This winter compensated for last year's dryness: We sure had plenty of snow on the ground. But the perennials have emerged from the onslaught, and tulips are in bloom. Swap your snow boots and shovels for gardening clogs and trowels, for spring is here. Following is a checklist of tasks to accomplish in April:

• Play in the dirt: Ann Montague, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Broomfield, advises testing soil in early spring. Then buy the proper compost or fertilizer and host a family or neighborhood "dig." You'll reap a more abundant harvest this summer.

• Plant a salad: It's tradition to sow cool-season crops in the weeks around St. Patrick's Day, according to Curtis Jones of Botanical Interests. If green beer held more interest in March than green peas, plant lettuce, peas, onions and potatoes now. Or harden off the transplants you've already sprouted by putting them outside in a shady spot. Choose a warm day to plant them, work in lots of compost and mulch lightly to keep soil temperatures constant.

• Defy frost: If you'd rather skip straight to warm-season crops like tomatoes and bell peppers, buy yourself some extra time with walls-o-water. Fill them and let them warm in the sun until mid-April. They allow your tender tomato and pepper transplants to get a head start on setting fruit.

• Go for the green: Echter's offers "Western Drought Defy," a mix of annual ryegrass and Barkoel/ crested hairgrass. It's as drought tolerant as buffalo grass but green for longer. Seed it into bare prepared soil any time in the growing season.

• Take out the clippers: Early spring is a good time to prune "because you can see the structure of your plant and prune it to how you want it to look," says Montague, emphasizing that it's best to focus on summer- blooming shrubs like Russian sage and butterfly bush and trees damaged by winter storms.

• Give them a trim: When new growth appears, cut back perennials to 6 inches tall. Crowded or aging plants will benefit from division, as will the bare spots in your garden that they fill. Again, lots of compost and a light mulch will help them thrive.

• Take a class: Denver Botanic Gardens continues its "Loving Low Water Series" April 4, with Jim Borland of Gard'n Wise Guys speaking on "Beyond Xeriscape: No-Water Plants for the Front Range." Also see coloradogardening.com/ index.html, Echters (echters.com, 303-424-7979), and Tagawa Gardens (tagawagardens. com, 303- 690-4722).

• Get x-rated: The Colorado WaterWise Council lists metro-area gardens to visit (xeriscape. org/demogardens.html). For more ideas, attend the Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society sale, April 1; the Denver Rose Society symposium, April 21; or the North American Rock Garden Society sale, April 21; all at the Botanic Gardens.

• Plant summer bulbs: They'll bloom in June to July if planted now, according to Steve Flickinger of Simple Pleasures bulbs and perennials. Using a mix that is 75 percent compost, plant dwarf dahlias, gladiolas, and cannas in containers that can be easily moved from one sunny spot to another or brought indoors at night.