by Jacqueline A. Soule

January is a month when there are few yard tasks, but nevertheless, we should head outdoors and fight off the post-holiday blues by letting the sun beam a little vitamin D into our bloodstream.

While puttering in your yard, take a look around and think of where you might like to add some plants come spring. Then pick up some of the wonderful catalogs that nurseries and seed companies produce this time of year. These catalogs are filled with colorful pictures of new plant variety options and blooming gardens.

If you're trying to live green and prefer electronic catalogs, many garden retailers offer online versions as well. Either way, ordering plants for the garden is a great way to brighten the cold or rainy winter days.

To get the most from garden catalogs and websites, with a minimum of woe, follow these guidelines:

Know your hardiness and heat zones

Most nurseries use the USDA hardiness zone, a measure of the average minimum recorded temperatures. While cold tolerance is important, plants in the west are more affected by summer heat and aridity. Thus, the heat zone, developed by the American Horticultural Society, is helpful.

Flag the gardening items you want

Mark the plants, seeds, tools and garden accessories that you're interested in with sticky notes. This makes finding them again easy. Online, bookmark the websites you like. Set up an electronic file folder of garden bookmarks to keep everything together. Use your history tracker on your browser bar as well. It helps you find the website you forgot to bookmark.

Go back through the catalogs and review everything you've flagged. Make a list of all of the plants and products that you simply must have. Note the ones that are nice, but not necessary. Definitely make note of those goodies that other people can get you for your birthday, anniversary or the holidays.

Order gardening supplies early

The most popular seeds, plants and new products sell out quickly. Seeds will usually be shipped early in the season to give you the option of starting them indoors. Plants will be shipped when it's safe to plant them outdoors based on your ZIP code or USDA hardiness zone.

Keep a copy or printout of the orders you place. Mail gets lost. Computers can crash. This also will help you track orders as they arrive.

Talk to a gardening expert

Most garden catalogs and websites have gardening experts you can contact to get additional information and advice. Use them!

Whether you use printed or virtual catalogs, mail ordering some goodies for your garden can be a wonderful way to wait for spring.

Jacqueline A. Soule, Ph.D., is a botanist, writer and educator. A member of the Garden Writers Association, she writes gardening columns for a number of newspapers throughout the Southwest. A self-avowed "Darwinistic" gardener, Jacqueline prefers plants that need as little care as possible while providing color, texture and movement in the landscape.