equipment, and hand tools such as rakes, shovels, and the like, assistant store manager Micki Watson said

Grass seed, seed potatoes, and fertilizer are available.

This year will be the first the Hillsboro store will have a greenhouse. The store opened last summer.

“We will be getting plants in the next two weeks,” Watson said. “We just are getting the greenhouse set up.”

Besides plants, the greenhouse will contain solar lights, planters, and similar planting items.

A sign of spring life already is running around inside the store.

“We do have our chicks in already,” she said. “We have the chicks and all of the feed, so we have everything you could need for that.”

Ducklings and guinea fowl will be coming in a couple weeks.