The jump point is usually May first, across the majority of the United States (including MA). While fertilization earlier than that using organics isn't going to cause a problem, there's no real reason to. The lawn doesn't need it if you winterized. If you didn't winterize, a weak fertilization when growth resumes might not be a bad idea. Half rate on Milorganite or around 7 to 8 pounds of soybean meal per thousand will do it fine. Then feed normally May 1-May 20th. But it also wouldn't be an error to just wait for May. The grass will manage. Time between fertilizations...variable. Post May, I won't feed until August again. The grass doesn't need summer fertilization. Although again, done organically, it's not a problem. It's just not strictly necessary. Fall is the season to hit it hard. I feed monthly August to October, which starts to release three weeks post feeding. After that, winterize when it's time and call it a year. Southern grasses will differ as their growth tendencies differ. Northern lawns are more cyclic. Feeding like that means you never run out of nitrogen and rarely, if ever, see signs that the lawn can use a feeding (if you do, it happens in late April when you're already thinking about it anyway).

Another question I came here looking for ... definitions of onion terms ... what is a seed, seedling, set, bulb, bunch, transplant, scapes, other words I don't know ? I never did find any onion seeds last year (only found seeds for what I call scallions or green onions - White Lisbon Bunching). Our local farm supply store got in bushel baskets of what looks like little miniature onions about the size of the first joint of my thumb that we could buy by the pound. I don't think they had the variety name on them, just red, yellow, and white. I am intermediate day area, so I assume they got the right ones in for our area. A few of them had shoots of green already growing from them about 1-2" long, but the guy there said not to get those. Get the ones with no green yet. I bought about 30. I am trying to do a search of how to plant them, but I don't even know what they are called. So more suggested questions ... How, when, how deep do I plant & care for each of the ways of planting onions defined above ? Water ? Fertilize ? Soak seeds ? I think I read something about cutting the tops back periodically ? When & how to harvest ? Really really really newbie questions for the FAQs. I guess the same kind of questions for garlic though I am many months off from growing that yet. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/allium/msg071138544149.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/allium/msg011153119044.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/allium/msg0310064812977.html

Technically bogs have an acid pH, so what you have is a different type of wetland, a marsh, even though it is commonly referred to as "boggy". This would not matter except that true bog plants like pitcher plant (Sarracenia) and cranberry (Vaccinium) need acid (low pH) to grow well. You will want to look up suggestions of plants you get here (including mine since my soil is more acid than yours) since some plants require a certain pH and some are quite flexible. As others have suggested, watch that you don't plant invasives since you have a stream that flows through which would carry seeds. (Iris pseudoacorus is on the invasive list in many states.) Some suggestions of east coast natives that are happy in wet soils: Shrubs: Winterberry holly (Ilex vertcillata) is not evergreen and has bright red berries in fall and winter. Need at least one male for several females. Clethra has late summer pink or white flowers and nice yellow fall foliage Swamp rose (Rosa palustris) has single pink flowers in early summer Pussy willow, some of which are native and some of which aren't, but are not usually on the invasive list, I don't think. Button bush has white round balls of flowers (think Sputnik) that the butterflies like in summer Red-twigged dogwood has selections with variegated foliage or plain green, and bright red winter twigs as long as the old wood is cut out every couple of years. Herbaceous plants: Clematis virginiana won't grow in standing water during the growing season, but is a native white-flowered clematis that grows on our stream floodplain where it is occasionally flooded for short periods and never gets really dry, and so might work well near the edge of your wetland. It will grow well up into shrubs or trees with low branches, so I would plant it just outside of the 10 year width of one of your large shrubs. It has summer flowers and pretty fuzzy white seed heads. Irises such as blue flag and Louisiana are good suggestions as is Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis. Another Lobelia that will do well in damp areas ( though not in standing water like cardinal flower) is great blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilatica. Marsh marigold is a very early bright yellow bloomer (with the daffodils around here) that will be happy in slow moving water a couple inches deep or even average garden soil, though the plant will go dormant in dry summers. In general, since you will view this area from a bit of a distance I would plan on planting most of these plants in groups. Many can be started from seeds or cuttings once you have one plant. You may need to dig or cut back cattails until other plants are able to get large enough to compete.

In the Garden FAQ section, there are three tables of FAQ. I can't figure out how the logic of how Houzz places new FAQ into this, but it's annoying to find anything. Just before I started this post, Growing from Seed, Growing under Lights, and Growing Tomatoes were listed, in that order, on the far left table. When I pulled up the FAQ to clarify the order to type that out, I find that Growing under Lights is on the far left table and Growing Tomatoes and Growing from Seed (in that order) are on the far right table. Someone who has been directed to the FAQ section is going to be thrown by the lack of logical alphabetization, either down a column or across the rows, so please do one or the other as standard practice.